(photo credit: @LSUBaseball on X)
BILOXI, Miss. – LSU defeated Samford, 20-6, in a 21-inning baseball exhibition scrimmage Sunday at Keesler Federal Park, the home of the Milwaukee Brewers’ Double-A affiliate, the Biloxi Shuckers.
The scrimmage consisted of three seven-inning games, and the Tigers outscored Samford, 4-3, in the first game, 7-2 in the second game and 9-1 in the third game.
LSU will play its second exhibition scrimmage of the fall at 12 p.m. CT next Sunday, November 10, when the Tigers travel to Lafayette, La., to face UL Lafayette at Tigue Moore Field.
“With our team having 26 new players, just being on the road and finding ways to get connected from a team standpoint is really important,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said after Sunday’s scrimmage versus Samford. “On the field, we’re just trying to execute what we’ve learned in the fall to this point. We’re not really ready to play a game yet, but we’re looking to carry on what we’ve worked on and build a foundation moving forward.
“It’s about finding this team’s brand of baseball, and today’s scrimmage showed that it’s pretty solid. The quality of the strikes that our pitchers threw and the ability to mix in high-end stuff was impressive. Combine that with the offense’s ability to execute, which was great today. I was really pleased with the execution and the at-bats.”
In the opening seven-inning game, starting pitcher Chase Shores worked 3.1 innings and limited the Bulldogs to one run on one hit with one walk and five strikeouts. Shores, a redshirt sophomore from Midland, Texas, is returning to the LSU rotation after missing last season due to Tommy John surgery.
The LSU offense in the opener was highlighted by two RBI from catcher Luis Hernandez. He produced a run-scoring single in the first inning, and his RBI groundout in the third scored leftfielder Derek Curiel from third base. Curiel led off the frame with a double and moved to third on first baseman Jared Jones’ flyout to center.
The Tigers grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning of Game 2 as outfielder Dalton Beck delivered an RBI single and outfielder Ashton Larson lifted a sacrifice fly. LSU increased the advantage to 4-0 in the fifth on a two-run double by outfielder Mic Paul.
Holding a 4-2 lead in the seventh, the Tigers added three runs as infielder John Pearson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, Beck scored from third base on a wild pitch, and infielder Trevor Schmidt smacked an RBI single.
LSU’s victory in Game 3 featured superb pitching from three true freshmen – right-hander William Schmidt, left-hander Cooper Williams and right-hander Mavrick Rizy.
Schmidt fired three scoreless innings and Rizy struck out five Samford batters in two innings of work.
LSU Athletics Communication Release
