COLLEGE STATION, Texas — When enters the game, fans typically can exhale.
It was the bottom of the seventh inning and the Tigers were tied 1-1 with . This was a big situation for the junior right-hander, but it was one he was used to facing.
Cowan entered Saturday's contest with a 1.07 ERA and five saves in 25â…“ innings in Southeastern Conference play, but he surrendered a leadoff triple to second baseman Ben Royo before a pinch-hit, run-scoring single to Hayden Schott that gave Texas A&M a 2-1 lead.
Schott's single proved to be the difference in Texas A&M's 3-1 win over LSU in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader at Blue Bell Park. The victory handed the Aggies a 1-0 lead in the three-game series.
"I thought we played a really good game," LSU sophomore left-handed starter Kade Anderson said, "(it's) just when we had to come up with those hits, it didn't happen."
Cowan gave up another single in the seventh before exiting with one out and runners on the corners for freshman left-hander Cooper Williams.
The former Texas A&M (26-19, 9-13 SEC) commitment forced a fly ball to center field, but junior center fielder Chris Stanfield dropped the ball for an error to allow a run to score. An earned run still was charged to Cowan since a catch by Stanfield would have resulted in a sacrifice fly.
Freshman right-hander Mavrick Rizy replaced Williams with two runners in scoring position and kept LSU's deficit at 3-1 by striking out the next two hitters.Â
Saturday was arguably Rizy's most impressive outing as a Tiger. He struck out four batters in 1â…” innings, and his fastball was up to 99 mph.
"He was commanding the ball today, and when you throw 98 at (6-foot-8), it's hard to hit," Anderson said. "So he's got such a bright future. And I think that's the start that everyone was waiting for."
LSU (37-10, 14-8) had opportunities before and after the seventh inning to score runs but couldn't cash in. The Tigers had two runners on base with one out in the ninth and failed to drive in a run. They also loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, but junior pinch-hitter Ethan Frey flew out to right field to end the threat.
Before the Aggies' big inning, LSU tried to take the lead in the top of the seventh when third base coach Josh Jordan sent sophomore Steven Milam home from first base on a two-out double by Stanfield. Milam was easily thrown out at the plate to end the inning and keep the score tied at 1-1.
The Tigers finished the game 2 for 14 with runners on base and 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.
"We put ourselves in a situation to win, and the hitters didn't execute," Anderson said. "But they've held their own and helped us out a lot of times this year. So you don't put any blame (on them)."
The only run that separated the two sides through five innings came in the second. With two outs and a runner at first, Royo hit a fly ball to shallow center field that was misread by Stanfield.
Stanfield nearly recovered from his mistake, diving after the ball in shallow center after he inititally believed that it was going over his head, but he couldn't come up with the catch and the runner from first scored.
The run was charged to Anderson since the hit was ruled a double. Otherwise, he was lights out through six innings and 113 pitches. He surrendered just three hits and had 12 strikeouts.
"I thought that it was an iffy outing," Anderson said. "I thought that I walked a couple of guys but kind of hung in there and put our team in a situation where we could have won the game."
LSU was ice cold at the plate through the first five innings. The Tigers had only two hits — a first-inning double from senior Josh Pearson and a single from Milam in the fifth — and had trouble squaring up Texas A&M left-handed starter Ryan Prager's high fastball.
LSU kept getting under Prager's pitches, flying out nine times against him.
"You give credit to their pitcher, and he's a veteran," Anderson said. "He's pitched for four years here, and I think that he did a good job of keeping the hitters off balance."
No Tiger could square up a pitch until the sixth inning when junior Jared Jones blasted his 16th home run of the year. The solo shot to left field tied the game at one and was the 58th homer of his LSU career, tying Dylan Crews for fourth all-time at LSU.
LSU and Texas A&M face off for the second game of Saturday's doubleheader at 6:32 p.m. The game will be available to stream on SEC Network+.
