The LSU Tigers won their Southeastern Conference Tournament opener.
On Tuesday morning, No. 11 seed LSU defeated No. 6 Georgia 9-1 at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex. With the victory, LSU advances to the double-elimination portion of the SEC Tournament and likely secures a at-large spot in a NCAA Regional.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
LSU got to work right off the bat as Michael Braswell III singled to left field, and then was joined on the base paths as Tommy White laced a single up the middle.
Jared Jones drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases and Josh Pearson singled up the middle to drive in two runs. Jarvis Evans would get Hayden Travinski to fly out for the first out of the inning but then walked Steven Milam to load the bases.
Evans was pulled for Christian Mracna who came in and got Mac Bingham to fly out and Ashton Larson to strike out.
After giving up a leadoff single to Corey Collins, LSU’s Gage Jump retired the next three batters.
LSU added a run in the top of the second after Braswell scored on a groundout by Pearson. Georgia got on the board in the bottom frame as Dillon Carter scored on a one-out single by Fernando Gonzalez. Jump managed to get the next two batters out to get out of the jam.
Pearson led off with a double to left field and then he advanced to third base on a deep fly by Travinski. Milam then hit a single to left which brought home Pearson. Bingham then singled up the middle and Larson drew a walk which loaded the bases. Alex Milazzo hit a single through the right side which scored Milam.
LSU added another one in the top of the seventh when Braswell hit a single to center field that brought home a run. The Tigers added three more in the ninth with a Milam solo homer, an RBI single by Milazzo and another one by White.
BIG NUMBER: 2
Georgia’s Top Five hitters were held in check throughout Tuesday’s game as the Bulldogs hitters went 2-for-17 with no runs scored, including the SEC Player of the Year Charlie Condon going 0-for-4.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: GAGE JUMP
LSU’s left-handed star pitcher delivered for the Tigers in Hoover. He gave up only one run on four hits while striking out seven in seven innings of work to earn the victory for LSU.
UP NEXT: LSU (37-20, 14-17 SEC) will take on No. 3 seed Kentucky (39-12, 22-8) on Wednesday. The pregame begins at 9 a.m. and the first pitch at 9:30. You can listen to all the action live on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles.