FRISCO – Sam Houston gave No. 2 LSU all it could handle on Sunday, but could not overcome a 7-run second inning by the Tigers in a 12-8 loss at Riders Field on the final day of the Frisco College Classic. 

The Tigers (11-1) finished off a perfect weekend in Frisco and did so with one big inning and a litany of answers for the Bearkats (2-9) who scored in four straight innings in its best offensive showing of the tournament.  

Every Bearkat hitter reached base in the game and Hunter Autrey and Parker Blackman each drove in a pair of runs as Sam Houston took advantage of drawing 10 free passes from Tiger pitchers while adding nine hits of their own. 

But they played from behind from the early going after Steven Milam opened the second inning with a solo home run. LSU went on to add six more runs in the inning, including five with two outs in the frame against starter Connor Zaruba who took his first loss of the season.  

The Kats answered with two runs in the third and went on to score single runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, but LSU answered and still held an 11-4 lead entering the sixth when the Kats immediately loaded the bases with nobody out. Jace Martinez delivered an RBI single and Sam Houston added three more on a walk, ground ball and sac fly, but could not find the game-changing hit it was searching for.  

LSU starter Chase Shores earned the win with 5.0 innings of work, punching out five and allowing four runs before giving way to the bullpen. The Kats used four arms of their own with relief appearances from Danny Valadez, Felix Schlede and Garrett Baumann.  

Following the conclusion of the tournament, freshman outfielder Parker Blackman was named to the Frisco Classic All-Tournament team. 

UP NEXT 
The Kats will continue their 9-game road stretch next week, beginning Wednesday night at UT Arlington. That single game will be followed by a 3-game series at No. 16 Oklahoma beginning Friday at L. Dale Mitchell Park.  

Each game next week can be watched on ESPN+