By Hunt Palmer
THE STORY
Any thought of a midweek letdown was erased quickly Tuesday night.
LSU sent 12 men to the plate in the first inning and plated nine runs to seize complete control of the game. The Tigers beat Louisiana-Lafayette, 17-4 in seven innings, to remain unbeaten in the midweek.
Back-to-back RBI doubles from Daniel Dickinson and Ethan Frey plated three runs and wrestled away a 1-0 advantage the Cajuns were gifted by a Steven Milam two-out error that plated a run. LSU wasn’t done. Not even close.
Cade Arrambide launched a two-run shot into the seats in left to make it 5-1. After Michael Braswell singled, Chris Stanfield was hit by a pitch and Derek Curiel bunted for a hit, ULL head coach Matt Deggs went to the bullpen.
The second pitch Matthew Holzhammer delivered was sent soaring over the left center wall by Jared Jones for a grand slam.
After a game and a half of sleepy offensive baseball in Austin, the Tigers unleashed two losses worth of frustration on the Cajuns pitching staff.
The barrage of hits was accompanied by 12 walks and three hit batsmen. LSU scored five in the fifth and two more in the sixth as Tanner Reaves belted his third home run of the season.
The offense erased the sour taste the trip to Texas may have left as Mississippi State heads to Baton Rouge tomorrow for a Thursday first pitch.
LSU’s pitching was not as good as the offense, but it was passable.
Jaden Noot got the start and was the victim of some poor luck in the first inning. Milam’s error that allowed a run was preceded by a swinging bunt single and an infield single. The run scored without the ball leaving the infield. It’s worth noting that Noot responded to the error by his best defender by striking out the best Cajuns hitter, Conor Higgs, to retire the side.
After Noot’s three innings, William Schmidt came on. His command was poor in his first inning. He allowed a bunt single and then hit a batter. With runners at first and second, he uncorked a pair of wild pitches to plate a run.
An RBI single followed on a 3-2 pitch. That made it 9-4 and was as close at ULL would come again.
Schimdt did settle in to work a scoreless fifth thought it did include another walk.
Mavrick Rizy worked a scoreless seventh with a pair of strikeouts.
Of all the offensive developments in the game, Arrambide’s continued slugging has been something to keep an eye on, even if only for the future. Clearly the freshman backstop has work to do defensively, but he’s got impressive tools. The power is certainly one. He has been given the opportunity to spell Luis Hernandez during the midweek to save the senior’s legs for the SEC grind.
LSU improved to 23-3 and 18-1 at home.
THE SCORECARD
Cade Arrambide: 3-for-4, HR, 2B, 3RBI, 2R
Ethan Frey: 1-for-3, 2R, 2RBI
Jared Jones: 1-for-2, HR, 5RBI, 3BB (HR was Jones’s 52nd at LSU)
Steven Milam: 2-for-4, R, RBI
Michael Braswell: 1-for-1, 2BB, HBP, 2R
LSU was 11-for-29 (.379) in the game.
LSU was 6-for-12 (.500) with two out.
LSU was 9-for-20 (.450) with runners on.
LSU was 7-for-17 (.412) with runners in scoring position.
Five LSU pitchers allowed 10 hits and three earned runs in seven innings.
THE QUOTES
On Cade Arrambide’s night…
“That’s our guy. That’s the catcher of the future. He’s very close to even contributing more right now, and he contributes a lot. It’s kind of misleading that he’s only hitting .250. He’s got the three homers, a bunch of extra base hits. He’s hitting the ball really hard, and he’s made outs…really good night for Cade tonight.”
On the bounce back win…
“This time of year, those SEC weekends, win or lose, are really hard. The emotional energy that it takes, you have to be very careful of a letdown. I’m really proud of how we’ve played in midweek games since I got here and the consistency in that. I had some concerns today. We kind of made the messaging to make sure we were ready for tonight.”
WHAT’S NEXT
LSU and Mississippi State renew their rivalry on Thursday. The Bulldogs come to Baton Rouge 1-5 in league play. Texas swept the SEC’s opening weekend in Starkville, and Oklahoma won games 2 and 3 of their series with State over the weekend.
