The way the 2017 baseball season started for the LSU Tigers (1-0) may not have been ideal as the Friday night game was scrapped due to weather. However, the first official game of the season was what they wanted as they took down Army (0-2) by the score of 4-0.
After LSU retired the side in the top of the first, Cole Freemann picked up right where he left off with a leadoff single. He would then steal second and advance to third due to a fielding error. Duplantis would ground out and send Freeman home to take an early 1-0 lead.
Later in the inning, Greg Deichmann who was cleared to play after having surgery to his face on Sunday after being hit by a pitch would hit a two run home run just over the right field wall to increase their lead.
Deichmann wasn’t the only one to hit the long ball as freshman Jake Slaughter would hit the first pitch in the bottom of the fourth and send it sailing over the left field wall to make it 4-0.
Freeman would extend LSU’s lead in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI double that rolled all the way down the left field line to send Brennan Breaux home. It would become 6-0 later in the inning after a throwing error by first baseman Ty Giovinco led to Freeman making it home safely. The Tigers domination continued with Bryce Adams hitting another one home with an RBI single to left field. They would score two more runs in the inning to make it 9-0.
Alex Lange started his season off with a win after a strong five innings allowing only four hits and six strikeouts. Austin Bain was credited with the save with one inning of work allowing one hit and struck out one batter.
The Tigers will play the Black Knights again in another seven inning game with first pitch set for 4 pm.
-Clint Domingue