GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Apparently, the LSU baseball team has enough high performance sports cars on its roster to outrace their own group “klunker.”
The No. 1 Tigers gave 1-9 North Dakota State a 7-1 lead in the third inning and somehow came back to win 11-9 in front of 9,892 at Alex Box Stadium on Tuesday night.
“We finally kind of had a klunker,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “I don’t feel like we had played like that through 13 games, and I’ll look at some things to make sure some of that’s cleaned up. The first inning on defense was our worst inning of the entire season. So, there’s that.”
That included a rare error from this team and another misplayed ball as the Bison took a 3-0 lead. They scored four more in the third for a 7-1 lead. LSU starter Conner Ware allowed five runs on three walks and two hits in two innings. Jaden Noot came on to allow another two runs on two hits with a walk after facing only three batters in the third.
By the fourth inning when North Dakota State took a 9-5 lead on just five hits in the game, three LSU pitchers had walked five batters and threw four wild pitches while the defense committed two more errors with a passed ball.
“But then there’s these guys, and they’re great players,” Johnson said. “And they’re even better people. I’m very proud of them for coming back and winning the game.”
The Tigers (12-1) had cut it to 7-5 in the third with a four-run inning, which included a two-run home run by freshman catcher Cade Arrambide – his first of the season. LSU made it 9-7 in the fourth on a two-run home run by Daniel Dickinson.
After LSU’s first three pitchers – Ware, Noot and DJ Primeaux – allowed eight earned runs on five hits and five walks through three and a third innings, the Tigers finally got some quality pitching from an unlikely source. Junior Chandler Dorsey, a transfer from South Florida, pitched for the first time all season and shut down the Bison over two innings, allowing only a walk. And Zac Cowan and freshman Casan Evans followed suit for the win and the save.
“Yeah, he threw strikes,” Johnson said of Dorsey, who was lost in the depth of LSU’s pitching staff. “And that’s what the previous guys did not do. And we gave away a lot of free bases. I’m really happy for him.”
And the Tigers tied it 9-9 in the sixth on an RBI fielder’s choice grounder by Josh Pearson and an RBI double by Steven Milam, setting the stage for the eighth.
Jared Jones walked after one out, Dickinson singled and John Pearson – pinch-hitting for his brother Josh Pearson – walked to load the bases. And “Monster” Milam delivered a two-run double for the Tigers’ first lead of the game at 11-9.
CASAN EVANS LOOKS LIKE A CLOSER
Evans, a budding closer, struck out two in the ninth to end it for his third save of the season. Cowan (2-0) got the win after throwing two and two-thirds on one-hit, shutout ball with three strikeouts and no walks before Evans.
“I trust those two guys with my life,” Johnson said of Cowan and Evans. “Zac’s got some special pitches. Casan’s got an electric arm. They throw strikes, but their competitive nature and disposition is exactly what you need. They’re just different competitors. They’re in control of themselves and their stuff. They’re going to keep going out there when it matters.”
That will be very soon as LSU opens SEC play against Missouri the weekend after this one when the Tigers host North Alabama.
Dickinson finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Milam was 2-for-4 with three RBIs.
LSU hosts North Dakota State again Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
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