April 21, 2008

Baton Rouge, LA (UWIRE) -- LSU blew an early 9-0 lead in a 14-13 extra-innings loss against Arkansas on March 22 - a loss LSU coach Paul Mainieri called one of the most difficult of his career.

The Tigers (23-16-1, 6-11-1) experienced dejà vu Sunday, blowing a seven-run lead in the final three innings in a 10-10 tie against No. 7 Georgia (27-12-1, 14-3-1).

"I just hurt for the kids so bad," Mainieri said. "They just deserved a better fate than that [Sunday]. When you get 16 hits and you score 10 runs, you should win a ballgame."

LSU held a 10-3 lead in the top of the seventh inning, but the Tigers gave up seven runs in the final three innings to send the game to extra innings.

With LSU holding a 10-8 lead in the ninth inning, Bulldogs' freshman first baseman Robbie O'Bryan hit a two-run home run over the "Intimidator" sign in right field to tie the game.

In extra innings, LSU junior Ryan Verdugo and Georgia senior Joshua Fields held both teams scoreless, forcing the game to be called following the 12th inning.

Southeastern Conference rules dictate an inning may not begin past 4 p.m. on a Sunday game when a visiting team has to make a commercial flight that evening.

"It hurts," said LSU freshman DJ LeMahieu. "It's a tough tie. We deserved a lot better than what happened, but there is nothing we can do about it." The Tigers struck first in the second inning on a two-RBI triple by freshman center fielder Leon Landry, which scored sophomores Sean Ochinko and Ryan Schimpf.

Georgia threatened for the first time in the third inning and had runners on first and third base, but LSU senior pitcher Jared Bradford struck out Georgia sluggers Gordan Beckham and Rich Poythress to retire the side.

Coming into Sunday's game, the Bulldogs' duo was hitting .435 and .379, respectively, with 28 combined home runs and 84 RBIs.

"They are not different from any other team," Bradford said. "As a pitcher, you worry about pounding the strike zone. A hitter is just a hitter whether they play for Tulane, Nicholls State or Georgia."

LSU extended its lead in the third inning on a solo home run by senior third baseman Michael Hollander.

Three batters later, sophomore left fielder Blake Dean extended the Tigers' lead to 5-0 with his eighth home run of the season that towered over the right center field scoreboard.

Georgia got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth on an infield single by senior outfielder Matt Olson. Olson's hit scored sophomore center fielder Matt Cerione, who singled and stole second base to lead off the inning.

But Bradford again retired Beckham to end the inning with the Bulldogs having runners in scoring position.

LSU fired back in their half of the fifth inning, plating two runs to take a 7-1 lead.

The Tigers added three more runs in the sixth inning to take a 10-3 lead. LeMahieu and Gibbs each added RBI hits in the inning.

But Bradford labored in the sixth and seventh innings, allowing eight of his 10 hits in the two frames. He left the game with the bases loaded and LSU holding a 10-5 lead.

"The last couple of pitches, I was a little bit tired," Bradford said. "That is just a time when, as a pitcher, you have to zero in and hit the strike zone."

Bradford pitched six innings Sunday and gave up six earned runs while striking out eight batters.

"He's our guy," Mainieri said. "And he's been our guy forever. Georgia made a great adjustment and started swinging at the first pitch, and they got a couple of hits."

Freshman reliever Daniel Bradshaw pitched out of Bradford's jam and recorded two consecutive outs to take LSU into the eighth inning holding a 10-7 lead.

Georgia further tightened the noose in the eighth inning with a solo home run by Olson, before O'Bryan's blast in the ninth inning. Following the 0-2-1 weekend, LSU dropped to No. 11 in the SEC. LSU is now a game and a half back of eighth place in the SEC.

Mainieri said his team of mostly underclassmen will be better players in the future because of their current struggles.

"Sooner or later, we're going to figure it out," he said. "We're just so close. These young kids are going to grow up, and it's going to come together. And they're going to be extremely proud of themselves because they persevered through these tough times."

(C) 2008 The Daily Reveille via UWIRE