The injury gods looked kindly upon the LSU baseball team this weekend.
Sophomore first baseman Jordan Mayer hit .333 with three RBIs in his return to the lineup, and the Tigers suffered no significant injuries in a series sweep of the Tennessee Tech Eagles (0-3).
Mayer said he changed his grip on the bat to help protect his thumb supported by a removable cast.
“I was only out luckily for three weeks,” Mayer said. “[I was out] just enough not to have my timing right.”
In the Sunday series finale, LSU (6-1) used two Will Harris’ home runs and solid pitching to win the game, 8-3.
LSU coach Smoke Laval said he was happy to see some of his seniors pick up their offense.
“[Matt] Liuzza seems to feel comfortable,” Laval said. “Will Harris seemed to get it going a little bit. We’re still not getting our best swings off with guys on base, but they’re thinking too much.”
Harris’ first home run was a solo-shot to left field to extend LSU’s lead to 6-3, but it was his second home run that put the game out of reach for the Eagles.
After Liuzza’s single to shallow right-centerfield in the bottom of the seventh inning, Harris belted a two-run home over the left field fence to give the Tigers an 8-3 advantage.
“The first [home run] was a fastball the left-hander left up,” Harris said. “The second one, I had two strikes on me and wasn’t really looking to pull the ball but he kind of hung me a little slider.”
On Saturday, wind-chill factors in the upper 30s were not enough to slow junior pitcher Derik Olvey, and LSU won the game, 7-2.
Olvey, a Notre Dame transfer from Pelham, Ala., kept Tennessee Tech hitters off balance all game, facing only 26 batters in seven innings.
“The best thing that is going for me right now is I am keeping the ball down,” Olvey said. “I’m throwing [my curveball] for a strike, and I’m putting it in the dirt when I need to.”
The 6-foot-2-inch right hander owns a 0.60 ERA this season in 15.1 innings pitched.
In Friday’s series opener, junior pitcher Clay Dirks only needed five innings of work to equal his career-high of eight strikeouts.
The Tigers complemented Dirks’ performance with nine runs on nine hits to win the game, 9-6. Mayer led the LSU offense with two hits and one RBI.
 
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