Opening day was somewhat surprising and somewhat expected for LSU. Junior right-hander Zack Hess struggled in his debut, but outfielders Daniel Cabrera and Antoine Duplantis highlighted the Tigers 12-7 win over ULM.
Hess led off the game with a walk and a passed ball. It wasn’t long after that ULM knocked a double past Zach Watson and then gave up his first home run of the night.
It didn’t take long for LSU to respond because Cabrera proved why he was a Freshman All-American. He drove in two runs with a line drive to right field cutting the lead to one run.
Hess gave up another home run in the third. Another run scored after an error and single up the middle. The Tigers trailed 5-2 going into the bottom of the third. Senior infielder Brandt Broussard singled in his second at bat, and Cabrera hit his first homerun of the evening on a line drive to left field again putting LSU one run behind, 5-4. Cabrera led the team in homeruns last season. Early on it seemed this would be the case again.
Hess retired two quickly in the fourth inning but gave up a single and walk before being relieved by sophomore right-hander Trent Vietmeier. He finished the inning to put the Tigers back at the plate. The offense stalled throughout the fourth.
Sophomore right-hander Eric Walker entered the game in the fifth and pitched for the first time since the 2017 College World Series. He allowed runners on second and third base before getting a key strikeout to end the inning.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the sixth, with Cabrera up again, that either team would score. Cabrera hit his second home run of the night to left center and tied the game at five. Cabrera proved he was a solid bat last year, but he showed tonight that he could improve from last season.
“I just went up there and stuck with my approach,” Cabrera said. “That’s one big thing that I grew on from last year.”
With the game tied at five, freshman right-hander Cole Henry made his collegiate debut. Henry came in to finish the top of the seventh. He allowed a deep fly ball to left field, which Cabrera caught leaping at the warning track saving an extra base hit. Henry gave up zero hits and recorded two outs to send the game into the bottom half of the inning with the top of the lineup.
Junior shortstop Josh Smith walked to lead off the inning with Broussard sacrifice bunting him to second. With Cabrera farther down in the lineup it was time for someone else to step up — the senior who returned — Antoine Duplantis. He ripped a two run homerun giving the Tigers their first lead of the night, 7-5. Duplantis isn’t known for being a power hitter with his career season high being two. Following the homerun, Cabrera recorded his first out of the night on a fly out to left.
In the top of the eighth, sophomore Devin Fontenot relieved Henry. Fontenot gave up two runs after an error on freshman Drew Bianco, two wild pitches and a single up the middle. With a runner on first, Fontenot gave up a line drive to left field and Cabrera made a highlight reel diving play then popped up to throw to first, ending the inning on a key double play.
“When he got here last year, I would have called him a very average to mediocre outfielder, but he works at it everyday,” Maineri said. “He takes a lot of reps out there, and he just has gotten better and more confident and today he saved the game for us with two tremendous plays.”
After a roar of Alex Box’s crowd on the play, LSU came to the plate. Two early strikeouts put the Tigers in a hole, but sophomore Brock Mathis hustled down the line on a groundball that was juggled at short. He was safe to keep the inning alive. A walk on a wild pitch moved him to third and put Josh Smith on. Brandt Broussard hit a shrap ground ball to third, but the play wasn’t made.
That brought up Duplantis, who already hit a home run earlier in the night. Not to be showed up by the sophomore Cabrera, Duplantis hit a long grand slam to left to tie his career season high and give LSU the 12-7 lead. The duo of Cabrera and Duplantis had a video game stat line — five hits, four homeruns, 11 runs batted in and four runs.
The lead would stay that way as junior right-hander Matthew Beck finished the game for the Tigers despite allowing the bases loaded. Cabrera and Duplantis carried the load for LSU against a scrappy ULM team. Not many people expected the power Duplantis showed tonight except for Cabrera.
“I’ve been hitting with him all fall and honestly he’s made me a lot better hitter,” Cabrera said. “I mean he’s the best hitter in SEC history, I don’t care what anybody says or who the other people are. He’s the best by far.”
