Comeback kids extend Box's life
by: David Albright
posted: Sunday, June 8, 2008 | Feedback | Print Entry
filed under: NCAA Other Sports
Editor's note: ESPN.com's David Albright will check in frequently with updates from the Baton Rouge (La.) Super Regional. For live scores throughout the NCAA tournament, click here.
LSU 9, UC Irvine 7
BATON ROUGE, La. -- It's past the point of description. And definition. And maybe even believability.
And it lives another day.
Simply refusing to let Sunday be the final day LSU baseball was played at historic Alex Box Stadium, the Tigers came out of nowhere to plate five runs in the top of the ninth to complete their 29th comeback win of the season as they beat UC Irvine 9-7 and extended the Baton Rouge Super Regional to a third-and-deciding game Monday (ESPN2, 7 p.m. ET).
The winner of Game 3 earns a trip to the College World Series -- which begins Saturday in Omaha, Neb. -- but it almost feels secondary to what many people were saying as they exited the tired treasure on the corner of Nicholson and Skip Bertman drives Sunday evening to continue their tailgating activities.
It means one more day of baseball at the Box.
"I will always remember this no matter what happens in the future," LSU coach Paul Mainieri said after the nearly improbable win. "I know it seems like I say the same things over and over again, but these kids don't know how to quit. I can honestly tell you that everyone in that dugout believed we could do it and there was no quit in anybody.… We were not ready to say goodbye to Alex Box."
How else do you explain what happened in those final LSU at-bats?
Trailing 7-2 entering the eighth, the Tigers scored two runs on two hits to make the deficit a more manageable three runs. The first of the runs came on a home run to left by Jared Mitchell. At the time, it was conceivable it could have been the final home run at Alex Box.
"The thrill of [the comeback] gave me chills," Mitchell said. "The latter half of the year, somebody has found a way to spark us. That spark lit the rest of the team up, and we've been able to carry along from there."
If the eighth inning was a spark, the ninth was clearly a fire.
LSU sent 10 batters to the plate in the final inning and scored five runs on four hits -- three singles and a double.
So it wasn't a callback to the LSU's gorilla-ball days but rather simply taking advantage of the opportunities that were presented.
"I don't think anybody in college baseball or even the big leagues would think it's over when there are still six outs to get," Irvine coach Mike Gillespie said. "It's the metal bat. It's this ballpark. It's that [LSU] offense. I thought we were in good shape. I was smart enough to think that way, but we certainly had not begun to count any chickens."
Chickens and eggs aside, it was somewhat amazing that most of the damage came at the expense of closer and loser Eric Pettis (4-3). The sophomore came into the game with 17 saves, good enough for second in the nation. He also had a 1.65 ERA, and opponents were hitting just .204 against him.
On Sunday, he pitched one inning and was tagged with five hits and five earned runs -- which ballooned his season ERA to 2.62.
"He didn't have his stuff," Irvine catcher Aaron Lowenstein said of Pettis. "He's been unreal for us this year, and he was a little out in front and leaving some pitches up, and LSU punished the mistakes that he made. He fell behind in counts, and they really took advantage of that."
That, too, has been a theme of late. Before Saturday's 11-5 loss to the Anteaters, LSU had ripped off an SEC record 23 consecutive wins. And in 17 of those wins, the Tigers had to come from behind to post the victory.
"The main thing is that no matter what anyone else thinks, every person in our dugout knows it's never over," LSU designated hitter Blake Dean said. "We are never going to quit. We are never going to stop fighting. We are never going to give up. It doesn't matter if we have two outs, two strikes, in the bottom of the ninth and down eight runs; we still think we can do it. That is the biggest key for us. We keep believing, keep pushing and keep fighting."
Monday night's winner-take-all game will have Irvine's Bryce Stowell (8-2, 2.77 ERA, .236 opponents' BA) facing LSU's Blake Martin (5-3, 4.88 ERA, .245 opponents' BA).
But given the heat, humidity and hitting that will be on display, look for each team's bullpen to be called on long before it's over.
"The thing about baseball is that every day is a new day, and we know it," Mainieri said. "And I'm sure Mike Gillespie is telling his kids that, too. When we tee it up [on Monday], I'm not sure anything that happened today affects tomorrow -- except we might be hard to get out in the ninth inning tomorrow.
"It will be a sad day, win or lose, tomorrow to say goodbye to this stadium."
