Whether it was junior starter Ryan Eades’ (7-0) performance on the mound or the LSU lineup at the plate, the Tigers found success in every aspect of their game in a 9-1 victory against No. 7 Kentucky Saturday night.
The No. 3 Tigers (29-2, 10-1 Southeastern Conference) jumped out to an early lead in the second inning and never looked back, as Eades proved to be a force on the mound, stifling the Wildcats (22-8, 6-5 SEC) over eight-and-two-thirds innings.
“He pitched great and the guys played well behind him,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “I don’t know if it’s the best [that I’ve seen him pitch]. It didn’t seem to me like he was throwing as hard as he normally does. He got us some clean innings, and he really used his defense. I wanted to give him a chance to get the shutout there, but unfortunately he couldn’t finish it.”
Eades re-took the mound in the top of the ninth looking to finish the complete-game shutout, but after surrendering one run on a sacrifice fly, Mainieri turned to freshman Hunter Devall to get the final out of the contest. Eades surrendered four hits and one run while recording six strikeouts.
“I wanted [the shutout] pretty bad,” Eades said. “It would have been my first one ever. I think I just commanded the zone really well tonight on both sides of the plate. My changeup finally came around, and I was able to throw it a lot more. It would have been nice to get [the shutout], but I’m glad we were able to come out with the win and the series.”
Meanwhile, the Tigers’ offense provided the junior right-hander with plenty of run support, as the scoring barrage began with junior catcher Ty Ross’ RBI single in the bottom of the second. An RBI single by freshman shortstop Alex Bregman and an RBI double from senior first baseman Mason Katz gave LSU a 5-0 lead after three frames.
Katz, who now has 53 RBIs in 2013, tied his previous season-high from last year. He credits the hitters around him for his successful statistics.
“I’m seeing [the ball] well, but I’m sticking to a good approach,” Katz said. “All the guys in front of me have gotten on base. It’s not so much that I’m seeing the ball huge, it’s just that I’m getting really good pitches to hit, and when the bases are clogged up like they have been for me, it’s been really nice. They can’t pitch around me, and I’ve been putting good swings on the ball.”
LSU would add four more runs, including two via a triple by senior designated hitter Alex Edward, before finally silencing for the night. Overall, the Tigers finished with 16 hits.
The Tigers have outscored the Wildcats 20-2 in the first two games of the series. Mainieri confirmed that sophomore southpaw Cody Glenn will start the series finale in Alex Box Stadium on Sunday.
