This season has been much of a struggle for center fielder J.C. Holt, coming off a Freshman All-American performance last year.
Once seeing his average dip below .250 and tied for the team lead in strikeouts, Holt enjoyed a 3-for-4 evening in No. 6 LSU’s 7-2 victory over New Orleans (20-25) at Alex Box Stadium Wednesday night.
“I’ve been telling them all week that I need a three-hit or four-hit game,” Holt said. “I got a three-hit game tonight, so that was big as far as confidence goes going into the weekend.”
The Tigers (31-14-1) hope Holt breaks out of the slump he has been mired in. He raised his average to .274 while scoring and driving in a run.
LSU is counting on Holt to hit well when he is in the lineup against right-handed pitching. In the meantime, he will platoon with outfielder/designated hitter Quinn Stewart, who will be in the lineup against left-handed pitching.
“The last couple of weeks I’ve been in a bit of a slump,” Holt said. “That’s why I haven’t been playing much against left-handers, to get my confidence up. It’s something that’s never happened to me before, and it’s pretty hard to deal with.”
LSU coach Smoke Laval said the Tigers are expecting Holt to come through in this manner.
“It’s not a surprise if you saw him play last year,” Laval said. “It’s a surprise at how he’s struggled and took a little bit longer to come out of it than normal. I’m happy for him. I’m comfortable with him [in the lineup].”
Left-hander Jason Determann improved to 4-0 on the season with an eight inning, eight-hit, two-run (one earned) performance. His ERA stands at 2.23.
“I tried to keep the ball down and work the corners,” Determann said. “For the most part, I did that tonight.”
Laval was impressed with Determann’s performance.
“He played outstanding,” Laval said. “He really earned his stripes tonight. He really pitched good.”
Chris Bourgeois (2-6) took the loss, going five innings and giving up nine hits and six runs (four earned).
Billy Sadler came on and finished off a scoreless ninth for the Tigers after giving up a leadoff single.
LSU fell down 1-0 in the third before scoring two in the fourth on a Jon Zeringue RBI groundout and a Bruce Sprowl single.
The fifth saw UNO take advantage of a three-base error by second baseman Blake Gill. The ball was fielded by Gill, who threw it too low for first baseman Clay Harris. It then skipped under catcher Matt Liuzza, who was backing up the play. Designated hitter Chris Adams hit a sacrifice fly to score UNO’s last run.
LSU’s four-run fifth was highlighted by a two-run Ivan Naccarata triple. The Tigers would expand their lead to 6-2 and go on to add one more in the eighth inning.
The Tigers will be in action against Mississippi State on Friday in Starkville, Miss., beginning at 6:30 p.m.