There may not have been any explosions over Alex Box stadium on Saturday night, but the fireworks were certainly present in an 8-4 LSU victory against Washington (4-10).
It didn’t take long for the Tigers’ offense to erupt, as LSU (14-1) mounted a two-out rally in the bottom of the first inning. After freshman shortstop Alex Bregman doubled and senior left fielder Raph Rhymes walked, senior first baseman Mason Katz launched a three-run home run over the left field wall.
“After he threw me two off-speed pitches down and away, he came back at me with a fastball in, and I was lucky enough to get enough of the barrel on it to sneak one out of here. I didn’t know it was going out,” Katz said. “I just put my head down and was trying to run.”
One bomb wasn’t enough for the senior power-hitter, though.
After sophomore right fielder Chris Sciambra scored the fourth run of the game on a wild pitch for the Tigers in the second inning, Katz came up in the third looking to add to the lead.
The senior proceeded to crush a ball that sailed over the bleachers in left field. It was Katz’s first two-home run game of his career, and it gave LSU a firm 5-0 grip on the Huskies.
“I was pretty sure [the second home run was out of the park], especially with how high I hit it and with the way the wind was blowing,” Katz said. “I was like, ‘All right, if that ball doesn’t get out, then I need to go work out right after this game and tomorrow morning.’”
LSU coach Paul Mainieri noted the importance of the veteran first baseman’s power.
“I think that second home run may still be travelling,” Mainieri said. “That’s what your senior leaders and your great hitters are supposed to do. Obviously he and Rhymes and Bregman come through in so many clutch situations.”
On the mound, junior starter Ryan Eades cruised through three innings before running into trouble. The right-hander surrendered four earned runs in the fourth inning, largely due to errors by Sciambra and Bregman.
“It just kind of spiraled a bit and had a little bit of a snowball effect,” Eades said. “I just left a few pitches up, and they put some good swings on it.”
Eades returned to the mound in the fifth and sixth innings to hold the Huskies scoreless. He recorded two outs in the seventh before finally being relieved. The right-hander noted that he didn’t let his rough fourth inning affect him as he pitched further into the contest.
“I think it’s a little maturity and experience and not letting it lead to the next inning,” Eades. [It’s about] putting that behind me and moving forward.”
Mainieri was also impressed by his junior starter’s poise on the mound. He said that Eades’ effort helped conserve the bullpen, as only Bourgeois and LaMarche were needed to close the door on Washington in the eighth and ninth innings.
“I thought Ryan showed a lot of fortitude pitching out of the jam and then giving us a shutout inning the next inning and then pitching into the following inning because it saved out bullpen and gave us a better chance to win by doing so,” Mainieri said. “He showed a lot of composure.”
