Tuesday night’s matchup between top ranked LSU and Louisiana-Lafayette could not have asked for better weather. It was sunny and around 70 degrees for the first pitch with minimum wind as 11,784 fans witnessed the huge upset.
Cade Beloso’s RBI triple, his first of the season, scored sophomore third baseman Tommy White all the way from first base for LSU’s first run. Sophomore left-handed starter Javen Coleman started on the mound fir LSU for the first time all season due to injury, but only threw one inning with two strikeouts. Sophomore right-hander Thatcher Hurd relieved Coleman in the second inning, his 11th appearance this season.
Senior centerfielder Heath Hood, who was second in hits for the Cajuns entering tonight’s contest, recorded Louisiana-Lafayette’s first hit of the game in the second inning. He then stole second base for his 18th steal of the season.
Coincidentally, he is also ranked second on the team in steals. Hood moved to third base on a throwing error from Hurd, LSU’s first error. Hood scored Louisiana-Lafayette’s first run of the game on a groundout from sophomore catcher Clay Wargo.
Next, senior right fielder Will Veillon lined an RBI single which scored junior shortstop John Taylor and gave the Cajuns their first lead.
Junior left hander Riley Cooper relieved Hurd in the same inning he came in, his 14th appearance of the season. Hurd lasted a third of an inning with two runs given up and two walks.
In the bottom half of the second inning, junior right fielder Brayden Jobert smacked his fifth double of the season to right center. Senior second baseman Jack Merrifield evened the score at two a piece with an RBI groundout, his fourth RBI this season.
Hood gave the Cajuns the lead back in the top of the third inning when he blasted a two-run home run, his fourth of the season, into the left field bleachers.
Alex Box Stadium went silent.
Dylan Crews was walked, his second walk, in the bottom of the third inning and then advanced to second base on a wild pitch. White smacked his second single of the game to right field and moved Crews to third base.
With runners on the corners, junior right hander David Christie relieved Louisiana-Lafayette’s starter and junior right hander Carson Fluno. Fluno fired 49 pitches in two innings with one strikeout and allowed two runs on five hits. Next, Crews tagged up to score on a fly out from freshman first baseman Jared Jones and cut the Cajuns’ lead in half.
Sophomore left fielder Conor Higgs responded with a double to left field, his sixth of the season. Veillon hit an RBI double as well, his fifth of the season. Both hits seemed to have evaded junior left fielder Tre’ Morgan in the night sky. Junior catcher Julian Brock pinch hit for freshman designated hitter Ben Robichaux and smacked an RBI single to right field to make the score 6-3 through three and a half innings.
Cooper walked one and then allowed a single from Higgs, his second hit of the game. With runners on the corners, sophomore right hander Sam Dutton relieved Cooper. Cooper fired 67 pitches in 3.1 innings with two strikeouts and two walks while allowing four runs on six hits. Dutton struck out the first batter he faced and stranded the base runners.
Crews walked a third time in the bottom of the fifth inning, his 42nd walk of the season. The closest other Tiger to that number is Jones with only 19 walks.
The Cajuns’ duo of Willis and Brock combined for two singles in the top of sixth inning and threatened to extend Louisiana-Lafayette’s lead to five runs. Dutton retired the next three batters and got himself out of the jam.
Junior right hander Blake Money relieved Dutton in the top of the seventh inning. The first batter Money faced, Higgs, smacked a two-run home run, his fourth of the season, into the right field bleachers and widened the Cajuns’ lead to five runs. Veillon followed with a single to left field, his third hit, and then Willis reached on a fielding error from Money, LSU’s second of the game.
Morgan doubled down the left field line in the bottom of the seventh inning and then White advanced Morgan to third base on a single, his third hit. Beloso grounded out into a double play and the Cajuns were able to keep the Tigers off the board for the fourth inning in a row.
LSU had one more chance to rally and junior catcher Hayden Travinksi pinch hit for junior starting catcher Alex Milazzo to begin the final half inning. Travinski walked and then senior right hander Cooper Rawls came in to close out the game for the Cajuns.
The first batter Rawls faced, Morgan, blasted a two-run home run to right field, his third of the year, and made the score 8-5 with zero outs. Crews stuck out and then White singled on an infield grounder. Rawls retired the next two batters and earned the save.
“They brought their Friday night starter in to finish the game. I respect teams that do that,” said LSU head coach Jay Johnson.
Christie’s pitching was the story of the game, and he was credited with the win. Christie threw 93 pitches in six innings with one strikeout but only allowed three hits and one run. His record is now 1-0 on the year. The Cajuns’ offense combined for 14 hits and their defense held the Tigers to 10 hits with zero errors.
“If you make mistakes, a great team capitalizes on them, and I thought they did that,” Johnson said. “A lot of those two-run innings could’ve been one run innings.”
LSU record drops to 29-7 and Louisiana-Lafayette’s record improves 25-12. The Cajuns’ last win against LSU was in Metairie, Louisiana, for a neutral site game on April 16, 2019.
LSU will travel to Oxford, Mississippi, this weekend for a three-game series against the defending national champion Ole Miss Rebels. Game one will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
