Illinois senior pitcher Ben Reeser sat behind home plate Saturday and watched LSU’s offense explode for seven home runs in the Tigers’ 22-10 win. But Reeser extinguished LSU’s hot offense with his turn on the mound Sunday and pitched 8 2/3 innings and allowed two runs in a 6-2 Fighting Illini series-clinching win.”I was paying attention to what pitches we were throwing and what they were doing to them,” Reeser said. “One thing I did see is that our guys were not throwing a lot of change-ups, so that was my gameplan today.”Reeser entered the ninth inning having allowed just three hits.The Tigers got a pair of runs off the Illinois senior in the final inning, but LSU coach Paul Mainieri said Reeser had his offense off balance all game.”He was phenominal,” Mainieri said. “He probably threw 75 percent change-ups, and our guys just never really could make an adjustment to it.” Illinois struck first for the third-straight game and plated two runs in the top of the third inning off LSU sophomore pitcher Austin Ross.Freshman second baseman Josh Parr led off the inning for the Fighting Illini with an infield single. Parr advanced to third base on a wild pickoff attempt by Ross and scored on an infield hit by senior center fielder Joe Bonadonna.The Illini plated a run later in the inning on an RBI single by sophomore designated hitter Casey McMurray.Illinois pushed its lead to three runs in the top of the fifth inning on another single by McMurray, which scored Bonadonna — who doubled with two outs in the inning. The fifth inning was the final inning for Ross who allowed three runs — two earned — in his third outing of the season.The three-run lead was plenty enough for Reeser who allowed just one hit through the first five innings — an infield single by sophomore right fielder Chad Jones. “He was just keeping the ball low,” said LSU sophomore shortstop DJ LeMahieu. “The wind was blowing out, and we still didn’t hit great and when we did hit, it was right at someone.”Illinois put the game out of reach in the eighth inning and scored three runs LSU off junior relief pitcher Paul Bertuccini. Just a day after Bertuccini struck out the side in the ninth inning to secure Saturday’s win, the Metairie native allowed the first five hitters to reach base in the eighth inning to spark the Illinois rally. The Tigers’ lost their first game of the season Friday — and first regular season game since last season’s Georgia series — against Illinois, 3-1.”I don’t think it’s the time to be changing everything we’re going,” LSU junior Blake Dean said. “If we correct the little things we’re doing wrong, we’ll be fine.”——Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]