LSU Beats Youngstown State 5-3 on Cade Doughty's Walk Off Home Run...

Photo By: Jonathan Mailhes

2/27/2021
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports


   BATON ROUGE, LA: The Tigers would win this one with a walk off two run homer by Cade Doughty, as LSU would beat the pesky Penguins of Youngstown State 5-3. YSU gave the Tigers all they could handle as the Penguin pitchers did an outstanding job cooling off LSU's hot bats. It would take six LSU pitchers to finish off a well hitting Youngstown team. Alex Brady would earn the victory. His first win of the season. LSU showed toughness and grit battling hard for a victory on a night when they were off of their game. With the win, the Tigers are now 5-1. 


   AJ Labas would find himself in a bind in the top of the first. After a leadoff out, Youngstown State's Phillip Glasser would double to right center. Labas would then hit Andre Good, then walk Blaze Glenn to load the bases with only one out. Labas would step up and register a strike out then a ground out to get out of the inning with no damage done.
   Dylan Crews would get things going offensively for the Tigers with a lead off double to the gap in left center. Tre' Morgan would single to left field advancing Crews to third. Cade Doughty would then step up to the plate and hit a double to left center, scoring Crews and moving Morgan to third. Cade Beloso would then ground out to second base picking up a RBI as Morgan would come home to score. The next two Tigers would fail to reach base and we would go to the 2nd inning with LSU on top 2-0.

  The game would remain quiet until the end of the 5th inning as both starting pitchers would do a masterful job of keeping the bats under control. 
   Coach Mainieri would lift AJ Labas after four straight solid innings and the 1st inning hick up
bringing Trent Vietmeier out to the mound to start the 6th.  Vietmeier would only face two batters, managing a ground out then a walk.
   Mainieri would then insert Jacob Hasty onto the mound. Hasty would struggle giving up a single, then allowing the runner to take second and then third base on wild pitches. Turner Grau would step up to the plate and hit a ground out RBI to cut LSU's lead to 2-1. 
   Will Hellmers would enter the game to replace Hasty, getting the final two outs to protect the Tigers lead.
   The Tigers would continue to have trouble hitting Penguins starting pitcher Collin Floyd as they
would leave Zach Arnold stranded on 2nd base to end the 6th inning. 

   LSU would threaten in the bottom of the 7th as Jake Wyeth would hit a lead off single, finally chasing off Floyd as the Penguins would go to their bull pen, putting Joel Hake on the mound. Will Stafford would pinch run for Wyeth, advancing to third base on back to back ground outs. Tre' Morgan would step up and finally bring in the Tigers first run since the 1st inning, singling to center field, scoring Stafford. 3-1 Tigers. 
   Doughty would step up next hitting a single to left field to put runners one 1st and 2nd with two outs. Both runners would advance on a wild pitch. Cade Beloso would then get hit by a pitch to load the bases. Zach Arnold would pop up for the final out, leaving the bases loaded. We would head to the 8th with LSU up 3-1.

   Devin Fontenot would come in to relieve Hellmers in the top of the 8th with two outs and a runner
on first. After walking the first batter he would face, Fontenot would then give up a RBI single to Nick Caruso. With the score now 3-2 Tigers, the scrappy Penguins were still not finished. Lucas Nasonti would drive a RBI single to center field to tie the game at 3-3. 
   After a Mainieri visit to the mound, Fontenot would still struggle to get the final out as he would issue a walk to load the bases. Phillip Glasser would step up and line out to Brody Drost in center field for the 3rd out of the inning. We would go to the bottom of the 8th all tied up at 3-3.
  The Tigers would be unable to score in the bottom of the 8th as Youngstown State pitcher Chad Coles would sit the LSU batters down three up-three down.

   Alex Brady would enter the game to pitch the 9th for the Tigers. After striking out the lead off hitter, Blaze Glenn would hit a routine ground ball to short stop. Zach Arnold would bobble the ball, then throw wild to Morgan at first base allowing Glenn to advance to scoring position at 2nd base.  Next up Brae O'Shaughnessy would pop up behind home plate. Alex Milazzo would make a fantastic catch diving into the back stop for the 2nd out of the inning. Brady would then strike out the next Penguin batter to ring up out number three. We head to the bottom of the 9th inning with a 3-3 tie.
   YSU would send Gary Clift Jr. to the mound to pitch the bottom of the inning.  Jordan Thompson would pop out to the infield for out number one. Crews would step to the plate and head to first base after getting hit by a pitch. Tre' Morgan would then fly out in left field foul territory. Cade Doughty would stand between keeping it going or an extra inning ball game. 
   Clift would try to pick off Crews at first and throw wildly. Crews would advance to 3rd on the error.  Doughty would step back to the plate and rocket the next pitch out of the park over the left field wall for a two run home run. Tigers win 5-3 in walk off fashion. 
    

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Photo Below By: Jonathan Mailhes