Only four days removed from watching former LSU standout Ryan Theriot propel his San Francisco Giants, the current batch of Tigers crowned a World Series champion of their own.
Behind two stellar pitching performances from junior Ryan Eades and freshman Russell Reynolds, the Gold team won the first two six-inning games and held off a furious Purple rally in the third game to capture the annual Purple-Gold World Series, concluding the Tigers’ six-week fall practice session.
“I think the past few weeks demonstrated that we can be outstanding in all phases of the game – hitting, pitching and defense,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said in a news release.
Eades pitched three scoreless innings for the Gold team in Game 1, surrendering only one hit and striking out three.
Sophomore outfielder Chris Sciambra blasted a double off his high school teammate, sophomore starting pitcher Aaron Nola, to lead off the scoring for the Gold team in the second inning.
Breaking the game open in the sixth inning with four runs, the Gold team got RBIs from freshman shortstop Alex Bregman and sophomore infielder Evan Powell after a double from junior infielder JaCoby Jones, giving Gold a 5-1 win.
Fresh off a neck injury last season that sidelined him for almost the entire season, Sciambra added two RBI’s in Game 2 , impressing Mainieri with his speedy outfield play and plate discipline.
“Coming on the heels of such a serious injury, it warms your heart to see that young man playing at such a high level without being hesitant or tentative,” Mainieri said.
Reynolds and senior Brent Bonvillian impressed in Game 2, combining to allow only six hits in six total innings of work.
Highlighted by Sciambra’s two run-scoring hits, Gold held off Purple, which was boosted by a solo home run from junior infielder Christian Ibarra, by a score of 4-2.
Mainieri wanted his teams to play a full three-game series, rather than a traditional three-game set where a winner is crowned after it has won two games. After Gold took the first two games of the series, Purple needed to win the third game by more than seven runs in order to “win” the series.
Purple started Game 3 on a tear, shelling Gold junior starter Kurt McCune to the tune of six runs on six hits through one-and-a-third innings.
Led by a pair of RBI triples from freshman outfielder Andrew Stevenson and McMullen, coupled with senior outfielder Raph Rhymes’ two RBIs, Purple jumped out to a 6-1 lead and looked to spoil Gold’s first two wins.
But senior southpaw Chris Cotton shut Purple down, striking out two of the four batters he faced in the sixth inning to preserve the game and series win for Gold, although losing the game 7-1.
“We had a very good fall, and I’m convinced we’ll be in the hunt for everything we’d like to accomplish this spring,” Mainieri said.
