Despite giving up two runs in the first inning, the No. 1 LSU Tigers powered past Jackson State to take the first game of the Baton Rouge Regional, 11-7.
Junior starting pitcher Ryan Eades struggled through 2.1 innings of work, giving up two runs on four hits while walking three batters and hitting two.
Eades was bothered in his first inning of work by rain. He struggled to grip the ball and find his control before a short rain delay.
Junior right-hander Kurt McCune came in for the Tigers and slammed the door out of the bullpen. McCune went for 4.2 innings without giving up a run and striking out five batters.
“He did a good job of slowing the game down,” said Jackson State center-fielder Charles Tillery, after the game. “He handled his business and hit his spots.”
JSU coach Omar Johnson said McCune made some key pitches when he had to.
“Being able to go out there for a couple of innings helped me get into a groove and figure out what was working for me,” McCune said. “I think I figured out a lot today.”
Johnson was pensive after the game when asked about the team’s struggles in the field. JSU committed four errors on the day.
“If we don’t commit those errors, maybe this game is tied in the ninth,” Johnson said. “Wishful thinking, but those errors hurt us.”
LSU took advantage of JSU’s mistakes.
Even with JSU jumping out to a first inning lead, LSU responded and tied the game up in the bottom of the first after a sac fly by senior first baseman Mason Katz. The tying run scored when JSU SS Nick Marigny committed an E6 while trying to throw out senior left fielder Raph Rhymes.
Rhymes and freshman sensation SS Alex Bregman were lost for the game in the top of the fourth inning when they collided while trying to catch a fly ball in shallow left field.
“[Rhymes] could’ve continued to play in the game,” said coach Paul Mainieri after the game. “He had a laceration on his lip and needed some stiches. He took a good blow to the nose, so he might have a couple black eyes — I don’t think his nose is broken or anything …I just felt that the heat and the shot to the head and everything, the best thing to do was just to get him out of the game.”
But Mainieri said he was concerned about Bregman’s situation.
“He’s at the hospital right now and getting some tests done on the bones in his face and I haven’t heard any report yet, so that’s as much as I know,” he said.
Sophomore outfielder Chris Sciambra pinch hit for Bregman in the bottom of the fourth and came up with another big hit for LSU. He drove in a run to extend LSU’s lead to 3-2. Katz then hit his second sec fly of the day to bring LSU’s lead to 4-2.
LSU sophomore outfielder Jared Foster continued to make an argument for a starting role. He walked in his first at-bat, then crushed a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth. This performance came after a good SEC tournament where he flashed ability in the field and at the plate.
“These guys understand I can only play nine guys at a time,” Mainieri said.
Senior first baseman Mason Katz rediscovered his power stroke after a relatively dormant May. In the bottom of the fourth Katz — after working a full-count — got the pitch he wanted and sent a ball far past the center field wall for his third and fourth RBI’s of the day.
“He was throwing a lot of changeups and getting guys out front,” Katz said. “I was sticking to the approach to hit the ball to right center, I was just trying to get that run in any way possible. He threw a fastball in the middle and I was able to stick to my approach and fell right into what I wanted to do.”
Despite the big lead, JSU continued to battle and get hits once McCune was taken out of the game. Senior reliever Kevin Berry was called upon in the top of the eighth and after getting a fly out for the first of the inning, he struggled for the remainder of his appearance. Berry surrendered two hits, allowed 3 runs — all earned — and walked two during just one-tenth an inning of work.
“[Berry] got the first out and looked like he was throwing the ball pretty well,” Mainieri said. “All of a sudden he kind of lost it.”
Junior reliever Nate Fury was called upon to put out the bases-loaded fire for LSU. He was able to get both JSU’s first baseman Ethan Bright and Tillery — JSU’s most dangerous hitter on the season — out via strike out.
Freshman right-hander Hunter Newman — the presumed starter for Sunday after Cody Glenn was removed from the Regional roster — came in the ninth to shut the door for the Tigers, but struggled.
Newman walked JSU junior catcher Jose Cruz and then gave up a two-run long ball to right-fielder Fred Hampton, his first of the season. After issuing yet another walk to the No. 9 hitter, Newman was pulled in favor of senior reliever Joey Bourgeois, who was able to end the game after inducing JSU second baseman Stephen Curtis to hit into a 4-6-3 double play.
“The plan was to go with [Berry] for the eighth and Newman for the ninth,” Mainieri said. “Unfortunately, [Newman] walked the first batter and gave up a home run and walked another batter. But, [Bourgeois] I thought did a great job.”
Johnson said JSU left too many runs out on base but was proud of the way his team clawed back into the game.
“If you look at the eighth or the ninth inning when we had the tying run on deck that is a testament to these guys that they are not going to give up and they will keep battling,” he said.
LSU is poised to take on the winner of the second game of the day between University of Louisana at Lafeyette and Sam Houston State.
Mainieri confirmed after the game ace sophomore pitcher Aaron Nola would start Saturday night.
“There were a lot of things that didn’t go so great today, but there were a lot of things that were also really outstanding,” Mainieri said. “So we’re going to hopefully get through this thing health-wise and we’ll just dwell on the fact that we won the ballgame and we’re okay and move on to the big game tomorrow.”
