For the seventh consecutive game the Tigers jumped out to an early lead in the first inning and the No. 16 LSU baseball team defeated South Alabama 9-4 on Wednesday night.
Freshmen pitcher AJ Labas had his best game as a Tiger pitching a season high six innings on his way to his first win of the season. Labas gave up only four hits on the night, never allowing a runner to get past second base.
Labas was excellent tonight commanding his fastball and changeup around the zone. The rookie struck out a season-high five Jaguars on the night throwing only 74 pitches.
“I feel more comfortable each time out here now,” Labas said. “The first two I was just trying to get back in the swing of things, but now it just seems like I’m throwing harder”
The runs came quick for the Tigers as they drew two walks and bunted for a single in the first inning. Junior catcher Hunter Feduccia came to the plate with the bases loaded hitting a two RBI single into the left field gap giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
The Tigers would rally for one run in the fourth inning after an RBI single by Hal Hughes helped stretch the LSU lead to 3-0. The Tigers would plate four more runners in the fifth inning bringing nine Tigers to the plate.
After two bases loaded walks helped bring in two, lead-off man Zach Watson hit a chopper just over the third baseman’s head scoring two and stretching the lead to 7-0.
Another walk and hit by pitch in the sixth inning set up designated hitter Bryce Jordan with two runners on. Jordan singled into left field driving in one run for the Tigers. The seventh walk of the night by the Tigers and a single by Watson set up junior Antoine Duplantis with a man in scoring position.
Duplantis would plate the last run of the night for the Tigers in the seventh with a single into right field, pushing the lead to 9-1.
The Tigers used seven relief pitchers to help close out the game, giving up three runs on six hits. Trying to make a comeback with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, the Jaguars were shut down by pitcher Devin Fontenot. The freshmen was able to get out of inning with a strikeout, preserving LSU’s lead.
LSU’s relief pitchers would not be so lucky in the eighth inning as they gave up three hits and walked two. Taylor Petersen and Cam Sanders failed to record an out in the inning before handing it over to sophomore Matthew Beck.
Beck finished the inning for the Tigers striking out two, but the Jaguars cut the lead to 9-4 through eight.
“Our bullpen got a little bit sloppy there for a couple innings but Matthew Beck came in and was terrific and got us out of the jam,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. “That’s a good club we beat tonight and were now 12-6 one game less than what were last year entering SEC play. We found out a lot about our team, who we can count on and I was very happy with the way the guys played tonight.”
The Tigers start their SEC schedule on Friday with a matchup against Missouri set for 6:30 p.m at Alex Box Stadium. Sophomore right-hander Zack Hess is set to get the start for the Tigers.