LSU Baseball continues to demonstrate undeniable talent on both sides of the diamond, securing its ninth consecutive victory in convincing fashion over the North Alabama Lions by a final score of 13-2
From an offensive standpoint, redshirt junior infielder Tanner Reaves made the most of his opportunity in the starting lineup. In just his fifth start of the season, the JUCO transfer from Blinn College provided much-needed production in the batter’s box.
In the bottom of the third inning, and during his second plate appearance, Reaves rocketed the hitter’s count pitch deep to right-center field and cleared the outfield wall for an insurance three-run home run.
After recording his first home run in the purple and gold, Reaves would eventually pick up another extra-base hit in the form of a hard-hit double down the right-field line.
Despite having to be patient and better understand his specific role moving forward this season, Reaves finds that celebrating his teammates’ success is a rather important, overlooked factor in staying mentally prepared for whenever his number is called upon.
“Just pulling for my guys, I feel that’s probably the biggest thing that I can do whenever I’m not playing,” Reaves said. “It helps me stay engaged. If I’m cheering on the guy in front of me, it helps me stay locked in.”
Establishing such a tight-knit brotherhood inside the locker room has made cherishing these moments of personal on-the-field success more collaborative. With this in mind, Reaves remains grateful for having the opportunity to showcase his improved batting technique(s).
“Me and my mom have a saying that she tells me before every single game. She says,’ See ball, hit ball.’ And I say,’ See ball, hit ball… hard,’” Reaves said. “That’s kind of our thing before every game… that’s just kind of how I approach every at bat.”
During the bottom of the fourth inning, the Tigers were able to further increase their commanding lead due to solo home runs that were demolished by red-hot second baseman Daniel Dickinson (to left field) and fan-favorite shortstop Steven Milam (to right center field).
With this exclamation mark highlight, Dickinson now takes the lead for most home runs so far this season. He has hit five home runs.
As the bats continued to come alive, senior catcher Luis Hernandez, who transferred from Indiana State during the offseason, launched a 2-2 pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning deep into the left field bleachers for his first home run of the season.
Faced with an 8-1 deficit, the North Alabama Lions struggled to make any efforts to facilitate any inkling of a potential comeback.
Over the course of this matchup, the purple and gold faithful were able to witness two other players secure their first home run of the season: Josh and John Pearson.
After two scoreless innings, senior outfielder Josh Pearson ignited this onslaught of runs with a solo home run to right field despite facing an intimidating full-count pitch.
Freshman outfielder John Pearson, his younger brother, would follow in the footsteps of his teammates. With one out in the bottom of the sixth inning, John Pearson annihilated the first home run of his collegiate career that would eventually land deep into the bleachers in left field.
This three-run moonshot would be the final nail in the coffin for North Alabama, as the 10-run mercy rule would be implemented right before the seventh inning stretch.
The Tigers’ offense finished with 13 hits, six of which fall into the category of home runs.
Additionally, four of these home runs were hit by players who came into this game with a goose egg in the long ball department.
From a pitching perspective, sophomore starting pitcher Kade Anderson continues to make strides of improvement with each passing start. Anderson has recorded eight or more strikeouts in four consecutive starts.
The final line for Anderson was 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 11 SO on 92 total pitches thrown.
With striking out 11 batters through six complete innings of work, LSU Baseball Head Coach Jay Johnson remains impressed with his growing level of confidence and maturity on the mound.
“I just rely on him… and the execution has been good,” Head Coach Jay Johnson said. “It sets a really good tone for the weekend. [He’s] not a guy that I’m worried about [being] ambushed.”
No. 1-ranked LSU Baseball prepares for two more matchups this weekend against the North Alabama Lions. The next game will be played on Saturday, March 8, at a now-rescheduled time of 12:00 p.m. CST at Alex Box Stadium in the wake of inclement weather.
