BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU, voted college baseball’s Program of the 1990s by Baseball America, got its 2000 campaign off to a rousing success by recording 8-0 and 13-2 victories over Virginia Saturday at Alex Box Stadium.
The Tigers (2-0, #6 ESPN/USA Today, #8 Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball) and Cavaliers (0-2) finish their three-game series Sunday at 1 p.m. (CST).
In the opener, junior left-hander Brian Tallet hurled a three-hit shutout, becoming the first LSU pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout in a season opening game in Skip Bertmans 17 years as LSU coach.
The Bethany, Okla., native threw only 101 pitches, struck out seven and allowed just two walks and three singles in becoming the first LSU left-handed pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout since Mike Sirotka blanked Arkansas 3-0 on April 24, 1993 in Fayetteville.
The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Brad Cresse that scored David Raymer, followed by a sacrifice fly from Brad Hawpe to plate Ryan Theriot.
LSU, which got an unearned run in the fifth on Tim LaVignes throwing error with two outs, broke the game wide open with a five-run fifth, all with two outs. Hawpe got it started with a home run, then Blair Barbier walked and Cedrick Harris was hit by a pitch. Jeff Liparis RBI single scored Barbier, and after Jeremy Witten was hit by a pitch, Raymer lifted a fly ball into the sun in right that Ben Himes misplayed into a three-run double.
Virginia had its best threat in the fourth, when Ryan Kalamaya got the Cavs first hit of the game, stole second and went to thirdthe only Cavalier runner to get that farwhen Cresses throw skipped past Mike Fontenot into center field. But two batters later, Jon Benick grounded into an inning-ending double play.
The Cavs had two runners on in the ninth, but once again Tallet induced Kalamaya to ground into the game-ending double play.
The second game was dominated by redshirt freshman Bo Pettit. The Houstonian had little trouble in throwing six shutout innings, allowing just two singles and striking out six to earn his first victory for LSU.
Fontenot got the Tigers on the board in the first with an RBI single to score Theriot, then got three in the fifth, two on Barbiers RBI single after Theriots sacrifice fly scored Witten with the first run of the frame.
Catcher Ryan Jorgensen, making his first appearance fort he Tigers, blasted a solo home run into the left-center field bleachers in the fourth to make it 5-0.
Jorgensen also had a very good night behind the plate, picking off two runners and gunning down a third attempting to steal second.
As was the case in the first game, the Tigers broke it open with a big late-inning surge, this time getting seven in the seventh, with the key hits being Cresses three-run homer and an RBI double by Fontenot.
The Cavs got their first run of the series on Robert Words sacrifice fly in the eighth.