The LSU baseball team kept up its winning way Thursday night, advancing in the Southeastern Conference tournament with an 8-2 win against No. 6-seed Vanderbilt.
The Tigers exploded with seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings. The win was their 18th in a row.
“This was a pivotal game for us,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said in an SEC news release. “It put us in the final bracket where someone has to beat you twice, and that is a very comforting thing. It takes some stress off of your pitching staff.
“This team amazes me more everyday. That first inning looked like their pitcher was going to overmatch us, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell that in the dugout. They were not in a panic, and were able to piece together some great hits.”
Blake Martin had a strong performance on the mound for LSU, going seven innings and and giving up four hits while walking three.
“I just came in and tried to get as deep in the game as I could,” Martin said. “In tournaments, you want to save your pitching as much as possible. I just tried to throw strikes. I thought our defense was amazing. Once we got those seven runs, I still tried to throw strikes and let them put the ball into play.”
Freshmen DJ LeMahieu and Leon Landry each went 2-for-4 in the game. Junior Derek Helehini blasted a three-run homer in the sixth inning to give LSU a 7-1 advantage.
Vanderbilt added a run in the seventh, and LSU added one in the ninth.
Paul Bertuccini and Jared Bradford pitched the final two innings for LSU. The two pitchers allowed only one hit and struck out five.
The Tigers have an off day Friday before returning to action Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Alabama will take on the loser of tonight’s matchup between Ole Miss and Kentucky on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The winner of Friday’s game will face LSU on Saturday.
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