No. 2 LSU baseball scored early on, and it was enough for the Tigers to come away with a 4-0 win over Xavier.
Luke Holman once again put in another stellar performance on the mound for LSU. He didn’t allow hit on the night and has now gone 24.0 innings this season without allowing a single run. He also recorded 10 strikeouts on the night.
“The story tonight is the pitching,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said. “Love to see that. We’re going to win a lot of games when they don’t score any.”
Luke Hoskins got the start on the mound for Xavier and found himself in trouble early on. He gave up singles to Steven Milam and Tommy White in the first inning to put two runners on with one out gone.
A double from Brady Neal scored Milam and a sac fly from Travinski scored White to give LSU a 2-0 lead early on. Ashton Larson grounded out to end the inning, but LSU would add to its score again in the second.
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After a Jared Jones groundout and a Mac Bingham walk, Michael Braswell III hit an RBI triple to score another for the Tigers. An RBI double from Milam scored Braswell and brought the lead to 4-0. White grounded out afterwards to end the inning.
“We were on it early,” Johnson said. “Got a little unlucky. There was a few of those things, a few things we could’ve done better for sure. That’s the game. It’s hard.”
In the third inning, LSU got two singles from Travinski and Larson but couldn’t add to its lead. Hoskins locked in from there though and it became a pitcher’s deal between him and Holman.
Holman found himself in some trouble in the fourth inning after walking one batter and hitting another with a pitch to start the inning. But, with runners on first and second and no outs, Holman struck out three straight batters to get out of the jam.
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Hoskins pitched until he was pulled to start the bottom of the eighth inning without giving up another hit to the LSU offense. He finished the night allowing seven hits, four earned runs and walking two batters in 7.0 innings pitched. He also recorded five strikeouts.
Hoskins was replaced by Jake Lambdin. Christian Little came in to pitch for Holman in the top of the seventh. Little gave up a double and a single but managed to get out of the inning thanks to a double play.
Little gave up a single and a walk to put runners on first and second with two outs to go in the inning and was pulled for Griffin Herring. Herring struck out the first batter he faced to escape the inning.
LSU’s offense continued to struggle on the night and went three up, three down in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Tigers finished the night with seven hits and Milam led the way going 2-for-4 with one RBI.
“[Milam] is confident and he’s well skilled in strike zone discipline and contact,” Johnson said. “I think he knows a swing. I think he can make adjustments. I don’t think he gets rattled easy.”
Herring struck out two batters in the ninth inning and a fly out meant LSU would come away with a 4-0 win. LSU’s pitchers ended the night 15 strikeouts and only allowed three hits. All three hits were allowed by Little.
“Great pitching by Luke [Holman],” Johnson said. “Christian, great performance by him. Great performance by Griffin. I think that’s as close as Griffin has looked. The team is designed that way and built that way and I’m very happy with a win tonight against a top-30 RBI team.”
LSU plays Xavier again tomorrow at 5 p.m. A win would clinch the series for the Tigers. Gage Jump will get the start on the mound and the game can be watched on SEC Network+.
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