LSU sophomore pitcher Anthony Ranaudo lobbied to coach Paul Mainieri prior to the season and said he wanted to be the team’s Friday starter when Southeastern Conference play began. Through one start, Ranaudo looked the part and pitched six innings and allowed three runs while striking out 13 batters in LSU’s 5-3 win against Kentucky at Alex Box Stadium. “If you like power pitching, you saw a tremendous game tonight,” Mainieri said. “Obviously, Anthony Ranaudo was the story of the game.” The game was delayed for more than an hour as rain showers swept through the Baton Rouge area. But Ranaudo came out of the gates on fire and struck out nine of the first 10 batters he faced to begin the game. Freshman third baseban Tyler Hanover started the scoring with a two-run opposite field home run in the third inning to put LSU ahead 2-0. “I call him a field rat,” Mainieri said. “This kid just loves to play baseball.” After the teams traded runs, the Wildcats tied the game in the seventh and scored two runs off Ranaudo. “I probably left him in one inning too long,” Mainieri said. “He was right at 100 pitches, and I thought we could extend him for just one more inning, but he just lost a few miles per hour.” But LSU fought back in the bottom half of the inning and secured victory in that frame. Hanover added an RBI single in the two-run rally, and junior outfielder Jared Mitchell hit an RBI fielder’s choice out to extend LSU’s lead to two runs. Senior pitcher Louis Coleman recorded the final out of the seventh inning and pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings to lock up the first conference win for LSU. —- Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]