The LSU Tigers sit in their dugout in shock after the 9th-inning rally by Texas left them winless this weekend.
The Ouch List: Who Had Weeks To Forget?
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I tried to think about how long I’ve been doing the Ouch List. And as best as I can come up with is that I’ve been doing some form of the Pain Train since way back in my CSTV.com “Extra Innings” days. So in the last 11 or 12 years of writing about teams who had painful outcomes in college baseball, LSU’s weekend in Austin might be the most painful I have ever written about. I mean, in normal regular season play that is, since obviously the Ouch List is much more painful in late May and June when seasons end.
But as for regular season Ouch Lists? Man alive, the Tigers had a profoundly painful week, possibly the worst ever. And believe it or not, it wasn’t just because of what happened on the field either.
The Ouch List…
– LSU
What Happened: Swept in three games at Texas
Why It Hurts: The road got even longer
As you guys read from Kendall’s write-up on Friday and my write-ups on Saturday and Sunday, it was an awful time on the field for the team some outlets had at No. 1. The pitching was probably the worst of it, having issued 20 walks and two hit-batsmen in the 8-1 and 8-4 losses in the first two games. Then, in game three, with All American closer Todd Peterson on the bump, the Longhorns scored one run in the eighth and three runs in the ninth to jog-off the Tigers in stunning fashion. What made the weekend even worse? The Tigers bussed to the airport to find that their flight back to Baton Rouge had been cancelled, so they had to endure an eight-hour bus ride which got them back into Red Stick at 4:30am. The double-whammy of Ouch if you ask me.
– Texas Tech
What Happened: Went winless at the Frisco Tournament
Why It Hurts: They had so much momentum going in.
You know the old saying don’t you? You can wipe your goula with last week’s headlines. That’s what coaches everywhere should tell their players after a big win or a big weekend. The Red Raiders know that for sure now. Last week they swept Kentucky in three straight at home in impressive fashion. This week? Oi vey, two losses and no third game to get a chance to right the ship. The loss to Mississippi State was accompanied by gathering just three hits and the 2-1 loss to Nebraska was a real surprise, accompanied by just four hits. Sunday’s “redemption game” vs. Sam Houston State was cancelled due to frigid temperatures.Worry not, I get the feeling the Red Raiders will be back again.
– IPFW
What Happened: Swept in three games at Southeast Missouri
Why It Hurts: Lost by a combined 36-6
The Mastadons still have the coolest nickname in college sports but it didn’t help them this weekend in Cape Giraurdo as they managed just eight hits in the three games. And yes that is 27 innings of play and eight hits. In the Saturday doubleheader sweep the Mastadons offense went three-up, three-down 16 times and their pitching issued 21 walks.
– Long Beach State
What Happened: Lost all three games at Ole Miss
Why It Hurts: The Dirtbags are still winless.
We know the Dirtbag M.O.; play an insanely difficult schedule and use it to make your team better as the Big West season cranks up. Well this is as big of a test to the Long Beach ego as I’ve seen. It even tops 1998 when the Dirtbags started 2-9 on the year but ended up going to Omaha.As of right now I don’t see them in Omaha. But this weekend they had their chances, dropping three games including Saturday’s painful jog-off by the Rebels as Thomas Dillard homered in the bottom of the ninth to complete the come-from-behind win.
– Clemson
What Happened: Dropped two of three vs. South Carolina
Why It Hurts: You hate to lose to your in-state rival
This weekend marked the first time since 2014 that the Tigers had lost a series to the Gamecocks. Each of the previous four seasons they had taken two-of-three from their hated in-state big bully. But Sunday’s getaway game changed all that, and how. The Gamecocks blasted the Tigers by a football-like 14-3, posting 17 hits along the way. TJ Hopkins had four RBI and Luke Berryhill collected five as both doubled and homered in the rout.
– Southern Miss
What Happened: Went 0-and-3 this week
Why It Hurts: The Mississippi State hangover
After losing two of three to the Bulldogs in a series that could have gone either way, you would’ve thought the Eagles would come back snorting fire out of their noses. Instead, they dropped a 2-1 decision to New Orleans on Tuesday, where they stranded 10 baserunners on the night. And on Saturday they lost a pair of games to Gonzaga, 4-2 and 10-8. The second game saw the Zags score four times in the 10th inning thanks to three walks and a hit batsman. In al three games, USM’s starting pitcher did not see the third inning.
– TCU
What Happened: Went 1-2 at the Shriner’s Classic in Houston
Why It Hurts: The bats went M.I.A.
The Horned Frogs caught a big break on Tuesday when their game with Sam Houston State was halted in the third inning due to a heavy fog that descended and made things unseeable. At the time, the Bearcats held a 10-2 lead. The Frogs started off the tournament at Minute Maid Park fine enough, beating Houston 10-6 as Nick Lodolo tied a career high with 13 strikeouts and holding the Cougars to one hit in seven innings. But then, Texas A&M held the Frog bats to one hit in a 1-0 loss and Rice held them to five hits in Sunday’s 12-2 rout. Oddest stat of the week? Despite getting just that one hit vs. A&M, the Horned Frogs managed to get the leadoff batter on base in seven of the nine innings. However only twice did those runners reach second base.
– Mercer
What Happened: Went 0-and-3 at Florida State
Why It Hurts: The Bears made me look bad.
Okay, this is far from a real painful “ouch” here. The Bears weren’t expected to go into Dick Howser Stadium and pull off a series win over the mighty Seminoles or anything. But they did have an 8-1 record prior to Friday and had hopes to make headlines with a win or two. Hell, I even had the ‘Noles on “Upset Alert” in this one. Welp… didn’t happen. The Seminoles ended up bashing the Bears by a combined 26-7. Mercer is going to be a good team and a big factor in the Southern Conference this year, it just didn’t happen this weekend.
– Western Michigan
What Happened: Lost all three games at South Florida
Why It Hurts: Blown late leads. Arrrrrrrgh!
This was a painful woulda-coulda-shoulda-weekend for the Broncos. Look man, these dudes are now 1-9 so ANY kind of win would’ve helped their psyche, especially against a Bulls team that dropped a nip-and-tuck series at North Carolina two weeks ago. WMU led on Friday 5-4 in the fifth inning and lost 9-6. They led Saturday 6-4 with six outs left and lost 7-6. Then on Sunday, the cruelest day of all, the Broncos scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning to take a 9-8 lead, only to see the Bulls score twice, the second of which came by a bases-loaded plunking. Egad.
