In a game surrounded by a football atmosphere, the final score of the LSU-Southern baseball game Tuesday night at Lee Hines field was fitting.
Behind six players who had multiple-hit games, LSU defeated Southern 21-10 in front of an estimated capacity crowd of 1,200 people.
The Tigers’ barrage of runs began in the third inning and did not end until the eighth, as LSU knocked out 18 hits on the night.
In the understatement of the century, Southern coach Roger Cador said “There was a lot of offense. For people who love offense, we had a lot of offense tonight. It wasn’t all Southern’s way, but it was good to see teams swing the bat, and balls leaving the park, and some balls hit well.”
It was Cador’s Jaguars who drew first blood.
After LSU starter Lane Mestepey retired the first two Southern hitters in the bottom of the second inning, Cary Nelson ripped a two-out single.
Then Marcus Townsend III stepped up to the plate and hit a two-run blast over the left-center field wall to give Southern the early 2-0 lead and the Jaguar fans something to cheer about.
But in the top of the third, LSU made Southern realize why the Tigers had won 38 of the 39 contests ever played in the series.
Shortstop Derek Hebert led the third inning off with a single and center fielder J.C. Holt followed it with a walk.
Left fielder Ryan Patterson then hit a three-run shot to put LSU in front. Right fielder John Zeringue later scored on a Dustin Weaver sacrifice fly to put the Tigers ahead 4-2 going into the bottom of the third.
But the Jaguars provided their fans with a few more fireworks in the bottom half of the third.
Designated pitcher Gerard Gause led the inning off with a solo home run to pull Southern within one run at 4-3. Joshua LeBlanc and Joey Mouton later scored in the inning with the help of an LSU error, and Southern led 5-4, at the end of the third inning.
But the buck stopped there.
The Tigers went on to score four runs in the fourth inning, five runs in the fifth inning and seven runs in the sixth inning to put the Jaguars away.
For the game, Holt went 2-for-4, scoring four runs and walking three times. Patterson went 3-for-4 with five RBIs and two walks. Designated hitter Nick Stavinoha went 3-for-5 with five RBIs while Hebert went 4-for-6 with four runs.
Hebert led off the third through the sixth innings with singles and scored in every one of those innings.
The Jaguars were no slouches from the plate, recording 15 hits, and Gause hit two home runs, both while leading innings off.
But 11 walks by seven different pitchers doomed them to defeat.
“The ballpark played small tonight for both teams,” LSU coach Smoke Laval said. “We ran into a few [bad innings] but we elongated some innings which was part of the plan here, to try to get more than a couple runs and stay out of the double play ball. After the first inning it worked real well.”
Patterson continues to hit the ball well, extending his hitting streak to 11 games and pushing his team leading RBI total to 45.
“I was glad to come out here and swing the bat well,” Patterson said. “How many hits you get doesn’t matter. It just gets me ready for the weekend and I’m glad we came out with a win and I’m feeling good at the plate.”
Mestepey improved to 5-1, pitching 4.1 innings and allowing eight runs on 10 hits.