There’s a sentence in the Alex Box Stadium ground rules that warns fielders if a ball appears to be stuck in the right field wall, it actually isn’t.
That rule came into play in the seventh inning Tuesday after freshman first baseman Tyler Moore laced a line drive to right-center field. The ball rolled to the wall, and Southern center fielder David Wright threw his hands in the air, calling the ball unplayable.
But Moore didn’t stop running.
Umpire Chris Symons trotted to the outfield, examined the ball, and overruled Wright, awarding the inside-the-park home run to Moore. The homer, which drove in three runs and helped contribute to the offensive breakout from the Tigers in a 15-5 victory for No. 11 LSU (17-4) against Southern (9-11), came as a surprise to many, including junior first baseman Mason Katz.
“If we were in Vegas, those odds would have been the highest odds ever,” Katz said. “He’s the slowest kid on our team, one of the slowest kids probably in the [Southeastern Conference], and he’s getting an inside-the-park home run.”
Moore came off the bench to go 2-for-3 with four RBIs, and was one of five LSU players to drive in multiple runs, leading LSU coach Paul Mainieri to say that Moore’s production Tuesday could land him more playing time in the future.
“I’ve been waiting for that swing,” Mainieri said. “I really want to get more of a left-handed presence in our lineup, and now it gives me more of an option there.”
The scoring outburst came as a welcome sign for an offense that has struggled throughout the season. The Tigers found themselves in a rare position of having to bail out the pitching staff, as Southern matched LSU’s run production early in the game.
LSU jumped to an early lead, scoring three runs in the first inning, but the Jaguars matched that total in the second. The Tigers responded with three of their own in the next half-inning and proceeded to cross the plate in seven different innings.
“They didn’t give up,” said Katz, who went 2-for-3 and had three RBIs. “Every time we scored in the beginning, they scored. It was good for us to not just get a lead and lull.”
LSU pitchers Cody Glenn and Joe Broussard allowed four runs in the first three innings, but only one was earned as senior third baseman Tyler Hanover committed a pair of errors on routine grounders.
“Those two throws just got away from him,” Mainieri said. “It wasn’t because a lack of focus or concentration. I’d rather see him make some errors when it doesn’t really matter.”
Southern didn’t score again after the fifth inning, as six different LSU pitchers combined to shut out the Jaguars. It started with freshman Carson Baranik, who entered in the sixth inning, making his first career appearance after serving a suspension for a DUI earlier in the season.
Baranik threw six consecutive balls to start, but settled down and struck out two of the four batters he faced.
“I’m just grateful for the opportunity to come back out here and represent LSU in a good way,” Baranik said. “I really do apologize to all the fans for what I did. It was a very big mistake that I made, and I learned from it.”
 
____ Contact Hunter Paniagua at [email protected]