LSU impressed on Friday afternoon in its opening contest at the Round Rock Classic in Texas, overcoming an early deficit to earn a comfortable 7-3 win.
Though the result wasn’t really in question, the game ended in a somewhat controversial fashion. With one on and two outs in the top of the ninth inning, the Wildcats lost the game after the umpire called strike three when the hitting clock expired.
As part of the new rule changes to speed up the game this season, batters have a 30-second timer to get ready. That timer expired, and it allowed LSU to walk it off with a clock violation.
Oh my god… they just ended the game on a hitters clock expiration. Gtfoh 🙄 pic.twitter.com/8feDtvFCht
— 11Point7: The College Baseball Podcast 🎙 (@11point7) February 24, 2023
Needless to say, many fans and baseball purists — including some who root for LSU — weren’t thrilled to see the new rule play such an impactful role (though the Tigers had a good chance to win, regardless.