No. 20 LSU Rallies Past No. 8 Alabama, 7-6
4/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The No. 20 LSU Tigers rallied from a three-run deficit and scored single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to pull out a 7-6 win over the No. 20 University of Alabama in the Southeastern Conference series opener at Alex Box Stadium Friday night.
LSU (25-11, 5-8 SEC) scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning after a two-out walk and an throwing error by third baseman Matt Downs.
LSU center fielder Jarred Bogany led off the inning with an infield single and moved to second on Will Harris' sacrifice bunt. Alabama right hander Jordan Davis struck out Michael Hollander for the second out, but kept the inning alive when he walked Bruce Sprowl with two outs.
The two-out walk brought Quinn Stewart, who has an LSU-best 14 home runs this season, to the plate. Stewart hit a chopper the third for the apparent final out, but Downs throw was high and pulled Spencer Pennington off the bag at first to load the bases.
J.T. Wise then singled to left on a 1-0 pitch to score Bogany with what proved to the be the winning run. Left fielder Brandon Belcher threw out Sprowl at the plate to end the inning to keep it a 7-6 game.
Alabama (26-11, 9-4 SEC) managed a two-out walk against LSU starter freshman right-hander Louis Coleman in the ninth inning by senior catcher Kody Valverde. Junior left-hander Daniel Forrer replaced Coleman and got freshman DH Alex Avila on sharp ground out to second base to win the game.
Coleman (4-2) worked 8 2/3 innings and allowed six runs (five earned) and nine hits for his second straight SEC win. He added five walks and struck out four. Forrer retired the only hitter he faced for his second save.
"I thought Coleman got stronger as the game went along," Alabama head coach Jim Wells said. "He kept the breaking ball away and got us out. We had a few chances, but he mainly went after us with fastballs and breaking balls.
Coleman appeared on the ropes in the fifth inning as the Tigers trailed 6-3 after Avila's towering two-run home run that cleared the scoreboard in right field and a single by Pennington. The freshman regained his composure and retired 14 of the final 16 batters he faced for the win.
"Their pitching was better than ours tonight and both teams certainly scored enough runs to win the game," Wells added.
The Tigers tied the game in the seventh inning when Stewart laced a leadoff double to left and scored on Wise's single up the middle. Wise was 3-for-4 and drove in three runs, including the tying run in the seventh and the winning run in the eighth.
Wise's game-tying single chased UA starter Wade LeBlanc, who struggled on the mound for the second straight week. The junior from Lake Charles allowed six runs and nine hits in six innings of work. He walked four, hit one and struck out five.
Davis (0-2) stranded the go-ahead run at second base in the seventh inning, but could not pitch around the two-out walk and error in the eighth. He worked two innings and allowed one unearned run and two hits, with one walk and two strikeouts.
Both teams squandered three run leads in the game. LSU led 3-0 after one inning and fell behind 6-3 in the fourth. The Crimson Tide lost its three-run lead as the Tigers scored single runs in the fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth innings.
LSU sent eight men to the plate in the bottom of the first inning and took advantage of lead off walk and a hit batter to plate three runs and take an early 3-0 lead. Wise, Matt Liuzza and Steven Waguespack all had RBI singles in the inning against LeBlanc.
Alabama took advantage of an error, a wild pitch and a walk in the top of the second inning to cut the deficit to 3-2. Downs ripped a one-out home run to left to cut the LSU lead to 3-1. It was his third home run of the season and second in SEC play.
Freshman right fielder Ryan Rhoden reached when second baseman Wise dropped a pop up in shallow center field. Junior shortstop Greg Paiml singled to center and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Junior center fielder Emeel Salem then drew a four pitch walk to load the bases before Belcher's sac fly to right scored Rhoden to make it a 3-2 game.
The Crimson Tide scored two more runs in the top of the third inning to grab a 4-3 lead. Valverde led off with a single to left and Avila followed with a walk. After Pennington popped up to left field, Downs rapped his second hit of the game with a hit-and-run double to right-center field to score Valverde and Avila to put the Tide up by two runs.
Alabama extended its lead to 6-3 in the top of the fourth inning when Valverde drew a two-out walk and scored when Avila blasted his third home run of the season over the right field scoreboard.
Downs was 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two-run double. The three RBI matched his career high. Avila was 2-for-4 with a two-run home run.
The Tigers joined the home run party in the fourth and fifth innings to pull to within a run a 6-5. Bruce Sprowl hit a two-out, solo home run down the right field line in the fourth inning and Jordan Mayer hit a wind-blown solo home run with one out in the fifth to make it a 6-5 game.
Alabama and LSU continue their three-game series on Saturday with a 2 p.m. game in Baton Rouge. The Crimson Tide will send junior RHP Bernard Robert (5-1, 2.79 ERA), a native of nearby Denham Springs, to the mound. LSU will counter with junior LHP Clay Dirks (3-3, 4.03 ERA).
GAME NOTES:
*Alabama has lost back-to-back Friday night SEC games by identical 7-6 scores. The Crimson Tide lost 7-6 in 11 innings at No. 1 South Carolina last week.
*The Crimson Tide saw its three-game winning streak end on Friday. LSU has won five of its last six games.
*LeBlanc has two no decisions in his last two starts on the mound. In those two starts, he has allowed 12 runs and 17 hits in 13 2/3 innings, with 10 walks and 11 strikeouts. He walked only nine batters in his first 60 innings of the 2006 season. He has nine walks in last 13 2/3 innings.
*LeBlanc made his 38th career start on Friday night to tie Brent Carter (2002-05) and Mike Innes (1968-71) for sixth place all-time.
*His five strikeouts gives him 280 career strikeouts at Alabama. He is nine away from tying Lance Cormier (1999-2002) for second place all time with 289 strikeouts. He is also 27 strikeouts shy of Carter's all-time record of 307 punchouts.
*Alabama has trailed 3-0 after one inning in three of its last four games. The Crimson Tide trailed 3-0 at No. 1 South Carolina in game one of double header on April 9 in Columbia. Alabama spotted SE Louisiana a 3-0 first inning lead on Wednesday night in Hammond and fell behind 3-0 here tonight at No. 20 LSU.
*Downs hit his third home run of the season and second in SEC play in the second inning. Downs has hit two home runs in his last three SEC games.
*Avila hit his third home run of the season in the top of the fourth inning to give Alabama a 6-3 lead. Avila has homered in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
*Pennington extended his hitting streak to six games with a fourth-inning single.
