LSU baseball outlasted Milwaukee in a 5-3 pitchers’ duel on Day 2 of opening weekend at Alex Box Stadium.
Cooper Moore took the mound for LSU on Saturday, and he dominated the Milwaukee bats. Through six innings, he only allowed four hits and not a single walk. The junior right-hander made a showing with his 11 strikeouts on the night.
“I’m a big believer in just going right at guys and getting ahead and counts,” Moore said. “I think that opens up more room for error when you get ahead and counts, so that’s my goal, not to walk anyone.”
Moore received huge praise from his teammates during preseason press conferences. Redshirt senior Tanner Reaves said that ‘his stuff is amazing,’ and head coach Jay Johnson said he was one of the best pitchers on staff during fall ball.
The bats weren’t necessarily cold early for LSU. The purple and gold kept hitting shots to the deep outfield, but the Milwaukee defense had the Tigers played just right. The at-em balls eventually fell for LSU to take a few runs.
Third baseman Trent Caraway had himself a day at the plate after a tough opening day offensively. It took three innings for the Tigers to record a hit, and it was Caraway who marked the first H in the books.
“Tanner had a great preseason,” head coach Jay Johnson said. “I think he was second on the team in hitting … I like the game competitor that I see so far with Trent.”
He put a good swing and put the ball right back where it came from on the ground. This was all the team needed to get a rally going because of Chris Stanfield’s speed; two RBIs were added to the team tally after a throwing error and a couple of hard-hit balls in play.
Three huge insurance runs were tacked on in the eighth inning with two-RBI doubles by junior shortstop Steven Milam and sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide.
But the Panthers weren’t going down without a fight, striking back after LSU’s big innings. Milwaukee scored its only run in the fourth and threatened to score in the ninth.
Milwaukee pitcher Aric Ehmke pitched to contact, only garnering three strikeouts in seven innings pitched. He kept the potent Tigers offense to four hits, which was a big feat considering the 15 hits the Tigers posted in just eight innings at the plate in Game 1.
When the bats are stunned, the defense has to step up, and the Tigers did just that. The defense was clean and did everything a pitcher could ask for when they pitch to contact. It’s very unlikely for all 27 outs to be handled between the battery, and when the lead is hanging on by one run, defense makes or breaks games.
It was the bullpen that struggled the most for LSU. Maverick Rizy and Zac Cowan did the most for the Tigers’ bullpen on Saturday. Rizy showed off his offspeed to keep the Panthers bats quiet, and Cowan closed the ninth with a beautiful slider that just fell off the table.
But it was Grant Fontenot who closed the door on Milwaukee. He secured the final out of the game.
Together, they collected six strikeouts of their own.
In terms of the rest of the season, the comeback from a slow start will be good for LSU. After late nights on Friday and Saturday, Sunday rubber matches will follow. When the sluggish starts come into play, learning how to shake it off enough to get by will be helpful during the tough SEC.
LSU will continue to get a feel for what’s working as it takes on the Panthers for the third and final time on Sunday at Alex Box Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
