OMAHA, Neb. — Apparently, it took the LSU’s two starting freshmen only one game to look around Rosenblatt Stadium before sending balls flying off their bats and out of the park.LSU’s first-year duo of center fielder Mikie Mahtook and shortstop Austin Nola provided a pair of long balls to help the Tigers easily sail past Arkansas, 9-1, in front of a noticeably pro-LSU crowd of 23,417.Mahtook’s home run came off Arkansas starter Brett Eibner, who lasted just 1 2/3 innings after giving up four runs on 59 pitches. It was a three-run, two-out, full-count blast to the purple-and-gold filled left field bleachers that gave LSU the early 3-0 lead, from which the Tigers would not look back.The home run was the first by an LSU freshman in the College World Series since Mike Fontenot in 2000 against Texas.”He threw me a slider first pitch, and I chased it in the dirt,” Mahtook said. “After that … I was sitting on a slider in case he threw it again, and he left one up, and I put a good swing on it.”Nola’s solo home run was his third of the season and came in a five-run sixth inning that featured four two-out runs. Two of those two-out runs came on a home run by junior designated hitter Blake Dean. The remaining came from a two-run double by junior right fielder Jared Mitchell, who finished the night 3-for-5 with an RBI and two doubles.Both long balls were off Razorback relief pitcher TJ Forrest, a former Tiger under LSU coach Paul Mainieri.”They kept driving in runs with two outs,” said Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn. “It was a disappointing game for us.”Defensively, it was another day at the office for senior right-hander Louis Coleman.The Schlater, Miss., native went six innings, giving up one run on a sacrifice fly, while striking out seven and walking three.Coleman (14-2) didn’t have his best outing early, despite his numbers, as he threw 106 pitches in the six innings while working himself out of a pair of two-on, one-out jams in the early going.”He was a little rocky at the beginning,” Mainieri said. “But he just kept getting stronger as the game went on.”  Both the Razorbacks and Tigers left 11 on base, which Mainieri said after the game was the “only thing he was disappointed in.” But Arkansas left six on base in the first three innings, including leaving the bases loaded in the third inning with a chance to cut into LSU’s 4-1 lead in the third.”If we get a hit, we cut the lead,” Van Horn said. “But give credit to Louis Coleman. He did a great job of getting out of jams.”
EXTRA BASESWith the victory, LSU is now in the driver’s seat in its bracket, as they only have to win one more game to get to the championship series that starts next week. LSU is 10-3 all-time in the College World Series after winning its first two games. The Tigers have also won five national championships in the six seasons in which they won the first two games.The only time LSU failed to capture a national championship after starting 2-0 is in 1998, when LSU lost a pair to USC.In addition, 17 of the last 19 champions have started off the tournament 2-0.While Mahtook received much of the credit for LSU’s first inning jump start, Mainieri wanted to make sure someone else got credit for setting the situation up — left fielder Ryan Schimpf.The junior had a 13-pitch at bat against Eibner after second baseman DJ LeMahieu singled to start off the game. “Ryan Schimpf’s at bat was one of the best of the year,” Mainieri said.Mainieri added Ranaudo will more than likely get the start Friday afternoon.Ranaudo had his shortest outing of the season in LSU’s 9-5 victory against Virginia on Saturday night, lasting 3 1/3 innings while giving up two earned runs on five hits. He walked more batters (4) than he struck out (3) in the game.To read the live blog from LSU’s game against Arkansas, click here.To read Andy’s “Extra Innings” blog about Omaha and his exclusive interview with ESPN’s Erin Andrews, click here.—-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]