The Tigers started off their weekend series against Vanderbilt on a promising note with a 10-6 win in Game 1 — though they nearly squandered a 9-0 lead. In Game 2, they held a one-run lead entering the eighth inning before a Commodores rally erased it en route to a win.
Then, the LSU baseball team suffered a run-rule loss on Saturday, its third such loss in a Game 3 in SEC play, as it moved to 0-4 in SEC series.
It’s been a disappointing go of it for a team that began the season ranked in the top five, and now even a berth in the NCAA tournament is very much in question.
In the latest field of 64 projections from On3’s Jonathan Wagner, the Tigers are one of the last four teams in. They’re a projected three-seed in the Charlottesville Regional, with top-seeded Virginia projected as the No. 9 national seed.
Virginia just finished a series victory over UNC, but finish just on the outside of a top eight seed in our Field of 64. This range of hosts is very tight, though, so Virginia has a legitimate path to a top eight. They are joined by Kansas State, LSU and Columbia in Charlottesville. LSU, the defending national champions, finds themselves on the bubble and in serious danger at midseason after a 3-9 start to SEC play.
As Wagner said, this team is far from guaranteed a spot in the field, and another series loss this weekend at Tennessee would likely put Jay Johnson’s team on the outside looking in.
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