As LSU junior third baseman Christian Ibarra’s sprinted toward first base, he yelled, “Dang it!”, thinking his pop-up to left field would be caught for an out. But as he rounded first, he saw the ball go over the Grambling left fielder’s glove and into the stands for a home run — Ibarra’s fourth of the season.
The homer in the sixth inning gave LSU (35-3, 13-2 Southeastern Conference) a cushion in what would end as a 4-0 win against Grambling (14-22) Wednesday night in Alex Box Stadium. LSU struggled at bat with only three hits all game.
The Grambling pitchers held LSU’s normally red-hot bats to only three hits all night. LSU coach Paul Mainieri said the team was surprised with Grambling’s starting pitcher, Cory Jordan, who threw six innings, allowing three hits and four runs. Only Ibarra, freshman right fielder Mark Laird and senior first baseman Mason Katz were able to record hits off Jordan.
“I’m as guilty as the players, I think he just caught us off guard, the quality of his arm,” Mainieri said. “We just weren’t ready to compete against that caliber of a guy tonight.”
Despite his home run, Ibarra said the game was an off day for the LSU hitters.
“This game, we weren’t that pumped,” Ibarra said. “It’s not as exciting as an SEC game, you know?”
LSU senior left fielder Raph Rhymes put the Tigers on the scoreboard in the third inning when he hit a pop-up to right field that was dropped by Grambling right fielder Kris Minter. The error allowed Laird and freshman short stop Alex Bregman to score LSU’s only other runs of the night.
Compensating for a slow offense, the LSU bullpen shined as 10 pitchers saw time on the mound. Senior pitcher Brent Bonvillain saw his first start since LSU’s 11-1 win against Stephen F. Austin on March 5.
After contributing to Arkansas’ win against LSU on Saturday, junior pitcher Will LaMarche said the loss left him with a bad taste in his mouth. He got redemption in the fifth inning against Grambling, delivering back-to-back strikeouts.
“I beat myself at Arkansas, [and I’m] just glad to get that in the past,” LaMarche said, referring to his bases-loaded walk at Arkansas.
The win marked LSU’s first game on the freshly dubbed Skip Bertman Field, named for the legendary LSU baseball coach and athletic director. Earlier Wednesday, the LSU Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an LSU Athletic Department proposal to name the field.
Bertman served eight years as LSU’s athletic director after 18 years as LSU’s head coach, leading the Tigers to five national championships.
LSU will travel to Tuscaloosa today for a weekend series against Alabama (23-16, 8-7 SEC).
