With so many new faces on LSU baseball’s roster this season, inevitably, a few of them would make an early impact.
This was exactly what happened in LSU’s 2-0 win against Central Arkansas.
Game two of opening weekend was slow moving for both teams. It quickly became a battle of the defenses, as each team sat down the bats of their opponents with ease.
A chunk of LSU’s lineup had trouble finding the gaps, allowing the Bears to make plays with ease.
For Central Arkansas, however, most of its deficit at the plate was due to the mound performance by Alabama transfer, Luke Holman.
Purple and gold fit the Pennsylvania native nicely. In just over five innings, Holman allowed only three hits. He walked one and struck out 10 in the 19 batters he faced. Of the 87 pitches he threw, 54 were strikes.
Griffin Herring was the reliever for Holman. In the one inning he pitched, Herring walked three and struck out one. The sophomore faced six batters.
Fidel Ulloa also made his LSU debut on the mound. He came into the game after Herring had walked two batters in a row.
The San Joaquin Delta College transfer introduced himself to Tiger fans in the best way he could’ve.
Ulloa sat down the two batters he faced almost as quickly as they’d walked up to the plate. His two strikeouts closed out the inning.
Ulloa pitched just over one inning, striking out three and walking one. He threw 28 pitches in his outing, and 18 of them were strikes.
Freshman DJ Primeaux also made an appearance on the mound. He only faced one batter.
Junior Sam Dutton closed out the game on the rubber for the Tigers. Dutton faced three batters and tallied two strikeouts.
LSU’s lineup looked a bit different against the Bears. Left fielder Mac Bingham sat in lead off, and Brady Neal was in the second hole as designated hitter.
Most notably, however, was the change at second base. True freshman Steven Milam made his college debut in the infield. He sat eighth in the lineup, right after shortstop Michael Braswell III.
It was his first real game opportunity to prove his capabilities, and Milam did just that.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the New Mexico native whipped a grounder to right field. The RBI roped in catcher Hayden Travinski, who was hit by a pitch to kick off the bottom of the inning.
That was the only score of the game for either team until the bottom of the eighth inning.
First baseman Jared Jones sent a bomb down the right field line. It was his second home run of the season.
Some of these newcomers are aiming to have made a big enough case to put their names in the starting nine come conference play, and with performances like Milam’s against Central Arkansas, he’s sure to be a part of the conversation.
The Tigers continue their season with game three of opening weekend against VMI, the team they started their season with.
That game is set to kick off at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday at Alex Box Stadium.
