LSU finishes sweep of Missouri
Published 10:23 am Monday, May 11, 2015
With a little drama and a little flair, LSU increased its lead in the Southeastern Conference standings.
Sophomore left fielder Jake Fraley hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning Sunday to give the Tigers a 6-5 win over Missouri and a series sweep at Alex Box Stadium.
LSU (43-8, 19-7 SEC) is in first place in the overall SEC standings, 1 1/2 games ahead of Vanderbilt. The Tigers are two games ahead of Texas A&M in the Western Division with three to play.
LSU finishes the regular season with a three-game series at South Carolina beginning Thursday night. Vanderbilt is at Alabama, and Texas A&M is at Ole Miss.
“I told our guys that from now on, we will be playing for a championship every weekend,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. “We have a chance to win a division title and a conference title this coming week, then there’s the SEC Tournament and afterwards the NCAA Tournament. We’re looking forward to playing for something significant for the remainder of the season.”
LSU rallied Sunday from a 3-0 deficit in the first inning, and recovered after Missouri tied it on an RBI double by Shane Benes with one out in the top of the ninth.
LSU got out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the 10th inning with a double play ball, then went to work winning it in the bottom half.
Conner Hale and Kade Scivique hit back-to-back singles, then Fraley ripped his hit up the middle to bring in the winning run.
Hale was 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored, and Scivique also had three hits. Chris Chinea hit a solo home run.
Josh Lester and Ryan Howard both homered for Missouri (28-24, 14-13).