The Tigers never got on track offensively Tuesday night as Tulane took the early lead and preserved it to defeat LSU 8-3 in Alex Box Stadium. Senior right-hander Matt Goebel retired the first nine batters for Tulane University (6-4) and allowed just two hits for one run in four and two-thirds innings pitched. He gave way to Preston Claiborne who pitched equally as well, giving up three hits and one run to the Tigers (7-4) in three and two-thirds innings of work. “I felt good early on with my pitches,” Goebel said. “My sinker was staying down. I was getting a lot of ground balls and a lot of quick outs.” Junior second baseman Chris Jackson, who has been out the past seven games with a stomach ulcer, received clearance to play in a game-time decision for the Tigers. Jackson went two for four in the game with a double and one RBI. “Laying off for two weeks kind of aggravated me a little bit. But to come back out and do a couple of good things tonight feels good,” Jackson said. “When we play [Tulane] in April, hopefully we can come out with a different outcome.” The Green Wave struck first in the third inning on a home run to left field by designated hitter Nate Simon. Tulane added one more in the third and two in the fourth before the Tigers could put a hit together. “We took very feeble at bats,” Mainieri said. “Until Jackson hit a double in the right field corner, I don’t think we had a good swing on the ball. I wish I had a good explanation for you right now.” The Tigers got their first run in the bottom of the fourth off the bat of freshman left fielder Blake Dean. After a double by Jackson, Dean hit a ground ball that bounced over second base to make the score 4-1. Junior shortstop Michael Hollander made it a two-run game in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly to right field, knocking in Sean Ochinko, which was as close as the Tigers would get. Sophomore Louis Coleman kept LSU in the game, giving up five hits and four earn runs in five innings pitched. Coleman received the loss and fell to 2-2 on the season. Another home run just inside the left field foul poll for Tulane, this time off sophomore Ryan Byrd, silenced the Tiger faithful and put the Green Wave up 6-2 in the sixth inning. LSU made it 8-3 on an RBI single to left field by Jackson, which turned out to be their final threat as Tulane closer Daniel Latham came in to shut the door in the ninth. The paid attendance for the game was 8,577 ranking third in the history of Alex Box Stadium. The Tigers will face Tulane again later this season on April 3 at Zephyr Field.
—–Contact Jason Glas at [email protected]