LSU survives and advances following a 7-4 victory over Florida State.
Mainieri relied on senior Jared Poche’ to once again halt the Seminoles bats. Poche’ was masterful for LSU through eight innings, but got into trouble in the ninth inning. The senior was belted for back-to-back home runs to open the ninth inning.
Mainieri brought out freshman reliever Zack Hess to finish off Florida State. Hess struck out the first two batters he saw in quick succession, and finished off the game with another strikeout after a two-out walk.
With the win Poche’ surpassed former Tiger Scott Schultz, (1986-1989), for the most the wins in LSU history. The win was No. 39 in Poche’s career, and gave LSU win No. 50 on the season.
“If you would have told me four years ago before I started my career at LSU that in four short years that you’re going to be in Omaha and you’re going to break the all-time wins record, there’s no way I would have believed that,” Poche’ said.
The win comes on the heels of a 13-1 thrashing by Oregon State where the Tigers had just one run on four hits
LSU would surpass that output in the first two inning against Florida State, in large part due to a 3-run home run from freshman first baseman Jake Slaughter. Slaughter was inserted into the lineup for junior Nick Coomes because of his ability to drive fastballs.
“When I hit it, I really thought it was not a good chance of going out,” Slaughter said. “I was just really happy that it went over the fence. I was fired up that I got to give us a big lead.”
Besides Slaughter’s home run, LSU big-time performances from freshman outfielder Zach Watson, who had three hits and an RBI, and sophomore outfielder Antoine Duplantis, who also added an RBI on two hits.
The game also saw a new look from senior shortstop Kramer Robertson. With newly dyed blonde hair, Robertson got his first hit in Omaha on a single in the ninth inning. Robertson would steal second base, and scored on an infield ground ball by Duplantis.
The Tigers will now see Oregon State on Friday, and will need to beat the Beavers twice to move on to the College World Series National Championship.
“They have a tremendous ballclub,” said Mainieri. “So we’re happy to have another shot at them. Pat [Casey] does a tremendous job with that team. And it’s going to take our very best effort to be able to have any success against them, but we’re looking forward to it.”
Mainieri announced earlier in the week that junior Alex Lange will take the mound for LSU’s game against Oregon State on Friday at 4 p.m.
