LSU designated hitter Ryan Patterson launched a two-out, three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to propel the Tigers ahead of Nicholls State, never looking back and winning 6-2 Wednesday night in Alex Box Stadium.
LSU improved its overall record to 19-9-1 while NSU dropped to 16-16.
It took the Tigers six innings to get on the board after the Colonels’ Mike Prejean stifled the Tigers bats and kept them off the bases. Prejean pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up one run on just four hits and striking out seven.
“He threw the ball well,” Patterson said. “He kept the ball down and got us to swing at bad pitches.”
David Bourg replaced Prejean in the sixth with one man on and one out.
The sidearmed lefty walked Gill and struck out Clay Harris before Patterson hit an inside fastball over the left field fence that got out in a hurry, giving the Tigers a 3-2 lead.
Bourg fell to 2-5 on the season with the loss.
“I had left runners on base all game long, and I finally got a hold of one,” Patterson said.
Chad Vaught picked up his first win of the season for the Tigers.
He relieved Jason Determann in the fifth inning down 2-0, but did not allow a run and gave up four hits through four innings.
It was the most action Vaught has seen since the beginning of last season. He had season-ending surgery last April 5, and he said he has been working hard to get back into shape.
“I’ve been dealing with rehab, and I finally got my chance,” Vaught said. “It felt good.”
LSU second baseman Blake Gill continued his offensive output, going 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs.
Gill hit a two-run single with the bases loaded in the seventh inning to extend the Tigers lead to 5-2.
Gill struggled through the middle of March but has come back strong registering three doubles, a triple and eight RBIs in the Tigers past three games.
“I was having a real rough time at the plate,” Gill said. “I was taking it pretty hard, but I kept doing the same thing, and the baseball gods came down, and now its going my way.”
LSU third baseman Ivan Naccarata finished the game 2-for-3 and scored two runs.
Naccarata is 7-for-12 in the Tigers past three games and holds a .348 batting average.
The Tigers return to action Friday at 6:30 p.m. when the defending Southeastern Conference champions South Carolina Gamecocks enter Baton Rouge for a three-game series in Alex Box Stadium.
Injury News
Right-handed pitcher and normal Friday night starter Brian Wilson (5-3, 3.38 ERA) underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Wednesday to examine his injured right shoulder.
Laval said Wilson will sit out at least two weeks before he is reevaluated by doctors.
Wilson marks the eighth LSU baseball player this season to go down with an injury.
Freshman Justin Meier (3-0, 1.50 ERA) will replace Wilson in the weekend rotation.