This weekend's series loss to a rolling Vanderbilt hurt Tiger fans for several reasons, but it could be worse, as the Bayou Bengals remain in the Top 10 in today's Baseball America rankings.
The Tigers won Friday 2-1, but strong pitching from Vanderbilt (now 25-25 overall) on Saturday led to a 6-3, followed by a 5-4 loss in extra innings on the Sunday rubber match. The Tigers were also without starting catcher Ty Ross Saturday and Sunday due to an appendectomy Saturday afternoon. Ross is expected to miss about two weeks of play.
LSU is now 39-13 and 17-10 in SEC play, which puts them one game behind Kentucky and a half game behind South Carolina for the overall regular season title.
They did officially clinch at least a share of the West title with a three game lead over Ole Miss going into the final weekend.
The Tigers will wrap up home play against Nicholls on Tuesday, and can climb back into the Top 5 with a series win at South Carolina next weekend.