After getting swept by Arkansas and then falling to cross-town Southern, the LSU Tigers returned to SEC play at Alex Box Stadium by welcoming Vanderbilt for a three-game set. The Tigers jumped out to a 9-0 advantage thanks to a six-run third and a three-run fourth inning and were able to overcome a late Vanderbilt rally to win 10-6.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The first two and a half innings were three up, three down with both pitchers moving through the lineups efficiently. Through the first three innings, Luke Holman had six strikeouts on just 41 pitches after facing the Commodores order.
Josh Pearson started the scoring in the bottom of the third for LSU with a home run to right field to make it a 1-0 lead for the Tigers. Mac Bingham then reached on a fielder’s choice, but a throwing error allowed the second run to come in from Paxton Kling to make it 2-0. Then, Tommy White ripped a single right up the middle to score the inning’s third run.
However, the Tigers weren’t done as Brady Neal had a two-run single to left field to make it 5-0 before he came around to score on a sacrifice groundout from Michael Braswell III to make it 6-0 in favor of LSU.
The Tigers added three more in the fourth in part to a solo homer from Mac Bingham and a two-run single from Travinski to give LSU a 9-0 advantage after four innings.
Vanderbilt got a pair of hits in their half of the fifth to break up Holman’s no-hitter and score their first run of the weekend to make it 9-1. With two outs and a 3-2 count, Jonathan Vastine, Vanderbilt’s nine-hole hitter, launched a three-run homer to right center to make it a 9-4 contest.
In the sixth, the Commodores added another run with an RBI single from Jack Bulger before an RBI double from Davis made it a 9-6 game.
In the bottom of the eighth, a base hit by Jared Jones was whiffed on by the Vanderbilt center fielder, allowing Bingham to score from first and make it a 10-6 game.
Griffin Herring came in for his third inning of work in the ninth, but a single and RJ Austin reaching on a dropped third strike gave Vanderbilt life. However, the Tigers were able to hang on and secure the victory.
BIG NUMBER: 9
LSU scored six runs in the third and three more in the fourth, putting them ahead 9-0 and staying ahead for the remainder of the game in a 10-6 final.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Luke Holman
Holman pitched 5.2 innings, giving up six runs (four earned; all coming in his final innings) while striking out 10. The Alabama transfer had a no-hitter through the first four innings.
UP NEXT: LSU and Vanderbilt will return to Alex Box Stadium for Game 2 of the series on Friday night. First pitch is set for 7:00 and can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles.