Jake Fraley clinched LSU's sweep of Missouri with his 10th-inning RBI single.
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Left fielder Jake Fraley hit a walk-off single up the middle in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting LSU (43-8, 19-7 SEC) to a 6-5 win and series sweep of Missouri (28-24, 14-13 SEC) in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field on Sunday afternoon.
Russell Reynolds (5-0) earned the win for LSU, going one inning with no hits and no runs. Missouri’s Breckin Williams (4-3) was charged with the loss, allowing five hits with one run in 3.2 innings.
Starting pitcher Kyle Bouman went a third of an inning, giving up three runs on two hits. Peter Fairbanks pitched 4.2 innings with four runs on five hits and three strikeouts for Missouri. Freshman Austin Bain came in relief of Bouman and was spectacular, limiting Missouri to one run on two hits and adding seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings.
In the top of the first, third baseman Josh Lester’s three run homer off of Bouman gave Missouri an early 3-0 lead.
LSU’s bats caught fire in the fourth as shortstop Alex Bregman broke up Missouri’s no-hitter bid with a double off the left center wall. Bregman stole third on the next play, and third baseman Conner Hale hit an RBI single for LSU’s first run. A base hit from left fielder Jake Fraley loaded the bases, and first baseman Chris Chinea hit a sac fly to bring in Hale, cutting Missouri’s lead 3-2. Designated hitter Chris Sciambra singled to right on the next at-bat, but catcher Kade Scivicque was gunned down at home plate for the final out of the inning.
A passed-ball advanced right fielder Mark Laird to second in the bottom of the fifth. After Bregman walked, Hale tied the game with a bloop single up the middle. Scivicque’s two-out RBI single on the next at-bat gave LSU its first lead of the game at 4-3.
Missouri responded in the sixth as shortstop Ryan Howard blasted a homer to left, tying the game 4-4. Chinea retaliated in the bottom half of the inning, ripping a solo shot to left to reclaim the lead for LSU at 5-4.
In the ninth inning, Missouri’s Zach Lavy singled and advanced to move to second on a fielding error. Designated hitter Shane Benes doubled to left field on the next play to drive in Lavy for the tying run.
LSU’s Reynolds found himself in trouble in the top of the 10th as Missouri had the bases loaded, but Reynolds got right fielder Trey Harris to ground into a double play, getting out of the jam.
In the bottom half of the inning, back-to-back singles by Hale and Scivicque put runners on third and second for LSU. Fraley’s base hit up the middle on the next at-bat helped to clinch the game for LSU.
