LSU opened their weekend in Houston with a matchup against future conference opponent Texas at Minute Maid Park. A dominant performance from Luke Holman paired with two monster home runs were enough as the Tigers held on after a late Longhorns surge.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After another strong defensive start with the Tigers and Longhorns, the offense came for the Tigers in the top of the fourth with a double from Jared Jones before Steven Milam walked and advanced to second on a throwing error.
Tanner Witt then walked the first batter he faced to load the bases for Michael Braswell III, who lined a two-run single to left field to put LSU on the board.
Luke Holman retired the Longhorns in order in the fifth, notching his 9th and 10th strikeout on the night while allowing just two hits.
In the top of the seventh, Tommy White absolutely blasted a ball to left center for a solo home run to extend LSU’s lead to 3-0. The Tigers weren’t done as after a walk from Hayden Travinski and a single from Josh Pearson, Jared Jones had a three-run homer to right field to make it a 6-0 game.
After the seventh inning stretch, Kendall Schuessler hit a solo homer to the Crawford Boxes to put Texas on the board with a 6-1 score.
Texas got a pair of hits in the bottom of the ninth that set up a two-out, two-run double to make it 6-3. However, Fidel Ulloa secured the final out and the win for LSU.
BIG NUMBER: 19
LSU’s pitching staff recorded 19 strikeouts on the night, including 12 from Luke Holman
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Luke Holman
Holman was dominant for the Tigers, throwing 5.2 innings while only giving up three hits and striking out 12 on the night.
UP NEXT: LSU will battle the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns tomorrow evening in Day 2 of the Astros College Classic. First pitch from Minute Maid is set for 7:05 and can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles.