LSU baseball falls to Tennessee, into losers' bracket in 2022 SEC Tournament

LSU baseball fell into the losers' bracket of the 2022 SEC Tournament on Friday night, falling to No. 1 Tennessee 5-2.

LSU, the No. 4 seed, will face 12th-seeded Kentucky in an elimination game on Saturday. It will play top-seeded Tennessee again later that night if it beats the Wildcats.

LSU (38-19) fell into an early hole and never recovered against the Vols. Tennessee (51-7) scored two runs in the first inning and added a third in the second to take a 3-0 lead off Tigers starter Ty Floyd.

The Tigers got back two runs in the fifth inning after Tennessee committed a pair of errors. But the Vols immediately responded in the bottom half of the inning with two runs on an RBI single from center fielder Drew Gilbert and an RBI double from second baseman Jorel Ortega.

Here are a couple of takeaways from LSU's loss.

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Ty Floyd was competitive

Ty Floyd's box score wasn't stellar Friday, but he mostly kept the SEC's top offense at bay.

LSU's starting pitcher allowed four earned runs and six hits in 4⅔ innings pitched, including two runs in the first. He also settled in after the first two innings, retiring seven straight batters before giving up two runs in the fifth.

LSU pitcher Ty Floyd (9) scoops up a ground ball as Tennessee Volunteers take on LSU Tigers during the SEC baseball tournament at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala., on Friday, May 27, 2022.
LSU pitcher Ty Floyd (9) scoops up a ground ball as Tennessee Volunteers take on LSU Tigers during the SEC baseball tournament at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala., on Friday, May 27, 2022.

Given that Floyd made just two starts against SEC competition during the regular season, his performance should be viewed in a positive light by Tigers fans.

Unlike the night prior, LSU missed Berry and Doughty

Without second baseman Cade Doughty or third baseman Jacob Berry — arguably LSU's second and third best hitters — the Tigers struggled to generate runs against Tennessee starter Chase Dollander.

LSU managed to produce just one earned run against Dollander — the SEC Pitcher of the Year. He struck out nine Tigers and allowed just four hits in 6⅔ innings pitched.

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser and the USA TODAY Sports South Region. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU baseball falls to Tennessee, into losers' bracket in SEC Tournament