LSU Baseball
By Hunt Palmer
THE STORY
It’s almost as if LSU felt obligated to get the first inning out of its system.
The last seven innings looked like some quality midweek baseball. The first half inning looked like the worst of LSU baseball the last month. The result was a 15-5 run-rule win over Louisiana Tech in eight innings.
Freshman starter Reagan Ricken walked the game’s opening hitter, and the Tech two-hole hitter dumped a single into right. Jake Brown fielded it on a couple of hops and fired it wide of third and out of play to plate a run. An RBI groundout made it 2-0 Bulldogs, and Ricken walked a hitter on four pitches to end his night after two thirds of an inning.
That was the low point.
From there LSU responded with two in the bottom half to tie it, five more in the second to take control and two more in the fifth. The six-run eighth ended the night early. LSU’s 14 hits were its most since February 20 against Indiana in Jacksonville.
LSU produced consistent hard contact and drew the walks Louisiana Tech offered up.
John Pearson slammed a two-run single into center. Trent Caraway ripped a sizzling double down the line in left. Brown did a great job of staying closed and driving a two-run single the opposite way against a left-handed pitcher. Zach Yorke launched his first home run since February 24, a 400-foot blast over the wall in right center. For good measure, he did it again in the eighth. Derek Curiel doubled off the wall to score one in the fifth. He did it again to walk the game off on a towering double that shorthopped the centerfield wall. Omar Serna, who had two hits, scored from first thanks to a nifty tumbling slide to evade the catcher’s tag.
Sure, seven walks, three hit batsmen and three errors is a lot of charity from the opponent. But LSU did hit the ball hard much of the night. That’s a positive.
Some of the Tiger pitchers were, too.
Ethan Plog and Zion Theophilus both fired two shutout innings. The seven walks issued by the staff was a few too many, but the group came up with 11 strikeouts, too.
All in all, LSU needed a win and some offense. Deven Sheerin got the night off. So did Gavin Guidry who was worked hard on Saturday. Now LSU gets a pair of days off before stepping back into SEC play.
THE SCORECARD
LSU was 14-for-48 (.368)
LSU was 9-for-26 (.346) with winners on
LSU was 5-for-15 (.333) with RISP
Steven Milam: 3-for-5, 2 R
Zach Yorke: 2-for-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Trent Caraway: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 R
Omar Serna: 2-for-6, 2 RBI, 2 R
WHAT’S NEXT
Kentucky comes to Baton Rouge for a three-game series beginning on Friday night. The Wildcats swept Alabama on opening weekend of SEC play. Ole Miss dealt Kentucky a series loss in a rubber game Saturday.
More Top Stories
