No. 8 LSU only needed one run Saturday to defeat Alcorn State. The offense gave it 18 more as the Tigers cruised to 19-0 shutout victory at Alex Box Stadium.
The LSU pitchers combined to strike out 15 batters and allowed only four hits. Sophomore pitcher Ryan Eades struck out a career-high eight batters in five innings of one-hit baseball.
“What a positive outing by Eades,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “Then I thought all the guys that came out of the bullpen threw exceptionally well.”
Eades struck out the first three batters he faced and allowed only one hit – a leadoff single in the third inning.
“Knowing that I have such a solid defense behind me helps comfort me and know that I don’t have to get the job done myself,” Eades said of the LSU defense which has yet to record an error through two games.
The Tigers overcame any opening night jitters they had Friday, and erupted for 19 runs on 14 hits, with 11 different batters recording a base hit. Junior outfielder Mason Katz led the way, driving in three runs with a base-clearing triple in the third. Katz tied a career-best with four RBIs.
“Last night, people started swinging for the fences too much,” Katz said. “Now we’re starting to get into it and realizing it’s going to be a long season. We learned last year that every game counts, so we’re going to fight every game through all nine innings.”
The 19 runs LSU scored was the most by the Tigers since they scored 25 against Centenary in 2010. The 19-run margin was the largest since LSU defeated Duquesne by 21 in 2001.