LSU coach Paul Mainieri got a good look at his bullpen on Wednesday night.
Behind the outings of five pitchers, LSU defeated the Southeastern Lions 8-2.
“I thought our pitching was really outstanding tonight,” Mainieri said. “Our defense was really good. We made a couple of good catches in the outfield early in the game. That was a good win against a quality opponent. A team that I’m certain will be in the NCAA Tournament. It was a good solid win for us, and good momentum game for us.”
Freshman pitcher Zack Hess started on the mound for LSU, and was prepared to be on a limited pitch count according to Mainieri, so that the team would be able to use him in relief against Florida this weekend.
Hess’s night ended at four innings. He finished with two hits, one run, two walks, and four strikeouts in 56 pitches.
LSU jumped ahead early and never looked back.
Freshman center fielder Zach Watson was walked with one out in the bottom of the second inning, and then successfully stole second base.
Freshman third baseman Josh Smith drove Watson in to score with a deep shot to centerfield for an RBI double that put the Tigers out in front 1-0.
It had been six games since junior right fielder Greg Deichmann hit his last home run, but that streak ended on Wednesday night.
In the bottom of the third inning with runners on the corners for LSU, Deichmann drilled a three-run homer into left field to expand the Tigers’ lead to 4-0.
Southeastern responded with a solo shot from its own slugger.
The Lions’ Taylor Schwaner went yard and sent his sixth home run of the season into the left field seats of Alex Box Stadium in the top of the fourth inning.
Senior pitcher Russell Reynolds took over for Hess in the fifth inning, but only for a brief stint of 14 pitches after he entered a confrontation with a Southeastern batter.
Mainieri then turned it over to freshman pitcher Matthew Beck after Reynolds issued a two-out walk.
Beck went 1 ⅔ innings with no hits, no runs, no walks and two strikeouts.
Then came freshman pitcher Todd Peterson, who went 1 ⅓ innings with two hits, no runs, no walks and one strikeout.
The Tigers broke the game open in the bottom of the seventh inning.
A one-out sacrifice fly from Watson scored Robertson from third base, and moved Deichmann and sophomore left fielder Antoine Duplantis to second and third base. Freshman first baseman Jake Slaughter was hit by a pitch and the Tigers loaded the bases.
Smith doubled to center field and brought all three runners home to score to expand LSU’s lead to 8-1.
“Those are the times you’ve got to love to hit,” Smith said. “There’s nothing better than a two-out RBI, so you just have to try and take the pressure off yourself and try to hit the ball hard.”
Freshman pitcher Nick Bush came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning and close the game out for the Tigers.
Bush gave up a solo home run to Southeastern’s Carson Crites in the top of the ninth inning that tacked on a late run for the Lions, and made the final score 8-2.
The Tigers now hit the road to take on Florida this weekend in their first road series against a Southeastern Conference opponent.
