Baseball drops series finale to No. 1 LSU, 4-3

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Bryant University baseball team scored twice in the sixth to tie the game but No. 1 LSU used a seventh-inning run to earn a 4-3 victory on Sunday afternoon.  

Bryant used two-strike, two-out singles from sophomore Sam Owens (Scituate, R.I.) and junior Gaby Cruz (Miami, Fla.) to tie the game in the top of the sixth inning against the nation's top team. Both Owens and Cruz finished with two hits and drove in all three of Bryant's runs.

Senior Steve Theetge (Syracuse, N.Y.) gave the Bulldogs five innings of three-run ball, while junior Chris Wright (Cumberland, R.I.) retired all four batters he faced as the third Bryant pitcher.  

Game Information
No. 1 LSU 4, Bryant 3
Records: Bryant (2-4), LSU (7-0)
Location: Alex Box Stadium (Baton Rouge, La.)
W|L|S: Aaron George (1-0) | Nathan Wrighter (0-1) | Todd Peterson (1)

Coach Owens' Comments

"I felt that today was more of a reflection of our level of competitiveness and talent. We showed up and executed all aspects of the game at a higher level. I thought our at-bats were competitive all weekend and I feel we're going to have a super offense. Our defense was disappointing the first two days but I liked what we did today. We got better today. Unfortunately, we came up one run short in a highly competitive game."

Key Moment

• Watson singled with two outs and no one on in the seventh and proceeded to steal second. Duplantis followed with a single through the right side to give LSU a 4-3 lead.    

How it Happened

• LSU opened the game with back-to-back singles before a sac fly and single brought home the first two runs.
• Bryant got on the board in the fourth as redshirt sophomore Jimmy Titus (Stafford, Conn.) walked and stole second. Owens drove him in with a double to left center.
• The Tigers extended the lead to 3-1 on a throwing error in the bottom of the fourth.
• In the sixth, redshirt sophomore Ryan Ward (Millbury, Mass.) singled, went to second a passed ball, stole third and scored as Owens blooped a two-strike pitch into right field. Owens then stole second and scored as Cruz hit a 2-2 pitch into center, tying the game.
• After the first two batters were retired in the seventh, Watson fouled off four-straight pitches before singling. He stole second and scored on the single from Duplantis.     

Stats

• Bryant stole six bases in the game.
• Theetge allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out three.
• Senior Nathan Wrighter (Windsor, N.Y.) allowed one run on three hits over 1 2/3 innings of relief.
• Wright retired all four batters he faced, striking out two.
• Owens went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored.
• Cruz went 2-for-3 with an RBI.    

Notes and Notables

• Cruz went 5-for-11 with three RBI and a .500 OBP in three games.
• Ward had five hits, three RBI and two runs scored.
• Owens went 4-for-12 with two doubles, a home run, four RBI and three runs scored.
• Junior James Ciliento (Mahwah, N.J.) didn't record a hit in the series but posted a .400 OBP, three runs scored and four stolen bases.
• Bryant went 9-for-9 in stolen bases on the weekend.  

Up Next

Bryant opens a three-game series with Virginia Tech on Friday, March 1. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.