Another Sunday, another freshman.
A week removed from freshman Kramer Robertson’s sterling performance behind classmate Jared Poche’, Jake Fraley did his best to replicate.
Fraley’s three-run home run in the fourth inning was more than enough to supplant Poche’ on the bump as the Tigers (7-0) defeated Texas Southern 4-1 in Alex Box Stadium.
Poche’ struck out seven Texas Southern hitters through seven innings, scattering only four hits in his second collegiate start.
“It feels great to go out there and get a W like that,” Poche’ said. “My curveball wasn’t working as well as I would like it to, but later in the game, it started to get back to where it was.”
Fraley, who got the text message that he’d be the starting center fielder at 10:30 Sunday morning, could barely contain his excitement as he endured a two-hour postponement of the game due to an early morning deluge.
“I could have jumped off the walls,” Fraley said. “I’ve been waiting for this my whole life. Finally getting a text saying you’re going to be in center field for nine innings, it’s a great feeling.”
Texas Southern righty starter Devin Kanorik brought a funky style on the mound — a slow, side-arm delivery that kept LSU hitters off balance through his 4 2/3 innings of work.
But it was Fraley who solved Kanorik in the fourth, tattooing a 2-2 fastball to right field breaking open a tense 1-0 game.
“When a submarine [pitcher] leaves it up, the ball is flat,” Fraley said. “He left it up and kept it inside, and I was able to get the barrel on it.”
Fraley’s home run was the third of LSU’s four hits on an afternoon where Kanorik regularly kept his pitches below 70 miles per hour, a complete contrast from the likes of the Tiger arms LSU faces in regular practice.
LSU coach Paul Mainieri was unaware of Kanorik’s delivery until just before game time. Had he known of the delivery, Mainieri said he would have adjusted his lineup to have more left-handed hitters, because they see the submarine pitches better than righties.
“I knew this kid had thrown six no-hit innings in his first start,” Mainieri said. “It was so unorthodox and so slow and just with the kind of day it was, I was concerned. We just wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.”
LSU started the game in style as junior left fielder Chris Sciambra — who was the other lefty in the lineup aside from Fraley — roped a double to the gap to lead it off.
Freshman second baseman Danny Zardon followed with an RBI single in the next at-bat to quickly put LSU ahead 1-0.
From there, Kanorik and Poche’ settled into a pitchers’ duel until Fraley’s dinger in the fourth.
Junior righty Brady Domangue was the first out of the bullpen to relieve Poche’ in the eighth and promptly hit Texas Southern pinch hitter Leslie Parker with his first pitch and surrendered a single two pitches later to Jag Gordaya.
It was an unwelcome return for Domangue, who walked three consecutive UNO hitters in Metairie and spent the week refining his mechanics with LSU pitching coach Alan Dunn.
Mainieri yanked Domangue after the single in favor of lanky freshman Parker Bugg, who entered with the tying run at the plate with no outs.
After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, Bugg slammed the door on the Texas Southern uprising with back-to-back swinging strikeouts.
“I was glad we were able to get out of there without giving up any runs,” Bugg said. “It’s great to come in in a close situation and try to get out of it. My first outing, I got myself into my own little situation, but I know [Domangue] will bounce back.”
With the freshmen class gelling and performing so well, Mainieri said he’s left with some difficult decisions regarding future playing time.
It’s a decision Fraley was happy to help create.
“After every single game and practice, [the freshmen] are always together hanging out,” Fraley said. “We all just feed off each other and it clicks for all of us coming out here.”