BATON ROUGE, La. — Mississippi State could only avoid LSU’s slugging right fielder Greg Deichmann for so long.
Deichmann’s first three plate appearances went by with little incident — groundout, strikeout and hit by pitch — before he approached the plate in the eighth inning and left MSU handcuffed. With two runners on base and Deichmann representing the tying run with one out, an intentional walk was out of the question.
Deichmann promptly hit a two-run double to bring the Tigers (47-17) within one; it was the beginning of a four-run rally that unraveled the lead MSU held for nearly the entirety of the game. No. 4 LSU won 4-3 and now No. 20 MSU (40-26) has to win at 8 pm. Sunday to force a third game on Monday, where the winner clinches a spot in the College World Series.
MSU made a pitching change after the Deichmann double, but it didn’t stop the rally. LSU freshman Zach Watson drove in Deichmann in the next at-bat to tie the game and Michael Papierski drove Watson in to give LSU the lead.
The rally came after MSU added two runs to its lead in the top of the inning on Cody Brown’s two-run double.
MSU earned its first run in the top of the first as LSU starting pitcher Alex Lange struggled to settle in. Brent Rooker’s one-out walk, Ryan Gridley’s ensuing single and Brown’s walk loaded the bases for Mangum, who was hit with the first pitch of the at-bat to score the run. Lange struck out the next two batters he faced to end the frame.
At the time, Lange had held opposing batters hitless in 19 at-bats with the bases loaded.
MSU pitching had kept a potent LSU lineup in check before the eighth. Konnor Pilkington’s start lasted six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and four walks but left MSU in trouble at the end. Pilkington was taken out of the game after allowing a single and a walk to start the bottom of the seventh. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners over and the inning ended four pitches later: LSU’s Jake Slaughter flew out to MSU center fielder Jake Mangum, whose throw home beat LSU’s Beau Jordan to the plate.
Mangum’s throw was not the only time defense saved an MSU pitcher.
Pilkington dodged another bullet in the fifth. LSU second baseman Papierski’s leadoff double and Slaughter’s sacrifice bunt put a LSU runner on third with one out. Kramer Robertson hit a ground ball down the third base line that MSU third baseman Cody Brown corralled and tagged Papierski to neutralize the scoring threat.
Pilkington retired the next batter to end the inning.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter, @Brett_Hudson
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