It seemed a high-scoring matchup was inevitable for the LSU baseball team as Sacred Heart’s team ERA at 6.53 and batting average at .309 entering Wednesday night’s game.
Instead, it took until the sixth inning for the Tigers to break a 1-1 tie and eventually sink the Pioneers, 6-1, in the teams’ first ever matchup.
Sacred Heart freshman pitcher Nick Leiningen threw a masterful six innings of two-hit ball in his first career collegiate start.
Leiningen, who had a 10.80 ERA in two previous appearances this season, fooled the Tigers with a multitude of off-speed pitches.
LSU junior pitcher Tyler Jones surrendered three hits and one run in seven innings, becoming the first Tiger pitcher this season to go more than 6 1/3 innings. He had four strikeouts, four walks and a hit batter.
Neither team had a hit until LSU sophomore designated hitter Raph Rhymes busted an RBI single to right field in the third inning, scoring junior left fielder Trey Watkins, who reached on an error.
Sacred Heart threatened in the top of the fourth inning with its first two hits of the game – the latter coming on a two-out hit and run which put men on the corners – but failed to score on Jones.
The Pioneers were able to get their first run and tie the game, 1-1, the next inning after a sacrifice bunt and a bunt for a base hit led to an RBI sacrifice fly to sophomore right fielder Mason Katz.
Watkins was busy on the base paths in the bottom of the sixth inning. He drew a walk, reached second base on a wild pitch, moved to third base on a groundout and made his way home on a sacrifice fly by junior third baseman Tyler Hanover to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
LSU added two runs an inning later with consecutive RBI singles up the middle by freshman second baseman JaCoby Jones and Watkins.
The Tigers repeated themselves in the bottom of the eighth inning with two more runs on an RBI triple by junior shortstop Austin Nola and a suicide squeeze bunt by Katz.
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Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]