(Photo credit @LSUbaseball on X)
By Hunt Palmer
THE STORY
Aside from the result, that was quite different.
LSU has bludgeoned midweek opponents this year using early crooked numbers and relentless offense. Tuesday night the Tigers did nothing offensively in the early innings and needed a seventh inning five-spot to come from behind and beat Nicholls, 5-3, in Thibodaux.
The offense went scoreless for eight of the nine innings, but LSU found a way.
William Schmidt was superb in his relief outing. The freshman entered in the sixth and fired four shutout frames with eight strikeouts to earn the win. He peppered the strike zone early and often and never really gave Nicholls any sign of life once the Tigers claimed the lead in the seventh.
That rally was ignited by a pair of one-out walks to Daniel Dickinson and John Pearson. Ethan Frey lined a single to right to lead the bases with LSU trailing 3-0.
Steven Milam dribbled a ground all through the right side to plate a run and cut the lead to two, and Jake Brown followed with a two-run single to left to knot things up. Then Chris Stanfield scolded a line drive into left to plate a pair and give LSU the lead for the first time.
They wouldn’t relinquish it.
LSU threatened to add to the lead in the eighth with the bases loaded and one out, but Brown popped up a suicide squeeze bunt. I have no issue with the call there, up two runs, but you have to execute. Brown didn’t, and it cost LSU a chance to extend the lead.
That’s two suicide squeeze bunts in two games that LSU has botched.
Nicholls took the lead early with a third inning run. With two outs, Karson Irvin singled to shortstop. He moved to third on an errant pickoff throw by Conner Ware. Chase Jans paid that off with an RBI single to start the scoring.
An inning later, Fisher Ingersoll delivered a big blow for Nicholls. With two on and two out, the left-handed hitting Ingersoll drove a double to leftcenter off Jaden Noot that one-hopped the wall just out of Stanfield’s reach.
It looked like Derek Curiel had answered that big swing with one of his own in the sixth. With the bases loaded and two out, Curiel worked the count full and hammered a pitch to the wall in deep rightcenter.
It was caught.
At that moment it looked like those two deep fly balls would be the difference, one for a two-run double and one for a long fly out. However, LSU’s offense, relentless as ever, finally broke through in the seventh.
Overall, it was a gutty win or the Tigers. The offense was silent for six innings, but that’s why they play nine. Ware was pretty good early, and Schmidt’s outing might have been the biggest story of the night.
To top things off, Curiel walked in the ninth to extend his on base streak to all 34 games.
LSU is 31-3 and two games away from equaling the 2013 team’s 33-3, 12-2 mark.
THE SCORECARD
William Schmidt’s line: 4IP, 0H, 0R, 2BB, 8K, 61 pitches
Conner Ware’s line: 3IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 1BB, 0K
Ethan Frey: 3-for-4, BB, R
Daniel Dickinson: 2-for-4. BB, R
Steven Milam: 2-for-4, R, RBI
Jake Brown: 1-for-3, R, 2RBI
LSU outhit Nicholls 11-to-4
LSU left 15 runners on base to Nicholls’ six
WHAT’S NEXT
LSU will travel to Auburn to face the Tigers at Plainsman Park in a three-game set. Butch Thompson’s team has played well at home this year. They took series from good Vanderbilt and Alabama teams on the Plains.
Sam Dutton, a former Tiger, figures to get the ball Friday night against Kade Anderson.
