Whatever frustration the LSU baseball team had left over from a disappointing series against Appalachian State looks to have evaporated to the tune of a 19-10 drubbing of McNeese State in front of a record crowd in Lake Charles.
The final score didn’t tell the complete tale, however, as McNeese State kept it close for most of the game until LSU pulled away late.
Junior first baseman Mason Katz powered the offense and kept his recent hot streak alive by going 4-for-4 with a walk, a home run, a double and four RBIs.
Dating back to his final at-bat against Appalachian State on Sunday, Katz has reached base safely in his last 12 plate appearances.
The Harahan native opened the floodgates for LSU with a three-run bomb in the second inning to give the Tigers an early five-run lead.
“Obviously, I like the way we’re swinging the bats right now,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri in a news release. “Mason Katz is on fire right now, and we’re getting good at-bats throughout the lineup.”
The lead looked like it would be good enough with the way freshman pitcher Aaron Nola was mowing through the McNeese State lineup in his first career start.
Nola retired 12 of the first 15 batters he faced but ran into trouble in the fifth inning.
McNeese collected three hits against him in the fifth to plate three runs and cut the LSU lead to two runs.
Nola left the game after the inning, earning his first career win in the process. The Baton Rouge product allowed three earned runs and recorded six strikeouts in the outing.
“I was very proud of the way Aaron pitched tonight in a new environment,” Mainieri said. “He showed a lot of poise and gave us the outing we needed to win this game.”
As the Cowboys rallied, the LSU bats went cold. The Tigers only managed to get one runner past first base in the third through sixth innings.
But with the Tigers clinging to a 5-4 lead heading into the seventh inning, their bats erupted again.
Katz ignited the rally with a one-out double, and the rest of the lineup quickly followed suit in the LSU’s five-run seventh inning, as the Tigers chased McNeese starting pitcher Caleb Miller from the game.
The hit parade continued into the eighth and ninth innings, as the Tigers tacked on nine more runs, including an eight-run ninth inning.
Senior third baseman Tyler Hanover belted three hits in the final three innings, including a pair of doubles and four RBIs.
It didn’t seem to matter who McNeese State threw at LSU, as the Tigers scored 14 runs in the final three frames against eight different Cowboy pitchers, three of whom didn’t record an out.
But even with a 14-run lead heading into the final inning, the Cowboys refused to go away. Facing LSU’s closer, sophomore Nick Rumbelow, McNeese State found its own power surge.
Pitching for the second consecutive night, Rumbelow gave up two- and three-run homers and a three-run home run in the final frame, allowing McNeese to cut the lead to single digits.
The Tigers have today off before welcoming Dartmouth to Alex Box Stadium on Friday for a three-game series this weekend.
 
____
Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]