Following his team’s 3-1 loss to Illinois on Friday night, LSU coach Paul Mainieri said the No. 1 ranked Tigers would not live up to their lofty expectations if they did not hit better in clutch situations.Just 14 hours later, LSU got Mainieri’s message and exploded for 22 runs in the Tigers’ 22-10 win. ”Coach really got into us yesterday,” said sophomore catcher Micah Gibbs. “He sent us a little message and I think everyone wanted to be that person to go out and get the job done.”LSU hit seven home runs on the day led by sophomore Leon Landry’s two home run day. Landry now has seven home runs on the season to top the five home runs he hit in his freshman season.”I really was just trying to push something into the gap,” Landry said. “I’d been struggling a little bit, so I just wanted to get a couple of RBIs.” Prior to Saturday’s game, Landry was just 2-for-14 in his previous three games.Mainieri said after Friday’s loss, he pulled Landry aside and told him to stay confident despite his tough times.”Part of growing up is to handle the good with the bad,” Mainieri said. “I saw some signs last night that when he wasn’t doing well, he was hanging his head or complaining about an umpire’s call, so I had a heart-to-heart talk with him . . . and I told him you have to keep a more level-headed attitude.” For the second straight day, the Fighing Illini pounced on the Tigers in the opening inning to take an early lead.Illinois catcher Aaron Johnson hit a two-RBI single off Tigers starter Daniel Bradshaw to give his team an early 2-0 lead.Johnson was also the hero of Friday night’s game and hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning off LSU senior Louis Coleman to secure an Illinois win.The Fighting Illini chased Bradshaw out of the game after just two innings after Illinois added another run in the second inning to take a 3-0 lead when freshman Willie Argo hit a home run just inside of the left field foul pole.Argo’s home run came in his first career collegiate at-bat. Argo also hit a home run in his second and third career at-bats in the fourth and seventh innings. Mainieri said the Tigers will pitch Bradshaw in one of the team’s midweek games next week to build his confidence but the sophomore will not be in the weekend rotation when LSU travels to Kentucky next weekend.LSU’s bats were awoken in a five-run second inning when sophomore centerfielder Leon Landry hit a grand slam home run over the center field fence to score freshmen Grant Dozar, Tyler Hanover and junior Ryan Schimpf.Hanover also added an RBI single in the inning to help give LSU a 5-3 lead. The runs were the first of the season allowed by Illinois starter Aaron Martin, who had previously pitched 12-straight scoreless innings to start the season.But Martin only lasted two innings against the Tigers and allowed six earned runs. After the Illini added a run in the third inning, LSU exploded for six more runs in the bottom half to take an 11-4 lead.Sophomore right fielder Chad Jones hit a two-RBI double with the bases loaded to kick off the rally. Hanover added a 3-run home run to left field in the spurt and Landry capped it with his second home run of the day to right field. The Tigers put the game away in the fifth inning when sophomore catcher Micah Gibbs hit LSU’s second grand slam of the day to give LSU a 15-6 lead. LSU used five pitchers in the game. Jordan Nicholson earned the win after going three innings and allowing three runs. Senior outfielder Nicholas Pontiff provided the final blow and hit a grand slam home run in the eighth inning — his second home run of the series. ——Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]