BATON ROUGE — Starting pitcher Jason Anderson kept LSU off balance for 8 2/3 innings, as the Southern Jaguars defeated the No. 2-ranked LSU baseball team, 11-6, for their first victory in the 36-game history of the series which dates back to 1970.
Southern (7-3) knocked LSU (12-3-1) from the cloud it was riding after returning from Tempe, Ariz., with a 2-0-1 record against No. 3 Arizona State and extending its undefeated streak to 11 games.
Anderson (1-1) allowed all six runs (five earned) on eight hits, while striking out six and walking seven. He threw 167 pitches to earn the win.
Bryan Moore led the Tigers offensively with a 3-for-5 showing and Ryan Theriot was 2-for-4 with a double. Matt Heath drove in three runs with a two-RBI single and a fielder’s choice which scored a run.
Southern’s Michael Woods and Rickie Weeks each had three hits to lead the Jags, while Marcus Chandler, Franco Blackburn and Robert Primus each had two. Woods and Jerel Johnson each hit homers for Southern.
Southern jumped on first-time starter and loser Brian Wilson (0-1) in the first inning with a run on a pair of hits for an early 1-0 lead.
Woods, who scored the Jaguars’ first run, homered with two outs in the third to give Southern a 2-0 lead.
Anderson breezed through the LSU lineup over the first three innings, allowing only a single and a double to Theriot who was stranded both times.
A one-out triple to center field by Rickie Weeks in the top of the fourth scored Primus from second base for a 3-0 lead. Theriot’s throw to third went past Wally Pontiff and allowed Weeks to score.
LSU mounted an attack by loading the bases in the bottom of the fourth against Anderson. Moore hit a one out single and advanced to second when Todd Linden was hit by a pitch. Pontiff walked to load the bases for Johnnie Thibodeaux. Thibodeaux hit a sharp liner to? third baseman Johnson who had a chance to turn a double play and end the inning unscathed. However, Johnson booted the ball and missed a tag at third allowing Moore to score. Heath then hit into a fielder’s choice to score Linden from third to but the lead to 4-2.
However, Southern tagged LSU with three more runs in the top of the sixth against LSU reliever Tim Nugent. Nugent gave up a two-run homer to Johnson to give the Jags a 6-2 lead. A single, wild pitch and an RBI single by Fernando Puebla put Southern ahead 7-2.
The Jags added another unearned run in the top of the seventh against Justin Hill, who entered to start the inning.
Trailing 8-2 entering the bottom of the eighth, LSU’s Zeph Zinsman walked, Moore singled and Pontiff walked to load the bases once again for Thibodeaux. But, just as he did throughout the game, Anderson bent but would not break. Anderson struck out Thibodeaux on three pitches before giving up a two-RBI single to Heath, cutting the lead to 8-4. Pinch hitter Sean Barker then grounded out to the catcher to end the inning.
Reliever David Shank made his first appearance as a Tiger to open the ninth inning. Shank gave up a leadoff single, a stole base, a walk, setting up a two-run triple by Franco Blackburn and an RBI double by Weeks to give Southern a 11-4 advantage. Shank was relieved by Weylin Guidry.
LSU loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth with no outs, however Anderson stuckout Moore and got Linden to ground into a fielder’s choice which scored Theriot. With two outs, Pontiff walked to load the bases, again, for Thibodeaux. Thibodeaux walked to drive in Aaron Hill and drove Anderson from the game after 8 2/3 innings of work.
Carl Primus entered in relief and struckout Heath looking to end the game.