After an upsetting road loss to the University of New Orleans on Tuesday night, LSU quickly turned things around and defeated the Hofstra Pride 8-1 on Wednesday.
“I told them before the game that this is not about who we’re playing tonight,” coach Paul Mainieri said. “This is about us. This is about bouncing back after a heartbreaking loss last night. It was important for us to go out there and play well and I thought we did.”
Freshman pitcher Zack Hess started his first game for LSU and sent Hofstra’s leadoff batters down in order in the first inning.
Enter Greg Deichmann.
The junior right fielder sent his third home run of the season 486 feet into the right field of Alex Box Stadium and put the Tigers ahead 2-0 early after sophomore center fielder Antoine Duplantis was previously hit by a pitch.
Deichmann immediately knew the ball was gone.
“That’s one for the books,” Deichmann said. “When you hit a ball like that, you really don’t even feel it. It’s one of those things that nobody really knows how to describe.”
Mainieri said the sight was something that even his eyes have never seen before.
“I’ve seen a lot of hard hit balls in my life, I’m not sure I’ve seen one travel that far,” Mainieri said.
In the bottom of the fifth inning the Tigers tacked on two more runs. Senior second baseman Cole Freeman singled to center field, stole second base, and came home to score off of an RBI single from Duplantis.
Duplantis followed suit by stealing second, and scoring off of an RBI single from senior shortstop Kramer Robertson to push LSU ahead 4-0.
Hess’ (1-0) night finished after five innings and he picked up his first career win. The freshman pitched a line that included no runs, two hits, two walks, one hit batter, and six strikeouts. He threw a total of 79 pitches, 48 of which were strikes.
“You just have to keep competing,” Hess said. “Our guys were able to make great plays and get me out of some jams.”
Fellow freshman pitcher Todd Peterson took things over in the sixth inning and took down every batter that he faced. Peterson’s night ended after the seventh inning, and freshman Nick Bush and Matthew Beck followed him up by striking out the side in the eighth inning.
The Tigers continued to pad their lead in the sixth.
Freshman third baseman Josh Smith singled to left field, stole second base, and scored from junior catcher Mike Papierski’s RBI double. Freeman singled through the right side and Papierksi scored to put the Tigers up 6-0.
An RBI single from freshman first baseman Jake Slaughter in the seventh inning scored Robertson, who had previously doubled. Freshman infielder Rankin Woley doubled to left in the eighth inning to score senior outfielder Beau Jordan and cap what looked an 8-0 shutout victory for the Tigers.
Things weren’t quite that simple.
Senior pitcher Hunter Newman entered the game in the ninth inning to close the game for LSU.
Hofstra’s lone run came against Newman when Matt Weissheier scored from a throwing error to first base by LSU third baseman Chris Reid.
Newman walked another batter and Mainieri sent in freshman Will Reese to record the final out.
The Tigers now host Maryland at Alex Box Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m.
