No. 11 seed OU baseball fell 6-2 to No. 14 seed LSU in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Hoover, Alabama on Tuesday.
The Tigers (30-27, 10-21 SEC) got revenge on the Sooners (32-21, 14-17 SEC) after OU stole the regular-season series in Baton Rouge in March, marking the Sooners' first series win over LSU in program history.
Here are three takeaways from the Sooners' loss:
Red-hot batters cool off
Three Sooners entered Tuesday's contest looking to continue hot streaks at the plate in the first game of the postseason.
Juniors, outfielder Dasan Harris, infielder Camden Johnson and catcher Deiten Lachance, all found their strides at the plate in April. Since April 9, Harris hit .403 with 25 hits and 10 runs batted in. Lachance hit all 12 of his home runs in that span, including three in the regular-season finale against Tennessee on May 16, the first Sooner to do so in more than 25 years. Since April 17, Johnson hit .406 with 26 hits and 14 RBIs.
Against LSU, however, the trio combined for just three hits and four strikeouts.
Sophomore infielder Kyle Branch was the only Sooner to record both a hit and a run, scoring on Johnson’s RBI single in the third inning. OU added its only other run in the fourth when junior outfielder Brendan Brock stole home on a wild pitch to take a 2-1 lead.
Defensive inconsistencies plague OU
Head coach Skip Johnson will have to keep searching for consistency on the mound, as he burned through six pitchers against the Tigers.
Despite 12 strikeouts, the Sooners’ staff issued eight walks and allowed 11 hits. Junior right-hander LJ Mercurius logged the most work, throwing 43 pitches over two innings while allowing three runs on four hits.
OU committed three errors, leading to three of LSU’s six runs. The Tigers scored five unanswered runs beginning in the fifth inning, including a two-run home run by junior infielder Steven Milam in the eighth that sealed the 6-2 result.
Sooners still in NCAA Tournament projections
While the Sooners bow out of the SEC Tournament after just one game, their season likely is not over yet, according to SEC Network’s Dari Nowkhah.
“Oklahoma, you could argue, not a lot on the line here,” Nowkhah said prior to Tuesday’s contest. “They’re not going to host a regional, but they’re in the (NCAA) Tournament.”
A bid would mark OU’s fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 43rd overall. The Sooners navigated one of the nation’s toughest schedules, finishing with 14 SEC wins and 17 Quad 1 and 2 victories.
OU will learn its postseason fate during the NCAA Tournament selection show at 11 a.m. Monday on ESPN2.
This story was edited by Joshua McDaniel.
