Justin Lebron came to Louisiana as the player to watch for the Tigers. After all, the 20-year-old shortstop has been the Crimson Tide’s big star this season, impressing most with his 15 home runs.
But that hasn’t been the reality on the ground at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge.
LSU Neutralized Justin Lebron and Defeated Alabama
In the first two games of the series between LSU and Alabama, Lebron has been incredibly silenced by the opposing pitching staff. He has managed just one hit and one base on balls in nine at-bats, with five strikeouts. To make matters worse, one of those strikeouts came in the ninth inning of Friday’s game with a teammate on third base.
Alabama took the lead with a run in the first inning, but LSU quickly turned the score around with two runs in the third and two more in the fourth. The Crimson Tide tried to fight back, scoring one in the seventh and another in the ninth, but they fell short and lost their second straight game 4-3.
Alabama’s top offensive player was right fielder Brice Fowler with two hits and two runs scored. For LSU, center fielder Chris Stanfield stood out with four hits and two runs scored.
In the game, Lebron had one hit and three strikeouts.
The game was won by Anthony Eyanson, who pitched six innings, giving up four hits and one earned run. The loss went to Riley Quick, who pitched 3.1 innings with eight hits and four earned runs to his negative records.
The First Game Wasn’t Much Better for Alabama
The day before, the first game of the series was a give-and-take until the sixth inning. Alabama got on the board first with a run in the first inning and extended the lead with another run in the third. LSU responded with a run in the same inning, but the Crimson Tide seemed to take control of the game with three runs in the sixth.
The Tigers wouldn’t go away, though, and responded with three runs of their own in the sixth. One inning later, it was LSU that took control of the situation, scoring four times.
At that point, Jay Johnson turned to 18-year-old right-hander Casan Evans, who shut down the Crimson Tide for 2.1 innings. The freshman allowed one hit and struck out two to pick up the win.
Outfielder Derek Curiel was the offensive standout for LSU with three hits, an RBI and a run scored. For Alabama, Kade Snell had two hits and scored twice.
For the game, Justin Lebron went hitless with one base on balls and two strikeouts.
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Lebron and the Crimson Tide will have a chance to redeem themselves when they take on LSU this Saturday at 5 p.m. CT in game three of the series.
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