In a way, a baseball fan has to feel bad for Holy Cross, who walked into Alex Box Stadium for its opening weekend against an LSU team that was tearing the cover off the ball in its first four games of the season.
The Crusaders did what they could, scoring a few runs here and there. But it was all LSU from Friday night to Sunday afternoon.
NOTABLE
Senior pitcher Ben Alsup made his second start of the season, but this one was not under the bright lights on a Friday night.
Alsup threw six innings Sunday, giving up one earned run on five hits while walking three and striking out one on a couple of extra days’ rest.
LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri elected to give freshman Kevin Gausman his first Friday night start, allowing him to experience the pressure of opening a series.
Gausman fared well, giving up three earned runs in six innings while striking out seven and walking three on 92 pitches.
Kurt McCune one-upped his fellow freshman on Saturday, giving up just one earned run in six innings to go along with three strikeouts while throwing 79 pitches.
On the offensive side of the ball, it was freshman second baseman JaCoby Jones who led the Tigers during the weekend, batting a scorching .750 with four RBIs and four runs scored.
His backup, second baseman junior Mike Lowery, has also gotten off to a fast start this year, batting 2-for-2 Sunday to up his average to .833 on the year. He has only failed to reach base once in his six at bats this season.
For those keeping track, LSU’s two second basemen have combined to hit 17-for-26.
But it wasn’t all pretty for LSU’s offense. Junior centerfielder Mikie Mahtook, who started off the season on a rampage, cooled off a little during the weekend, going 3-for-11.
LINEUP CHANGES
Mainieri elected to start junior catcher Jordy Snikeris on Sunday for the second time this season over freshman Ty Ross.
Ross has been struggling at the plate at the start of this season, and he went 2-for-8 in the first two games of the series with three RBIs, including a 1-for-5 performance on Saturday.
Snikeris didn’t fare much better, going 1-for-3, but he did manage to score two runs.
It isn’t uncommon for a coach to give a catcher rest every few games.
STREAKS
With their 15-4 victory Sunday, the Tigers have now scored 10 or more runs in four consecutive games. The last time an LSU team did that was back in 2009, when they scored at least 10 runs in six straight games.
Prior to 2009, it was back in 2003 that the Tigers accomplished four straight games with at least 10 runs.
Other streaks that stayed alive during the weekend were the hitting streaks of sophomore right fielder Mason Katz and sophomore designated hitter Raph Rhymes, who have hit safely in all seven games this season.
QUOTABLE
Mainieri on Alsup’s outing and early-inning struggles: “We’d like to see him have a few more one, two, three innings so the coach’s stomach can have a break.”
Mainieri on Lowery’s fast start: “If he keeps going up there and having at bats like [he is], he’s going to find himself with some more playing time.”
Alsup on the difference between pitching on Friday night and Sunday afternoon: “Day and night.”
Alsup’s non-sarcastic remark on the difference between pitching on a Friday night and Sunday afternoon: “On Friday, basically you have the whole day to think about the game that night and what you are going to do. On Sunday, you wake up in the morning, and you just come to the field.”
 
 
 
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contact Andy Scwehm at [email protected]