LSU’s 2019 season had a lot of promise heading into it, but it came to a disappointing end on Sunday night with a 5-4 loss to the Florida State Seminoles in the bottom of the 12th off of a clutch RBI single from Drew Mendoza
How It Happened:
The Seminoles offense took the crowd at Alex Box out of it in the bottom of the second with a three-run inning that included a pair of RBI singles from Matheu Nelson and Mike Salvatore.
LSU responded in the fourth with a leadoff home run from Antoine Duplantis to get them on the board. However, Tim Becker made it a 4-1 ballgame with an RBI double to left field in the bottom frame.
Duplantis struck again in the sixth inning with an RBI single to left field to start a rally. The Lafayette native continued to be the offensive spark for the Tigers in the eighth with an RBI double to left field, which was followed up almost immediately by a bloop single from Zach Watson to tie things up at four runs apiece.
Things were looking great for LSU with relief pitcher Devin Fontenot putting together a solid performance on the mound, but with two outs in the 12th inning, Drew Mendoza punched Florida State’s ticket to Omaha with an RBI single out to right field to score Salvatore.
Big Number: 11
Fontenot was on another level, striking out a whopping 11 batters in six and a third of relief work. The bullpen had been the center of a lot of criticism this weekend and he definitely silenced the doubters.
Players of the Game: Antoine Duplantis/Devin Fontenot
How can I not give it to both Duplantis and Devin Fontenot? Duplantis going five-of-six with three RBIs and Fontenot’s phenomenal performance in relief deserves equal amounts of love.
-Clint Domingue
