With rain clouds settled over Alex Box Stadium, it looked like heavy rain would threaten Wednesday’s contest between the No. 1 LSU baseball team and McNeese State.
After a brief downpour to start, the rain stopped long enough for the Tigers to play one more tune-up game before starting Southeastern Conference action.
LSU (16-1) extended its winning streak to 13 games with a 7-0 victory against McNeese State (11-6).
With heavy rain forecasted in the Baton Rouge area for much of Wednesday, LSU coach Paul Mainieri moved the start of the game to 4 p.m., but that didn’t keep the Tigers and Cowboys from getting soaked to start.
“We played through some pretty heavy rain there in the first few innings,” Mainieri said. “But the big Tiger in the sky pulled back reins on the rain, pardon the pun, and we were able to get it in. So everything worked out magnificently today.”
True to his word prior to Wednesday’s game, Mainieri gave plenty of pitchers an opportunity on the mound against the Cowboys, who recorded their fewest hits (five) in the last nine games.
Mainieri sent 11 pitchers to the mound, and starter Russell Reynolds (1-0) was the only one to go longer than one inning. When Reynolds left the game after the second, the Tigers’ bullpen continued the shutout by tossing seven scoreless innings.
LSU’s bullpen hasn’t allowed a run in 23 consecutive innings heading into this weekend’s series against SEC foe Ole Miss.
“We’re doing a stellar job right now as a bullpen staff,” said LSU sophomore pitcher Alden Cartwright. “Everybody’s going out, doing their job, getting through it and handing off to the next guy. It’s really amazing to watch.”
LSU senior designated hitter Chris Chinea picked up his 12th RBI of the season when he drove in junior outfielder Mark Laird with a single up the middle in the bottom of the first.
After a three-up, three-down inning in the bottom of the second, the Tigers grabbed a commanding 4-0 lead after junior shortstop Alex Bregman’s three-run homer in the third. It was the third home run of the season for Bregman, who batted 1-for-2 with four RBIs Wednesday.
“Off the bat, I thought it was gone,” Bregman said. “But it was so much of a line drive, I didn’t know if it was going to be high enough.”
The Tigers added insurance runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings.
The Cowboys made their first scoring threat in the top of the sixth. But after McNeese senior outfielder Andrew Guillotte hit a blooper into shallow left field to put two runners on, LSU junior pitcher Hunter Devall fanned the last two batters of the inning to get out of the jam.
The Tigers ran into more trouble in the next inning. With one away in the seventh, LSU sophomore pitcher Collin Strall gave up back-to-back singles to the Cowboys. But after a groundout put both runners in scoring position, McNeese junior catcher Cameron Toole fouled out to end the inning.
After suffering just one loss in its first 17 games, LSU can now focus on Ole Miss, which has slumped to a 9-7 mark after advancing to last season’s College World Series.
“We got through our non-conference schedule ready to go,” Mainieri said. “Time to open up. Now we can turn our attention to the SEC.”
You can reach David Gray on Twitter @dgray_TDR