The Purple and Gold World Series continued Tuesday for the LSU baseball team as the gold team overcame a late deficit to defeat the purple team 8-7 in eight innings. Although the temperature was chilly, junior Buzzy Haydel heated up Alex Box Stadium with a game-winning single to right field scoring junior Matt Gaudet for the victory. “You gotta play through variables like that,” Haydel said, referring to the cold weather. “They don’t have an asterisk in the statistics that say what’s cold when you play this game.” The final intrasquad game of the series will be held tomorrow at 3 p.m., concluding the fall practice session for the Tigers. Junior left-hander Ryan Verdugo started the game for the gold team, giving up two hits in three scoreless innings. The gold team struck first on purple starter, junior Jordan Brown, with three runs in the bottom of the third inning. The purple team loaded the bases with no outs an inning later, tacking on five runs in the top half of the frame. The gold team evened the contest with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, capped by a two-out double from Haydel off junior pitcher Louis Coleman. After a scoreless seventh, it took the gold team an extra inning to salvage the series-winning victory. Junior Taylor Davis led off the gold half of the eighth inning with a single, followed by a Gaudet double to tie the game at 8-8. Gaudet moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, setting up a game-winning single through the right side of the infield by Haydel. LSU coach Paul Mainieri said the intrasquad scrimmages help put the competitive mind-set of players in gear. “I think when you put guys in competitive situations you really can see how they do,” Mainieri said. “Today was a little bit of a sloppy game, but there was some timely hitting and some clutch pitching. I was very encouraged by the enthusiasm on the field.” The gold team took the first game of the series Sunday afternoon with a 6-3 victory. Senior pitcher Jared Bradford set the tone for the gold team with two strikeouts in three innings of work. Freshman Anthony Ranaudo, who was drafted in the 11th round, will try to salvage game three for the purple team tomorrow. Daniel Bradshaw is expected to oppose Ranaudo on the hill for the gold team. Ranaudo is a part of the No. 1 ranked Tiger recruiting class according to Collegiate Baseball newspaper. He is one of nine first-year Tigers drafted in June. After Wednesday, the Tigers will have a three-month vacation before returning to practice Feb. 1. Junior infielder Chris McGhee said the time between practice sessions will be used primarily for conditioning and bulking up. “It’s really the only time we have to get big on the weights,” McGhee said. “We get two weeks off when we come back to school, and then we’re right back at it.” Besides bragging rights, Mainieri said there is something at stake for the winner of the Purple and Gold World Series. “We have our end-of-fall party and the winning team gets steaks and the losing team gets hot dogs,” Mainieri said. “And the losing team has to serve the steaks to the winners.” The Tigers begin the season Feb. 22 at home against the Indiana Hoosiers.
—-Contact Jason Glas at jglas@lsureveille.com