By Hunt Palmer
THE STORY
As midweek wins go, that one was businesslike.
Jaden Noot got off to a rocky start. He surrendered a walk and a pair of singles to spot New Orleans a 1-0 lead after three hitters. He responded by striking out the next three hitters with changeups.
LSU completely dominated the rest of the game.
The Tigers offense clubbed four homers, scored in six of seven innings and ran away from the visiting Privateers, 11-1 in seven.
Noot pitched LSU through four innings and gave way to Jacob Mayers who overmatched the foes from the Southland Conference with a steady diet of 95 mph fastballs. Cooper Williams took over and worked the final inning and two-thirds.
UNO only mustered six hits, and five of them were singles.
Winning midweek games is nice. Winning them with the back half of the pitching staff is even nicer as a top five battle in Austin approaches.
LSU is just rolling offensively right now.
Derek Curiel nearly wore the collar (0-for-4), but in the sixth he scorched a double inside the bag at first to reach base for the 22nd time in as many games.
Jared Jones hit a ball 450 ft in the first inning. Cade Arrambide hit a no-doubter to left, and Tanner Reaves had a hit and two driven in after neither started a game over the weekend.
The best story of the night on offense, though, was Ethan Frey. The junior outfielder tattooed an opposite field three-run homer in the fifth and walked the game off with a solo shot to left in the seventh.
That makes four longballs on the season for Frey who hadn’t hit one in two years at LSU previously. Jay Johnson has found spots for Frey to excel in, and the Rosepine native is figuring things out.
LSU has won 16 straight and improved to 22-1 on the season.
THE SCORECARD
- Ethan Frey: 2-for-2, 2 HRs, 4 RBI
- Jared Jones: 4-for-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI
- Jaden Noot: 4IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 5K, 67 pitches, 42 strikes
- LSU only issued two walks and did not commit an error or hit a batter
- LSU only struck out four times
- LSU had eight extra base hits in seven innings
THE QUOTES
Jay Johnson on Jacob Mayers’s outing…
“I feel like every outing has gotten a little bit better, and we’re close. He’s a part of this thing, and we talked a little bit before the game today as a team about the ultimate ceiling of our team, and small incremintal steps on how to get to the ceiling. Jacob is one of those pieces. I’m just proud of him for sticking with it. He’s got tremendous talent. I do believe he will be a major league pitcher one day. And his best days are in front of him. We’re just trying to speed those up, so his best days are at LSU.”
Johnson on the offense…
“This was a really good night swinging the bat. You see 11 runs. You see 13 hits, but even in the second inning I think ee left the bases loaded. That inning we hit four balls over 105 mph. I think these guys have been incredibly consistent. We’re going to get tested by a really talented pitching staff this weekend, and I’m excited because I think they’re ready for the challenge.”
Johnson on Jones’s 450 ft home run…
“That’s one of the hardest hit balls I’ve ever seen in my life.”
WHAT’S NEXT
LSU now heads to Austin, Tex., to face the Longhorns as an SEC foe for the first time. Texas introduced itself to the SEC by sweeping Mississippi State in Starkville over the weekend.
That moved the Longhorns up to No. 5 by Baseball America and No. 8 by D1 Baseball. Jim Schlossnagle is in his first year at the helm in Austin, and his team has won 17 straight games pending Tuesday’s result.
First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 7:00 from Disch-Faulk Field.
