It had been eight months since  LSU senior pitcher Kyle Bouman started on the mound. 
But he was always ready for his next chance, which came against Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday night. 
Bouman struck out a career-high seven batters in his longest stint since last season’s NCAA Regional against Houston, and the No. 2 Tigers (11-1) controlled a midweek game for the first time this season with an 8-1 victory against Stephen F. Austin (4-9) at Alex Box Stadium. 
The win was the eighth in a row for LSU, which has outscored its opponents by 47 runs during that span. 
After tossing six shutout innings in his lone regional appearance last postseason, things haven’t gone as planned for Bouman in 2015. 
The senior southpaw had pitched only three innings this season prior to Tuesday’s game, giving up five runs on six hits and two walks with an ERA of 12.00. But he didn’t let that deter his focus. 
“My confidence will always be the same whether I have a good game or a bad game,” Bouman said. “I just go out there and try to do my best every day and put my team in a position to win.” 
Bouman fanned three of the first four batters he faced and at one point retired seven consecutive Lumberjacks. Bouman pitched through four scoreless innings before SFA freshman infielder Hunter Wilson belted an RBI triple down the left field line in the fifth. 
After Bouman issued a walk to put runners on the corners, LSU sophomore pitcher Hunter Newman (1-0) replaced the senior lefty and retired the next three batters to get the Tigers out of the fifth-inning jam. 
“I was just trying to get the job done and pick a teammate up,” Newman said. “I felt pretty good about it.” 
Despite putting his team in a jam in the fifth, LSU coach Paul Mainieri said Bouman performed well in his first start since June 1, 2014. 
“I told him there would be a time when you’re going to get a start and start to develop,” Mainieri said. “He threw the ball really well tonight, as well as he’s thrown in a long time.” 
Stephen F. Austin’s one-run fifth inning wasn’t enough to upset the Tigers, who played perhaps their most efficient midweek game of the season. 
LSU went 1-1 in its first two midweek games against Nicholls State and Southeastern Louisiana, getting outscored 14-12 despite racking up 27 hits. 
It was a much different game against the struggling Lumberjack pitchers, who threw two wild pitches, walked seven batters and hit two. The Tiger scored a more even eight runs on nine hits to hand SFA its third loss in five games. 
LSU grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning off an RBI single from junior designated hitter Chris Chinea.
Sophomore infielder Danny Zardon doubled LSU’s lead with a solo home run to lead off the second inning. It was the second home run of the season for Zardon and third of his two-year career. 
“You can tell that ball sounded different when it came off the bat,” Mainieri said. “[Zardon] really played a good game. He hit the ball hard.”  
Seven different Tigers picked up an RBI against SFA, including senior infielder Conner Hale. Hale drove in junior shortstop Alex Bregman with an RBI double in his second at-bat, extending the senior’s team-best hitting streak to 12 games. 
The Tigers will hit the diamond against Grambling State (2-8) at 3 p.m. today at Alex Box Stadium. 
Since collecting two wins against Wiley College and Southern, Grambling has dropped five straight and is coming off an 0-3 weekend against Oregon
State.
But with a 30 percent chance of rain, there’s a possibility the game could get postponed. Mainieri doesn’t want that to happen with the Houston College Classic coming up this weekend. 
“Hopefully, we’ll get it in before the heavy stuff comes,” Mainieri said. 
You can reach David Gray on Twitter @dgray_TDR.