The No. 2 LSU baseball team swept a doubleheader against Georgia on Saturday afternoon in Athens, Georgia, after Game 1 was postponed Friday night due inclimate weather.
The Tigers’ lineup took advantage of missed opportunities by Georgia’s defense to take Game 1, 4-1. On the mound, freshman right-hander Alex Lange earned a victory in his debut as LSU’s Game 1 starter.
In the top of first, LSU got on the board with a RBI single by senior third baseman Conner Hale.
After Georgia junior shortstop Nick King tied the game, 1-1, with a solo home run in the bottom of the first, the Tigers took the lead in the fifth when senior second baseman Jared Foster scored on wild pitch.
Senior catcher Kade Scivicque extended the Tigers’ lead with a two-RBI double to right field in the seventh.
After surrendering a homer to the first batter he faced, Lange shut out the Bulldogs with four strikeouts and allowed only two walks in the next five innings.
The right-hander finished on fire with three-up, three-down innings in the fifth and sixth before LSU coach Paul Mainieri went to sophomore right-hander Hunter Newman (2-0) in the seventh. Newman retired eight out of nine batters in three innings of work to earn his second save of the year.
In Game 2, LSU’s lineup caught fire to blast the Bulldogs, 9-1, while sophomore left-hander Jared Poche’ notched his seventh win of the season.
The Tigers struck first in the top of the second, scoring two runs on three hits.
Scivicque got LSU started with a solo homer to left field, extending his hitting streak to 23 games. Two at-bats and two hits later, senior designated hitter Chris Sciambra drove in another run with a ground out.
In the bottom of the same frame, junior first baseman Zack Bowers answered for the Bulldogs with a towering solo shot to dead center to cut LSU’s lead to only one. But, like King’s homer in Game 1, Bowers’ blast was the only shining moment for Georgia in Game 2.
The Tigers’ lineup rallied to finish the game, scoring six unanswered runs.
LSU added a run apiece in the fourth and sixth innings before tallying multiple-run innings in the seventh and eighth.
While the Tigers made highlights at the plate, Poche’ was the epitome of efficiency on the mound.
In his seven innings of work, Poche’ struck out five while allowing only one walk and one earned run on the homer by Bowers. With the win, Poche’ improves to 7-1 on the season and is tied with Lange for the most wins on the Tigers’ staff.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Parker Bugg entered in relief for Poche’ in the eighth inning and finished with two strikeouts.
The Tigers will finish their series with Game 3 against Georgia at noon Sunday.