Junior first baseman Mason Katz fell short of making history Saturday, but that didn’t prevent him from driving in three runs and helping propel No. 14 LSU to a 16-3 victory against Dartmouth (0-2) at Alex Box Stadium.
Katz entered the game one at-bat shy of tying the NCAA consecutive reached-base record after getting on base in 17 straight plate appearances. Katz struck out swinging in his first at bat, but he followed that with a solo home run in the fourth inning that gave LSU (9-2) a 1-0 lead.
“I was more pissed off that I struck out than at not getting the streak,” Katz said of his first at bat. “But I flushed it and said ‘Alright, I’m not fighting for a streak anymore, I’m just hitting.’ So I went up there and put a good swing on the team.”
The LSU offense continued to roll as 10 different runners crossed the plate and four batters recorded multiple RBIs. Senior shortstop Austin Nola went three-for-three from the plate, walking once and scoring three times.
Sophomore pitcher Ryan Eades welcomed the offensive explosion after suffering a 1-0 loss last week when the LSU offense sputtered against Appalachian State.  Eades threw six innings with five strikeouts, allowing five hits and one run.
“I thought the key to the game really was Ryan Eades,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “It looked like it was a dominating performance, and it was to some degree, but he also made some big pitches at big times to get himself out of