LSU Easily Defeats McNeese, 14-1

Photo By: LSUsports.net

4/7/2021
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports


   BATON ROUGE, LA: LSU has lost six of their last seven games, so coming into Tuesday's contest with McNeese State, the Tigers were looking to come away with a much needed win, and that they did. The Tigers were able to get their bats going tonight as they easily beat McNeese State, 14-1....  

   Lets take a look at the game recap below.... 




          1st INNING:

   Leadoff hitter Payton Harden would drive the first pitch of the ball game into left field just over the outstretched glove of LSU short stop Jordan Thompson for a single. After a pop up, Harden would steal second base to get into scoring position. LSU starting pitcher Garrett Edwards would retire the next two batters to strand the Cowboys' runner on base...

   The Tigers would quietly go three up-three down in the bottom of the first inning..




          2nd INNING:

   Edwards would pitch a nice second inning, facing four McNeese hitters, stranding a runner on first base..

  Jordan Thompson would draw a one out walk, then would be able to advance to second on a Cade Doughty fielders choice out at first base. 
    Giovanni DiGiacomo would then step up to the plate and drill a double to deep left field to score
Thompson from second. Christian Vega would get Travinski to ground out to first to end the inning, stranding DiGiacomo on base. We would head to the top of the third with LSU up, 1-0. 




          3rd INNING:

   Will Hellmers would enter the game for the Tigers after two nicely pitched innings by Garrett Edwards. After giving up a leadoff base on balls, Hellmers settle in and would put out the next three McNeese hitters.

   The Tigers continue to struggle at the plate, again going three up-three down...




          4th INNING:

   After putting out the first two Cowboy hitters, Hellmers would walk Julian Gonzalez, who would then steal second base. The Tigers would register the final out to leave the runner on base to end the top of the 4th.

   McNeese head coach Justin Hill would decide to go to his bullpen, bringing in Zack May to relieve Vega. Gavin Dugas would leadoff the Tiger 4th inning with a single to left field. Brody Drost would step up to the plate next and would end up on first base after May hit him with a pitch.. With two on and no outs, Thompson would step up next and come through with a timely single to left field scoring Dugas.
   2-0 Tigers as Coach Hill would decide to pull May, bringing in Hunter Reeves to face the LSU Hitters. Reeves would have little luck as Cade Doughty would hit a single right up the middle scoring Drost and advancing Thompson to third base.
   DiGiacomo would then ground out to the pitch, bringing Thompson home.  Hayden Travinski would then draw a base on balls. Zach Arnold would then ground out to the pitcher, moving Travinski to second and Doughty to third.
   Dylan Crews would step up next with two outs and two on, and would rip a two RBI single up the middle. Crews would get caught trying to steal second to end the inning, but the Tigers would have a nice frame at the plate, extending their lead to 6-0.




          5th INNING:

   Coach Mainieri would send Michael Fowler to the mound to replace Hellmers to start the 5th.
Fowler would give up a one out single, but would then strike out the next two McNeese hitters to take us to the bottom of the inning.....

   Tre' Morgan would leadoff the inning being hit by a pitch giving him a free trip to first base. After Dugas would fly out, Drost would get on with a base on balls, setting up runners on first and second with one out. Thompson would step up to bat but would hit a grounder to the third baseman who would step on his bag to force Morgan out. 
   Cade Doughty would hit next and would launch a long fly ball that would hit off of the deep center field wall, for a two RBI double. 
   DiGiamoco would then ground out for the final out. But the Tigers would have an inning, adding two more runs to their lead... LSU 8 - McNeese St. 0...




          6th INNING:

   Theo Millas would enter the game to pitch for LSU to begin the 6th, and on his first pitch he would give up a solo homerun to Nate Fisbeck. 
   Millas would quickly settle in and get the next two Cowboy hitters out before giving up a single down the third base line to Gonzalez. But McNeese would leave him on base as the Tigers would get their last put out of the top of the inning...

   Hayden Travinski would leadoff the inning by launching his fourth homerun of the season over the
left center field wall... After a Zach Arnold strike out, Dylan Crews would draw a walk, forcing another pitching change by Justin Hill, as McNeese would send their sixth pitcher of the night, Brody Strahan, to the mound. Strahan would manage to get the next two LSU hitters out to avoid anymore damage done. After six innings LSU now leads 9-1. 




          7th INNING:

   Millas would return to the rubber and would need to throw several pitches to get the first two Cowboys out, as they would battle hard at the plate. Mainirei would decide to bring Jacob Hasty into the contest to get the final out of the 7th and would do so forcing a ground out.

   LSU would go quietly in the 7th inning, sending four batters to the plate, leaving one on base.




          8th INNING:

   Aaron George would take over the pitching duties in the top of the 8th and would pitch well as the Cowboys would go down in order quietly, three up-three down..

   The Tigers would hope to add some insurance runs in the bottom of the 8th as Cade Doughty would start things off with a leadoff single to center field before taking second base on a wild pitch. 
   Zach Arnold would get hit by a pitch sending him to first base. Collier Cranford would enter the game to pinch run for Arnold. That would set up runners on first and second with no outs for Mitchell Sanford who would line a ball to deep right center field to the base of the wall for a two RBI triple. Sanford would then come home to score on a wild pitch to extend LSU's lead to 12-1. Will Safford would then step up to bat and draw a walk.
  McNeese would make another pitching change, sending Sean-Michael Brady, their ninth pitcher of the night. 
  Cade Beloso would then single to left field, advancing Safford to second. Drost would be up next in the lineup and fly out to deep center field, allowing Safford to tag up and advance to third base. 
   Jake Wyeth would then fly out to right field scoring Safford from third. 
   Next up would be Cade Doughty who would double to left field bringing home Beloso. 
   The Cowboys would register the final out to finally stop the bleeding as we would head to the 9th with
LSU now up, 14-1. 




          9th INNING:

   Paul Mainieri would insert Trent Vietmeier in to pitch and he would easily take care of the Cowboys in the 9th, three up-three down, ending the ball game with a 14-1 LSU victory.




    “It feels great to get a win, especially after a tough weekend,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “You don’t always know how the kids are going to respond when setbacks happen, and I was concerned because we were playing a very good McNeese team. But, I’m proud of the way we competed tonight and we earned a nice win.......  I thought Gio really gave us a lift with his return to the lineup,” Mainieri said, “and Garrett Edwards gave us a lift as well with the way he pitched early in the ball game. I’m just happy for our kids tonight, because it puts them in a good frame of mind as we get ready to go to Lexington.”
 

   With the win LSU is now 18-11 on the season. Garrett Edwards would earn his first win of the season (1-2). 

   With the SEC being so loaded this season, the Tigers need to continue taking advantage of playing these mid-week games against teams from inferior conferences that they can beat up, trying to help raise their confidence as they go into a SEC series weekend. It's like playing in a Super Regional every weekend. It's brutal competition.... 

   Next up the Tigers will travel to Lexington to take on the Kentucky Wildcats. 
     

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