Baton Rouge, La ? LSU broke open a close game with a seven-run fifth inning and defeated Kansas University, 8-5, Saturday in college baseball.
LSU led 1-0 entering the fifth.
The Jayhawks drew to 8-4 on Tommy Mirabelli’s three-run home run in the seventh.
“We had second and first, and I put myself in a two-strike count,” Mirabelli said. “All I was trying to do was put the ball in play, and good things happen when you put balls in play. I put some backspin on the ball and took it over the fence.”
It was Mirabelli’s first home run at KU.
“It was nice to see. The kid has talent,” KU coach Ritch Price said. “He had a tough year last year, and it was nice to see him clutch up and put a big swing on the baseball.”
Owen Taylor hit a run-scoring double in the eighth to make it 8-5.
“I was proud of the toughness we showed in our dugout,” Price said. “We were down 8-1 and had an awful fifth inning. But we fought and competed and got the tying run to the dish in the ninth. All you can do then is hope for something special to happen, but we just came up short.”
KU (0-2) and LSU (2-0) will conclude the three-game series at 1 p.m. today.
Kansas 000 001 310 — 5 10 1
LSU 000 170 00x — 8 11 1
W — Alex Lange (1-0). L -Ben Krauth (0-1).
2B — Justin Protacio, Blair Beck, Owen Taylor, KU; Hale Conner, Jared Foster, LSU. 3B — Connor McKay, KU. HR — Tommy Mirabelli, KU.
KU highlights — Protacio 3-for-5; Mirabelli 1-for-3, 3 RBIs; Taylor 1-for-1, RBI; Dakota Smith RBI.
