BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU pounded out 16 hits Tuesday night, including three homers, as the Tigers defeated Louisiana-Monroe, 12-5, in Alex Box Stadium.
Sixth-ranked LSU, 30-11, won for the 10th time in its last 11 games. ULM dropped to 28-14 with the loss.
LSU travels to Metairie, La., Wednesday to face Tulane at Zephyr Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Home runs by catcher Brad Cresse, second baseman Mike Fontenot and first baseman Brad Hawpe highlighted LSU’s offensive attack.
Cresse’s two-run blast in the first inning, his 19th homer of the season, gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead. The homer was the 67th of Cresse’s career, tying him with Mississippi State’s Rafael Palmeiro for second place on the all-time SEC home run list.
Fontenot’s three-run shot in the fourth, his 11th of the year, increased LSU’s lead to 7-2, as the Tigers scored five runs in the frame.
Hawpe led off the sixth inning with his fifth home run of the season, extending the Tigers’ lead to 8-2.
Ben Saxon, 4-0, earned the victory for LSU, as he worked four innings in a starting role, limiting the Indians to two runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
ULM starter Ian Giammanco, 1-2, took the loss, as he allowed five runs on five hits in three innings with two walks and one strikeout.