Game Three of the Astros Foundation College Classic matched two baseball titans, the Tigers of LSU and the Texas Longhorns.
Battle of the Titans: Texas vs. LSU
Coming into this game, the LSU Tigers had won three games in a row. Their first stop in town was a pounding of the Rice Owls, winning 16-4. Then they headed down the road into the downtown and entered the home of the 2-time World Series Champion Houston Astros.
Walking around the concourse and on the field, the vibes were real. The emotion was palpable. I would say it is a deep shade of purple with a touch of burnt orange. Having lived in Louisana for two years when Alex Bregman was a first- and second-year student at LSU, I was taken back to Alex Box Stadium. So, I guess Minute Maid is a much larger version of Alex Box Stadium. The fans were yelling for Tommy White, Hayden Travinksi, Jared Jones, and fan favorite Brady Neal.
The first inning started, and when the first Tiger, Alex Milazzo, reached base on an infield single, the Crowd erupted with a euphoric uproar. With two men on and Kling itching to get home, Josh Pearson was frozen by UT starting pitcher Labarron Johnson (Jr.) RHP. The Horns get out of the bottom half unscathed.
The Horns came up to the plate facing Luke Holman (Jr.) RHP as he struck out the first Longhorn he faced, Jared Thomas. The crowd erupted, and soon after that, the second batter, Peyton Powell, ripped a stand-up double the Left Center field. Despite what seemed to be smaller-numbered UT fans, the LSU crowd erupted almost as if to say, “We are here.” You can see that this rivalry is important to both schools, alums, and fans alike. The Longhorns and LSU squared off in the 2009 College World Series in Omaha. LSU topped the Longhorns that year, and although this isn’t Omaha, I am sure UT had that and last season in the back of their minds coming in.
With bases loaded and two outs, the Longhorns sent Rylan Galvan to the plate. A Sophomore on ball three, Rylan thought he had ball four. Then, on the next pitch, Holman threw smoke to get a swing and miss. UT missed a golden opportunity to go up early. Holman would have an excellent night against the Longhorns, going 5.2 innings, giving up three hits, one walk, and 12 strikeouts.
In the top of the fourth inning, LSU would get on board on a bases-loaded RBI single by Michael Braswell III that brought in Jared Jones and Steven Milam to put the Tigers up 2-0. The Tigers would get some added insurance off the bat of Tommy White, who crushed a solo home run to left field, putting the Tigers up 3-0. Jones would get in on the action, belting an opposite-field, three-run home run to double the lead for the Tigers, 6-0.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Longhorns would finally get on the board off the bat of Kimble Schuessler, who sent a laser of a home run to the Crawford Boxes. The Longhorns would try to rally from behind, managing to plate two runs off a long double from Casey Borba. That would be all the Longhorns could get as the Tigers made a statement, defeating the Longhorns 6-3.
Main Image Credit – Brett “Htownwheelhouse” Chancey
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