The LSU baseball team made a habit of going to right field in its second NCAA Regional game.
LSU hit five home runs, all to right field, against Southern Miss to pick up a 13-4 victory Saturday in front of a season-best crowd of 7,498 in Alex Box Stadium.
“This game felt a lot like the game against South Carolina on Friday night,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “Back then, I said I thought it was our best game of the year. I think this one rivaled it.”
Junior Matt Clark led the Tigers with a pair of two-run homers – one in the fourth inning and another in the sixth.
“I got good pitches in the zone and got good swings on them,” Clark said. “Me and [sophomore designated hitter] Blake [Dean] are both getting good pitches in the zone.”
Dean had a home run of his own in the top of the fourth. He struck again in the top of the fifth inning with a double to deep center field that score sophomore second baseman Ryan Schimpf.
Senior third baseman Michael Hollander and sophomore catcher Sean Ochinko provided the final two home runs.
But LSU didn’t win solely on offense. They also had several gems on the defensive side.
Sophomore outfielders Jared Mitchell and Leon Landry wowed fans with a pair of diving catches, both of which robbed Southern Miss junior Brian Dozier of base hits.
“I thought defensively we made some spectacular plays,” Mainieri said. “It reminded me of the game last week in the SEC tournament against Vanderbilt when we made all those great plays.”
Southern Miss pitcher Todd McInnis started strong against LSU with four strikeouts in three innings. But things began to go the Tigers’ way in the top of the fourth inning.
After Dean and Clark’s home runs, freshman shortstop DJ LeMahieu singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Landry drove home LeMahieu with a base hit to right field but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple.
“In that inning I just couldn’t get [my change up] over [the plate] and the left-handed hitters took care of it,” McInnis said.
LSU junior Ryan Verdugo picked up the victory, giving up six hits and four earned runs in five innings.
Junior Louis Coleman relieved Verdugo, pitching three shutout innings and allowing only two hits.
“When I came in I was just trying to … throw up a couple zeros,” Coleman said.
LSU plays the winner of Sunday afternoon’s elimination game between Southern Miss and UNO at 6 p.m. at Alex Box Stadium.
“We haven’t won anything yet,” Mainieri said. “We’ll enjoy it until midnight. When the clock strikes midnight, a new day begins.”
—-Contact Robert Stewart at [email protected]