LSU sophomore pitcher Anthony Ranaudo gave the LSU baseball team the upperhand Friday night in the opening game of a series featuring two of the best teams in America.
Ranaudo pitched six scoreless innings and struck out 10 hitters and sparked No. 2 LSU to a 8-4 win against No. 6 Georgia.
“I thought Anthony gave us another great outing,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri in a news release. “And we were finally able to give him the opportunity to pitch with a lead. He got into some trouble with walks, but he made big pitches when he had to get out of those jams.”
Sophomore catcher Micah Gibbs started the scoring for the Tigers and hit a solo home run in the second inning off Bulldog pitcher Trevor Holder.
Junior second baseman Ryan Schimpf gave LSU all the insurance it needed in the third inning and hit a three-run home run.
Junior first baseman Sean Ochinko busted the game open in a three-run LSU seventh inning and had a two-RBI single. Sophomore outfielder Leon Landry added an RBI in the inning on a fielder’s choice to give LSU an 8-0 lead.
The Bulldogs added a run in the eighth inning and three runs in the ninth inning, but LSU junior pitcher Paul Bertuccini was able to record the final out to preserve the win.
“I thought we swung the bats well tonight against one of the best pitchers in the SEC,” Mainieri said. “This was a good win for us, but there are still two more left to play. We’ve got to get ready to go again [Saturday].”
 
—-Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]