Entering Wednesday night’s contest, Southeastern Louisiana’s team ERA was 7.41 and hitters were batting a robust .342 against the Lions’ pitching staff.
Do not think LSU hitters failed to take notice.
The No. 7 Tigers (27-13-1) busted out 15 hits en route to a 14-8 win, despite nearly blowing a 9-1 lead in the sixth inning.
Left fielder Ryan Patterson was 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs, and infielder Clay Harris, who is hitting .402, also was 3-for-5 with two RBIs.
Right fielder Jon Zeringue added three hits, two RBIs and a rare two stolen bases in one inning. Second baseman Blake Gill joined the hit party with a double and two RBIs.
Zeringue, who began the season mired in the low .200s, has raised his average to .317.
“I changed my approach, changed my hitting stance, I changed everything,” Zeringue said. “I went back to what got me here, and it’s starting to come together.”
The Tigers were able to put the ball in play. The reward was not only double-digit hits but also four SLU errors.
“I think we’ve gotten a lot better over the last two weeks,” Gill said of the team’s approach at the plate. “Once everybody starts hitting, it’s a little contagious, and it carries on throughout the season.”
LSU coach Smoke Laval said he expects players like Zeringue, Patterson and Harris to perform at this level.
“They’re suppose to, that’s why they’re here,” Laval said. “If they were 0-for-5, I wouldn’t put them in. Zeringue’s been on the move up, Harris has been steady the whole time and Patterson is Patterson.”
Freshman Greg Smith and reliever Billy Sadler combined to close the door on SLU, retiring the last eight hitters consecutively.
Chad Pendarvis (3-1) took the loss for SLU.
Starter Jason Determann (3-0) grabbed the win after going 5 1/3 innings and allowing six runs, five earned, and seven hits.
Determann was cruising along until the sixth. After retiring the first hitter in the inning, Determann was touched up for fourth straight singles and a double.
Chad Vaught came in relief and did not fair much better. After managing to get out of the sixth despite a balk and an error by Gill, Vaught struggled in the seventh.
After recording one out, Vaught walked lead-off hitter Robert Larson. This was followed by an error by first baseman Harris, then another Vaught walk to load the bases.
Cleanup hitter Jeff Janzen singled to left to score one, cutting the score to 9-7, and Vaught was pulled by pitching coach Brady Wiederhold.
“We had opportunities to win the game, but we didn’t play well early, and they got up a few runs,” said SLU coach Dan Canevari, the Tigers former pitching coach. “We made some errors. The pressure was big for us, meaning that’s the most fans [we’ve] ever played in front of. We haven’t come into Alex Box Stadium many times where we’ve felt like we had a chance to win.”
Smith came in and shut down the Lions with consecutive strikeouts. He followed with a three-up, three-down eighth before Sadler pitched a perfect ninth.
“We needed it,” Laval said of Smith’s performance. “For him, we needed it. We need someone to step up.”
LSU next plays the Tennesse Volunteers in a weekend series at Alex Box Stadium, beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m.