The LSU baseball team rebounded Wednesday night at Alex Box Stadium after struggling on the road against Stetson University over the weekend. Three runs in the first two innings proved to be enough offensive support for sophomore pitcher Louis Coleman as he held Northwestern State University in check to help the Tigers to a 6-2 win. The Tigers (5-2) took advantage of a couple first inning Demon (1-7) miscues after freshman center fielder Jared Mitchell reached first on an infield hit. A stolen base and a wild pitch allowed Mitchell to advance all the way to third to help the Tigers jump on top. Freshman first baseman Sean Ochinko singled down the third base line to drive him in and put the Tigers up 1-0. “We opened up the game real well,” Mitchell said. “We kind of slacked off at the end, and that’s what we really need to improve on – playing a full nine innings.” Sophomore third baseman J.T. Wise crushed a 2-1 pitch in the right field gap to lead off the bottom of the second inning. Two batters later senior right fielder Steven Waguespack recorded his first hit of the season and drove in Wise after a bloop hit fell into shallow center field. “The coaches stayed with me,” Waguespack said. “When you wait as long as I did to get your first hit of the season, it’s tough on your confidence. But once you get your first hit it kind of takes the pressure off and lets you relax in the [batters] box a little more.” A hit down the right field line by sophomore shortstop Michael Hollander and a fielder’s choice from Northwestern State junior shortstop Brandon Richey helped drive in Waguespack to increase LSU’s lead to 3-0. Richey started the Demon attack in the bottom of the third by driving a full count fastball down the right field line for a base hit. He advanced to third base after Coleman threw away a pick off attempt that traveled down the right field line. A fielder’s choice by LSU sophomore second baseman Buzzy Haydel allowed the Demons to get on the board and close the scoring gap to 3-1. The Tigers struck back in the bottom of the fourth after Hollander hit a double in the left field gap and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Hollander stole home to give the Tigers a 4-1 lead after Demons junior catcher Anthony Jones mishandled the pitch from Jason Grace. Waguespack pushed the Tigers lead to 6-1 late in the sixth inning after driving in Wise and catcher Robert Lara with a single down the right field line. “Everything seemed to click tonight,” Waguespack said. “I just felt comfortable and handled the bat like I knew I could.” Pinch hitter Mike Jaworski helped Northwestern State put up their second run of the game in the top of the eighth inning after a solo home run off sophomore pitcher Ryan Byrd. LSU coach Paul Mainieri said although he is happy the team came away with the victory, he does not think they are where they should be. “I’m really happy with the victory, but there is still a lot of room for improvement and we have a long way to go before we are considered a good ball club,” Mainieri said. Mainieri said although the win was not impressive, it was a good way to bounce back after a tough weekend. “We nickeled and dimed them to death tonight,” Mainieri said. “We didn’t crush the ball, but we put a few things together and pitched good enough to win. We’ll take the victory, but I think we can play a lot better than that.”
—–Contact Jay St. Pierre at [email protected]