First baseman Tre’ Morgan led LSU’s offensive outburst Tuesday night with three hits and five RBI as the Tigers defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 17-3, in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
The game was halted in the bottom of the seventh inning with the implementation of the NCAA rule that allows a contest to be declared complete if one team has a lead of 10 runs or greater at the seven-inning mark.
“I feel great about tonight’s win, because we certainly have a lot of respect for a Southeastern program that’s been to multiple NCAA tournaments and is in first place in their league,” said LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson, whose team improved to 33-15. “I thought we would have our hands full tonight, and I’m really proud of our team and their approach in the game.
“We’ve handled what’s come our way – both success and failure — over the past few weeks, and we’ll need to continue to do that over this stretch run of the season. I’m really looking forward to this stretch, and I know our players are also.”
LSU left fielder Gavin Dugas led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run, his fourth of the year, to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
Southeastern (22-26) tied the game in the second inning on right fielder Christian Garcia’s homer, his fourth of the season.
The Tigers plated a run in the second on rightfielder Josh Pearson’s sacrifice fly, and LSU exploded for nine runs in the third to seize control of the game.
The nine-run outburst was highlighted by Dugas’ two-run single, Morgan’s two-RBI single, a two-run double by designated hitter Brayden Jobert and a run-scoring single by catcher Tyler McManus.
LSU starting pitcher Samuel Dutton (1-1) earned his first career collegiate victory, working three innings and limiting SLU to one run on two hits with no walks and two strikeouts.
Southeastern reliever Andrew Yuratitch (1-1) was charged with the loss as he allowed the go-ahead run in the second inning with one hit, one walk and one strikeout.
A two-run homer by Lions shortstop Evan Keller in the fifth narrowed the Tigers’ lead to 11-3, but LSU erupted for six more runs in the bottom of the sixth.
The rally was highlighted by McManus’ run-scoring single and a bases-loaded double by Morgan that plated three runs and accounted for the final margin.
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