LSU baseball fell to Northeastern 13-10 on Monday night at Alex Box Stadium in what coach Jay Johnson called an embarrassing defeat that highlighted his team’s struggles with adversity early in the season.
The Tigers (11-2) trailed by as many as 11 runs before mounting a late comeback that ultimately fell short when fifth-year senior Tanner Reaves flew out to center field to end the game, according to the game report.
“I have a lot of confidence in what this team can become,” Johnson said after the loss. “We’ve done a good job historically of being able to protect some flaws without costing us some (midweek) games. And we didn’t do that tonight.”
The defeat caps a disappointing stretch for LSU, which also struggled during a lackluster weekend series against the Huskies and Dartmouth and lost to McNeese State last Tuesday, according to the report.
LSU’s problems began early and compounded quickly. The Tigers committed four errors and made additional defensive miscues that didn’t appear in the box score during the first three innings, according to the game summary. Sophomore left-handed starter Cooper Williams and right-hander Zac Cowan combined to allow eight hits and five earned runs in just 2⅔ innings of work.
Johnson’s decision to start sophomore John Pearson at first base instead of regular starter Zach Yorke proved costly. Despite Yorke being healthy and having started each of the first 12 games at first base, Johnson opted to give the Grand Canyon transfer a rest.
The move backfired spectacularly in the second inning when Pearson committed an error on a softly hit ground ball that eventually cost LSU three runs, made a poor decision cutting off second baseman Seth Dardar on another ground ball that resulted in an infield single, and dropped a catchable pickoff attempt from Williams.
“We need Zach to be a good offensive player, and it’s been a pretty big load so far with the amount of games (we’ve played),” Johnson explained. “And John’s a good infielder. (He) certainly had a tough night over there, though.”
The offensive struggles matched the defensive woes. LSU’s first seven hitters went a combined 1 for 13 through the first five innings, according to the box score. The Tigers managed just four hits through six innings while all nine Northeastern (3-6) hitters recorded at least one hit.
Northeastern capitalized on LSU’s mistakes by scoring four runs in the second inning and six runs with two outs in the third, building a commanding 10-0 lead before Dardar even got his first at-bat, according to the game report.
LSU showed fight in the final three innings, with their backup players scoring eight runs in a valiant comeback attempt that energized the dugout.
“Obviously, we didn’t play our best tonight,” sophomore Cade Arrambide said. “But the last few innings when we were all pulling for each other and really having high energy in the dugout, it shows how deep we really are as a team.”
The loss raises questions about how LSU will handle adversity as the team searches for its third national championship in four seasons. Johnson acknowledged that maintaining championship habits and responding to setbacks would be key challenges for his talented roster.
“I think if we use (this loss) correctly, it can and will help us,” Johnson said. “But we all collectively have to make a decision to use what happened in the game tonight to propel us forward.”
LSU will have an immediate opportunity to bounce back when they face UL on Wednesday in Lafayette for their first and only midweek road trip of the season. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m., with the game available to stream on ESPN+.
