As junior second baseman Conner Hale cocked back waiting for the pitch in the second inning of Wednesday’s midweek matchup with McNeese State, a lone fan could be heard throughout Alex Box Stadium screaming, “Get rid of the batting coach.”
Hale proceeded to pop up to send the Tigers back to the dugout in order for the second straight inning. LSU would feel the sting of a 1-2-3 inning in four out of the first five frames Wednesday night.
But in the blink of an eye, the frustrations with the Tigers’ recent offensive drought were quickly drowned out by roaring applause in the sixth inning when sophomore shortstop Alex Bregman finally cracked his slump at the plate with a 3-run bomb to the left field bleachers.
It was Bregman’s first hit in 18 at-bats and the Tigers (21-8-1) were on their way to a 10-3 win against McNeese (16-11), but more importantly, their first win in five outings.
“The wind probably helped it,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “I don’t care.”
Bregman deflected any praise for his production to his teammates, saying it was big for third baseman Christian Ibarra and right fielder Mark Laird to reach base before him.
“That was huge for us,” Bregman said. “We don’t usually go on losing streaks around here, and we’re going to try to keep it that way the rest of this year. I think it was big for a confidence standpoint.”
LSU followed up the sixth frame by batting around the order in the seventh. The Tigers dealt a devastating five-run, six-hit blow to the Cowboys, blowing away McNeese’s dreams of a potential upset.
LSU finished the night with 10 runs on as many hits and rejuvenated confidence after a prolonged drought at the plate.
“I wanted to announce this as the greatest win ever, but that’s a little bit of an exaggeration,” Mainieri said. “But it fells pretty good right now, to be honest with you. It’s been a while since we’ve got to taste the fruits of victory.
McNeese didn’t go down without a fight, though, leading the Tigers for the first 5 1/2 innings, including a fourth-inning home run by McNeese designated hitter Lucas Quary.
Starting pitcher Cody Glenn was roughed up in his first start since the loss against Tulane on March 25, allowing two runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings. Reliever Alden Cartwright was the only other pitcher to see more than an inning’s worth of work against the Cowboys, pitching 2 1/3 innings.
LSU pitcher Kurt McCune was eventually credited with the win — his first of the season.
“I thought once Alden [Cartwright] came in, he did a nice job,” Mainieri said. “… I thought the rest of the guys pitched well. That was a real positive thing for our team.”
Mainieri and his squad hope their recent offensive woes are over and the momentum they garnered against McNeese will carry over into this weekend’s matchup with Southeastern Conference rival Mississippi State.
“Mississippi State’s got a really good baseball team and we have to be on our A-game,” said designated hitter Sean McMullen. “Just to be able to come out and square a bunch of balls up and pitch great, it’s definitely helpful.”

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Angela Major

LSU senior right-handed pitcher Kurt McCune (39) throws the ball to first base Wednesday, April 2, 2014, during the Tigers' 10-3 victory against McNeese in Alex Box Stadium.