HOOVER — A quick turnaround paired with slow bats created a hasty exit for Alabama in the SEC baseball tournament.

In Thursday afternoon game — which began 12 hours after Alabama's first round loss — the Crimson Tide took a 9-6 beating from No. 1 seed LSU at Regions Park in Hoover.

Fatigue wasn't an excuse, Tide coach Jim Wells said, despite his team finishing its 9-5 loss to South Carolina at 1:54 a.m. on Thursday morning.

He said playing a 10 a.m. game wouldn't have been an issue, but either way, Alabama returned to Tuscaloosa with its fourth loss in five games.

"That's just part of it," Wells said.

Still considered a lock for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, the Tide must wait for Sunday's selection show to learn whether its season will continue and where.

Alabama ace Austin Hyatt lasted only two batters into the fourth inning in Thursday's loss to the Tigers.

Only three of his six runs allowed were earned, but the eight hits he surrendered gave the regular season league champions plenty of scoring opportunities.

The loss also marked the first time all season Hyatt (8-2) left the game with the Tide trailing.

"I felt OK," Hyatt said. "They hit a few good pitches and I made a few bad pitches."

On the flip side, 6-foot-7 Tigers pitcher Anthony Ranaudo was efficient outside of the third inning. Four walks turned into a pair of Alabama runs and a 2-1 Tide lead.

Josh Rutledge brought home the first Alabama run on single to centerfield and Vin DiFazio took home when Rutledge was caught attempting to steal second.

The advantage didn't last as LSU took the lead for good with four runs in the bottom half of the third.

Still, Alabama had opportunities.

It had the potential tying run at the plate in the eighth and ninth innings. Tyler Odle left the bases loaded in the eighth with a groundout and Brandon May flied out to right to end the game.

In each of the past four losses, the normally potent Alabama bats fell short. Thursday's six-run output was the closest it came to its 9-run average in the four losses that surrounded a 13-run outburst in a regular season-ending win at Auburn.

Alabama's Kent Matthes, the SEC player of the year, said the size and power of Ranuado (8-3) was what made him effective on the mound. The Tigers' starter went 7 1/3 innings, allowed four runs and stuck out six in his 114 pitches.

Matthes finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.

"He kept us off balance by locating his fastball," Matthes said. "We had a lot of opportunities to score runs today, but we just did not pull through. For us, six runs is probably not a good day."

Having another off-day at the plate led to trouble in all aspects of the game, Wells said.

"It's all related," he said. "We lost our aggression at the plate in the last couple weeks and I think that translates into defense."

Alabama made three errors against LSU after committing just one in the South Carolina loss.

Bowing out of the conference tournament early, Wells said, wasn't going to define the season as preparations for NCAA play began earlier than expected.

This was a team that was considered one of the hottest in the country as it rode an eight-game winning streak into the Auburn series, which began the 1-4 stretch.

Now it's up to the NCAA to decide where Alabama will attempt to recapture its momentum.