A titanic Tiger collapse It looked for a brief moment that LSU was going to get out of it. Tigers pitcher Griffin Herring loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth against Alabama with two two-out walks and a hit batter as LSU clung to a 7-6 lead. Then the next Alabama player, William Hamiter, hit a swinging bunt halfway between home plate and the pitcher's mount. Catcher Alex Milazzo ran out, fielded it and looked like he would get Hamiter out at first and end the game. But his throw was wide of the bag. Two Bama runs scored on the error and LSU was saddled with a shocking, devastating 8-7 loss. Afterward, LSU coach Jay Johnson appealed, citing runner's interference, but was denied. He decried a quick video review, questioning whether it was even looked at by SEC officials in nearby Birmingham. Maybe Johnson had a beef with the call and review. But if I've learned one thing about controversial calls in 35 years of sportswriting, it's this: If you put yourself in position to get shafted by the officials, you might get shafted by the officials. Ultimately, though, LSU (32-19, 9-16 SEC) has put itself in this position time and again. It's understandable that a competitor like Johnson would seek out a call on which to vent his frustration, but the painful truth is that the Tigers have done themselves in with a lack of clutch pitches and clutch hits this season to have almost no margin for error in their hopes to even earn an NCAA Tournament bid. At this point, it looks like LSU has to win four of its last five against Bama and next week at home against Ole Miss to even have a chance.
Last year LSU was slightly better than us. This year slightly worse. It all takes the shine of taking 2 of 3 from them at The Box earlier this year. That's baseball.
