METAIRIE, La. — Matt Heath’s grand slam highlighted a six-run third inning as top-ranked LSU sent Skip Bertman out in style in his final game in New Orleans, crushing the University of New Orleans 12-1 in front of a crowd of 7,667 Tuesday night at Zephyr Field.
The game was called after seven innings by the 10-run rule by mutual agreement between Bertman and UNO coach Randy Bush.
LSU (36-13-1), which won its eighth consecutive game and its final non-conference outing of the year, now heads to Arkansas for a three-game Southeastern Conference series with the Razorbacks beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville. The SEC leading Tigers will enter the Arkansas series at 17-7 in the conference, one game ahead of Ole Miss and two games ahead of Georgia.
The Tigers wasted little time in getting on the board, scoring two in the top of the first. Ryan Theriot was hit by a pitch to lead off the game, Mike Fontenot followed with a single before Wally Pontiff sacrificed both runners over. Theriot came home on a wild pitch by UNO’s Rory Shanks, then Fontenot scored on Todd Linden’s RBI single. Linden tried to score on Heath’s single, but he was thrown out at the plate.
Aaron Hill’s sacrifice fly in the second gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead before they broke the game open in the third. Pontiff and Linden started off the big inning with back-to-back singles, and after Moore walked, Bush replaced Shanks (1-5) with Kevin Uhles, and his first pitch was slammed by Heath over the swimming pool in right field to make it 7-0.
UNO’s misery wasn’t over, though, as Johnnie Thibodeaux doubled two batters after Heath and Hill singled before Theriot drove home Heath with another base hit. Pontiff’s single two batters after Theriot closed out the scoring in the inning.
UNO (20-27) scored its only run of the game in the third as Donnie Bollich reached on Pontiff’s error and Steve Rowell doubled him home. Hill’s two-run single in the fourth brought home LSU’s final runs.
LSU pitcher Bo Pettit made his first appearance since March 23 a successful one, as he went three innings and allowed just one hit and an unearned run while striking out five to improve to 4-0. Brad David added two perfect innings in the fourth and fifth, while Billy Brian and Brian Wilson added one scoreless innings each.