Baton Rouge- The West Virginia University baseball team lost to No.6 LSU 16-9 in the opening game of the Baton Rouge Super Regional on Saturday afternoon at Alex Box Stadium.
The Tigers (47-15) scored 16 runs on eight hits.
Early on, it looked like it was going to be a pitcher’s duel between Kade Anderson and Griffin Kirn.
The Mountaineers (44-15) cruised through the first three innings and took 1-0 when Jace Rinehart’s ground out scored Skylar King.
However, the lead didn’t last long. In the fourth, Kirn hit back-to-back LSU batters before Derek Curiel blasted a three-run home run to take a 3-1 lead.
Things took a turn in the fifth inning when WVU head coach Steve Sabins removed Kirn after just 82 pitches after giving up a base hit to Josh Pearson. Instead of putting in one of the experienced relievers, the Mountaineers went with freshman JJ Glasscock, who had appeared in six innings. He walked the first batter and then was down 2-0 in the count to Jared Jones.
Once again, Sabins went with Cole Fehrman, who had pitched 6.2 innings this season. Steven Milam blasted a grand slam to right field off Fehrman, giving the Tigers a 7-1 lead. LSU added three more runs before the inning ended.
In the sixth, WVU scored four runs to pull within 10-5 but LSU would add six more runs in the sixth.
Gavin Kelly’s two-run home run pulled the Mountaineers within 16-7. In the ninth, Kyle West hit a two-run home run but that was all WVU could muster out.
Game two of the series is set for Sunday at 6:00 p.m.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
