Chilly weather and harsh winds may have followed LSU from Ruston, Louisiana, but the errors and unsuccessful at bats seen from the Tigers on Wednesday night did not. After a tough loss to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, LSU was able to walk away with a shutout win against the Towson Tigers. LSU took the game with six runs to Towson’s zero. This was game number one of four in their series against Towson and Southern.
Blake Money was LSU’s Friday night guy, yet again and similarly to last weekend, Head Coach Jay Johnson was extremely pleased with his performance on the mound. Of the seven innings that Money played, he faced 26 batters, striking out six and allowing only two hits. He also only walked two.
“It was a great performance, and I really like how he was able to do it until the end,” Johnson said. “I liked the strike zone pressure. I thought he was composed. I was really pleased that he was able to finish in the seventh.”
Garrett Edwards was Money’s relief in the eighth inning, and Johnson was very impressed with what he saw from him as well. Johnson expressed that fans may see the sophomore back up on the mound come Sunday.
It was also a fantastic evening at the plate for the Tigers. At-bats were productive and LSU was aggressive, all while staying within the strike zone, and allowing the right pitches to come to them. This was especially important to center fielder, Dylan Crews, who hit a soaring home run to left field. This homer was the sophomore’s first of the season.
“I wasn’t going to chase anything,” Crews explained. “I was gonna just let them come to me, and just get something that I could handle.”
Crews’ two run shot also sent in first baseman Tre’ Morgan, who walked.
In the second inning, cracks in the pitching staff started to show while LSU offense remained solid. After catcher Alex Milazzo singled to right field and third baseman Jack Merrifield’s single to first base, the starting pitcher for Towson, Teddy Blumenauer landed a pitch on right fielder Jacob Berry, then gave a free base to second baseman Cade Doughty. Doughty’s walk allowed Milazzo to head home.
The third inning was similar to the second as designated hitter Brayden Jobert led the Tigers off with a free base after being hit by a pitch. Left fielder Gavin Dugas reached first on a fielder’s choice, but a fielding error by Towson’s second baseman allowed Jobert to advance to second. A sacrifice fly from Milazzo allowed both runners to advance once more. Merrifield grounded out to shortstop, but allowed Jobert to score, unearned. Crews had another huge hit when he tripled to right field, allowing both Morgan and Dugas to score. The Tigers had six runs to Towson’s zero.
LSU would finish the game with these six runs, but Towson would be unable to catch up. The rest of the game was compiled with solid hits from LSU that could never quite find a hole. There were a few errors seen from LSU’s defense, but their opponent’s bats were lacking, missing any opportunity for hits due to Money’s speed and movement from the mound. The Tiger’s concluded the game with nine hits to Towson’s three.
LSU will face off against Towson again on Sunday, but first they will see some action against Southern on Saturday, the 25th at 1:30 p.m. CT. Fans from home can watch live on ESPN.