Either way, it has the potential to be amazing theater.
by: David Albright
posted: Sunday, June 8, 2008 | Feedback | Print Entry
filed under: NCAA Other Sports
Editor's note: ESPN.com's David Albright will check in frequently with updates from the Baton Rouge (La.) Super Regional. For live scores throughout the NCAA tournament, click here.
LSU 9, UC Irvine 7
BATON ROUGE, La. -- It's past the point of description. And definition. And maybe even believability.
And it lives another day.
Simply refusing to let Sunday be the final day LSU baseball was played at historic Alex Box Stadium, the Tigers came out of nowhere to plate five runs in the top of the ninth to complete their 29th comeback win of the season as they beat UC Irvine 9-7 and extended the Baton Rouge Super Regional to a third-and-deciding game Monday (ESPN2, 7 p.m. ET).
The winner of Game 3 earns a trip to the College World Series -- which begins Saturday in Omaha, Neb. -- but it almost feels secondary to what many people were saying as they exited the tired treasure on the corner of Nicholson and Skip Bertman drives Sunday evening to continue their tailgating activities.
It means one more day of baseball at the Box.
"I will always remember this no matter what happens in the future," LSU coach Paul Mainieri said after the nearly improbable win. "I know it seems like I say the same things over and over again, but these kids don't know how to quit. I can honestly tell you that everyone in that dugout believed we could do it and there was no quit in anybody.… We were not ready to say goodbye to Alex Box."
How else do you explain what happened in those final LSU at-bats?
Trailing 7-2 entering the eighth, the Tigers scored two runs on two hits to make the deficit a more manageable three runs. The first of the runs came on a home run to left by Jared Mitchell. At the time, it was conceivable it could have been the final home run at Alex Box.
"The thrill of [the comeback] gave me chills," Mitchell said. "The latter half of the year, somebody has found a way to spark us. That spark lit the rest of the team up, and we've been able to carry along from there."
If the eighth inning was a spark, the ninth was clearly a fire.
LSU sent 10 batters to the plate in the final inning and scored five runs on four hits -- three singles and a double.
So it wasn't a callback to the LSU's gorilla-ball days but rather simply taking advantage of the opportunities that were presented.
"I don't think anybody in college baseball or even the big leagues would think it's over when there are still six outs to get," Irvine coach Mike Gillespie said. "It's the metal bat. It's this ballpark. It's that [LSU] offense. I thought we were in good shape. I was smart enough to think that way, but we certainly had not begun to count any chickens."
Chickens and eggs aside, it was somewhat amazing that most of the damage came at the expense of closer and loser Eric Pettis (4-3). The sophomore came into the game with 17 saves, good enough for second in the nation. He also had a 1.65 ERA, and opponents were hitting just .204 against him.
On Sunday, he pitched one inning and was tagged with five hits and five earned runs -- which ballooned his season ERA to 2.62.
"He didn't have his stuff," Irvine catcher Aaron Lowenstein said of Pettis. "He's been unreal for us this year, and he was a little out in front and leaving some pitches up, and LSU punished the mistakes that he made. He fell behind in counts, and they really took advantage of that."
That, too, has been a theme of late. Before Saturday's 11-5 loss to the Anteaters, LSU had ripped off an SEC record 23 consecutive wins. And in 17 of those wins, the Tigers had to come from behind to post the victory.
"The main thing is that no matter what anyone else thinks, every person in our dugout knows it's never over," LSU designated hitter Blake Dean said. "We are never going to quit. We are never going to stop fighting. We are never going to give up. It doesn't matter if we have two outs, two strikes, in the bottom of the ninth and down eight runs; we still think we can do it. That is the biggest key for us. We keep believing, keep pushing and keep fighting."
Monday night's winner-take-all game will have Irvine's Bryce Stowell (8-2, 2.77 ERA, .236 opponents' BA) facing LSU's Blake Martin (5-3, 4.88 ERA, .245 opponents' BA).
But given the heat, humidity and hitting that will be on display, look for each team's bullpen to be called on long before it's over.
"The thing about baseball is that every day is a new day, and we know it," Mainieri said. "And I'm sure Mike Gillespie is telling his kids that, too. When we tee it up [on Monday], I'm not sure anything that happened today affects tomorrow -- except we might be hard to get out in the ninth inning tomorrow.
"It will be a sad day, win or lose, tomorrow to say goodbye to this stadium."
Either way, it has the potential to be amazing theater.
