On an overcast evening in Alex Box Stadium on Saturday night, one player shined bright for the Tigers in a 2-1 victory against No. 9 Mississippi State.
LSU freshman southpaw Jared Poche’ (6-2) walked to the mound against the Bulldogs (20-12, 6-5 Southeastern Conference) looking to rebound after a poor start against Florida a week ago. He surrendered six runs (four earned) against the Gators.
Poche’ proved why LSU coach Paul Mainieri trusted the Lutcher, La., native to go toe-to-toe with Mississippi State’s No. 1 starter, junior left-hander Ross Mitchell.
The Tigers’ (23-8-1, 5-5-1 SEC) left-hander tossed six innings of three-hit baseball, surrendering one run and striking out six while walking two.
He out-did his counterpart on the mound – Mitchell threw six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) and striking out one.
“For me, the story of the game was Jared Poche’,” Mainieri said. “I challenged him. I told him, ‘We can’t lose if they don’t score any runs.’ He gave up one, and you like to think if you give up one then you still have a chance to win. Fortunately, we found a way to scratch a couple across there.”
After junior left-hander Zac Person allowed a leadoff walk in the top of the eighth inning, Mainieri turned to junior closer Joe Broussard to hold on to the 2-1 LSU lead.
Broussard, who entered the contest with a 0.66 ERA, 11 strikeouts and six saves in 16 appearances, had not been called in for a two-inning save prior to Saturday night.
“I’m just trying to give my team a chance to win,” Broussard said. “If it takes me three innings to throw it, I’ll throw three. I just tried to keep the zeroes on the board and just let the offense take over for us.”
Mainieri said he wanted Broussard to take the hill with Mississippi State junior first baseman Wes Rea stepping to the plate, who leads the Bulldogs with three home runs.
Broussard hits the low-90s with his fastball, and combined with his arsenal of breaking pitches, he was the best option to face Rea, according to Mainieri.
Broussard sat down six of seven hitters, recording his seventh save of the season. He said he has become more than comfortable in the closer’s role.
“Each time you go out there, you gain a little more confidence,” Broussard said. “So far, it’s been great for me, and I’ve got a lot of confidence out there.”
Offensively, LSU scratched across two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning after sophomore right fielder Mark Laird roped a single up the middle. Sophomore shortstop Alex Bregman proceeded to reach first base on an error by Mitchell, and one batter later, junior designated hitter Kade Scivicque roped an RBI single to left field.
Sophomore catcher Chris Chinea added the second run on a long sac fly to left field.
Scivicque had an RBI opportunity in the bottom of the first inning with runners on first and third and one out, but he hit into a fielder’s choice, allowing the Bulldogs to escape unscathed.
He didn’t miss his second opportunity.
“The second time, I got another chance, and I just wanted to hit the ball hard through the infield,” Scivicque said. “I knew he was going to come at me and throw strikes at me, so I just tried to embrace it and get my foot ready and try to get a hit.”