It was batting practice for the LSU baseball team Wednesday night.  
The No. 2 Tigers shook off a weekend-long slump and jumped on visiting Lamar from the first pitch, storming ahead in a six-run first inning en route to an 11-2 victory in Alex Box Stadium.
It was the ninth win in 10 games for LSU, which handed the Cardinals (17-19) their second consecutive loss and third in the last four. 
After totaling just 20 hits in a three-game series with Auburn last weekend, LSU (32-6) cranked out 13 hits in 36 at-bats (.361) against Lamar, including nine through the game’s first three innings. 
Junior first baseman Chris Chinea, who put LSU ahead 9-0 with a two-run home run in the third, said it was a good outing heading a crucial Southeastern Conference set at Georgia this weekend. 
“We came out today swinging the bats pretty well, and it’s going to roll us into a big weekend in Athens, Georgia,” Chinea said. 
LSU senior pitcher Kyle Bouman (1-1) picked up his first victory since May 24, 2014, after allowing one earned run on five hits in a season-high five innings of work. He retired six of the first eight batters he faced and didn’t walk a batter for the second consecutive start. Bouman threw 60 pitches and finished with three strikeouts. 
“If [LSU coach Paul] Mainieri calls my name, it’s just go out there and get outs and try to get a win,” Bouman said. 
Bouman didn’t need much help after the Tigers’ high-scoring first. 
LSU ripped Lamar junior starter Billy Love (0-1) and chased the right-hander off the mound before the inning’s first out. Love surrendered five runs on three hits and two walks before being pulled for junior pitcher Will Hibbs. 
LSU junior outfielder Mark Laird started the onslaught with an RBI single up the middle and scored two batters later to give LSU a two-run edge. Senior designated hitter Kade Scivicque and Chinea tripled the Tigers’ lead with a pair of two-run doubles to put LSU up 6-0. Scivicque’s double, his 12th of the season, extended his hitting streak to 21 games. 
“That first inning was really outstanding,” Mainieri said.
Junior shortstop Alex Bregman added to the Tigers’ lead with a solo home run in the second. It was the eighth homer of the season for Bregman, tying him with senior second baseman Jared Foster for the team lead. 
Chinea launched a two-run bomb, his fifth of the season, over the left field bleachers in the third to build LSU’s lead to 9-0. The Tigers added runs in the seventh and eighth while Lamar scored in the fifth and ninth innings. 
Mainieri announced after the game that freshman pitcher Alex Lange would start Friday against Georgia. Lange, who was recently named to the 60-player midseason USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award watch list, was scratched from his start last weekend due to tightness in his arm. 
Sophomore pitcher Jared Poche’ has been the Tigers’ Game 1 starter all season. 
“Alex is ready for it,” Mainieri said. 
You can reach David Gray on Twitter @dgray_TDR.