LSU opened its final season at Alex Box stadium on a winning note this past weekend.The Tigers (2-1) won Friday and Saturday’s games against Indiana (1-2) before the Hoosiers escaped town with a 7-6 win in game three.
With Sunday’s game tied going into the ninth inning, Indiana outfielder Andrew Means hit a leadoff single and advanced to second base on a throwing error by LSU freshman shortstop DJ LeMahieu.
The junior later scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly after a sacrifice bunt advanced him to third.
“DJ has a lot of pride, and he’s an excellent player,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “I’ll go talk to him in the locker room and tell him to keep his chin up, but I thought he played great, and he showed that he belongs at this level and he’s going to have a good year for us.”
Sunday’s game remained close throughout. Indiana jumped out to an early lead – its first of the series – when Means scored as sophomore Josh Phegley grounded into a double play in the first inning.
LSU responded in the bottom half of the inning when sophomore outfielder Blake Dean blasted a three-run home run to right field.
“It was just a fastball,” Dean said. “I’ve been looking for it for a while, and I finally got it and I had to take advantage of it.”
Sophomore Sean Ochinko scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to put the Tigers up 4-1.
Indiana added a run in the fourth inning as did LSU in the fifth.
Indiana used an offensive explosion to score four runs on four hits, in the sixth, including a bases-loaded double down the third-base line by junior outfielder Chris Hervey that scored two runs and brought the Hoosiers within one.
The lead did not last long as LSU junior infielder Derek Helenihi singled home a run in the bottom half of the inning to knot the score at 6.
“I made a couple of decisions today that kind of backfired,” Mainieri said. “I said to myself going into the game that [junior pitcher] Ryan Byrd would pitch five innings and then the fifth inning was so easy, I decided to get one more. In the sixth, it backfired, and they got to him.”
Byrd pitched 5 and 1/3 innings, giving up eight hits and six earned runs while only striking out one batter and walking two.
Freshman pitcher Austin Ross was credited with a loss.
The Tigers fared better in their previous games of the series.
The Tigers were able to hold on for a 5-4 win Saturday although Indiana scored four eighth-inning runs.
LSU controlled the score for most of the game behind junior pitcher Jordan Brown’s performance.
Brown pitched six scoreless innings, giving up five hits while striking out three and walking two en route to his first win of the season.
Friday night’s game was never in doubt for LSU.
Leadoff hitter, sophomore Ryan Schimpf, was 4-for-4 at the plate and scored three runs.
Senior pitcher Jared Bradford pitched six full innings, giving up six hits and one earned run while striking out eight and walking one.
“If it were up to me I’d strike everybody out and have no runs and no hits, but it’s part of the game,” Bradford said. “I thought I did well.”
—-contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]