COLUMBIA, S.C. — LSU true freshman starting pitcher Lane Mestepey continued his spectacular play in Southeastern Conference contests, as the lefthander pitched eight solid innings to lead the No. 4 Tigers to a 5-3 series-opening victory over No. 9 South Carolina at Sarge Frye Field in Columbia, S.C., on Friday.
Game 2 of the weekend series begins at 3 p.m. CDT on Saturday and can be heard live here on LSUsports.net.
LSU improved to 23-8-1 overall and 9-4 in SEC play, while South Carolina dropped to 25-8 overall and 7-6 in the SEC after losing only its third home game in the 2001 season.
Mestepey improved to 6-0 on the season after allowing three runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out four. He threw 119 pitches. Relievers Weylin Guidry and Brad David combined to pitch the ninth, as David earned his second save of the season.
LSU right fielder Ray Wright led the Tigers offensively with a 2-for-2, three-RBI performance including an RBI single and a two-run homer, his third of the season. Ryan Theriot added an RBI bunt single and went 2-for-3.
South Carolina starter Kip Bouknight received his second loss of the season and fell to 6-2 overall. He threw 102 pitches in 5 1/3 innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits while walking five and striking out seven.
The Tigers got on the scoreboard first in the top of the second against Bouknight, as Todd Linden was hit by a pitch to open the inning and snuck into second on a wild pitch. Linden then scored on a two-out single by Wright to give LSU a 1-0 lead.
The lead was short-lived, however, as South Carolina answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame off Mestepey. Tripp Kelly led off the inning with a single before Mestepey walked Sheldon Brown. Both advanced one base on a balk before Landon Powell reached base on an infield single.
After a No. 9 hitter Chris Plummer grounded into a double play, Drew Meyer singled to score Brown and move the Gamecocks ahead, 2-1.
LSU scored four unanswered runs to drive Bouknight from the game in the sixth to take a 5-2 lead. Wright continued to see the ball well against the All-American righthander, as he hit his third homer of the season over the right field wall in the fourth to put LSU up 3-2.
An RBI single by David Raymer in the sixth gave LSU a two-run lead and brought on Gamecock freshman reliever Gary Adler with one out. Theriot bunted the first pitch from Adler down the first-base line for an RBI single to extend the lead to 5-2. However, LSU left the bases loaded to end the inning.
As Mestepey continued to roll through six innings, South Carolina went to the bullpen again in the top of the seventh, this time for lefty Tommy MacLane.
MacLane walked the first two batters he faced — Linden and pinch hitter Aaron Hill — before Matt Heath was robbed of a double on an impressive catch by leftfielder Michael Floyd. The play saved two runs for USC, but sent MacLane to the showers in favor of lefthander Brett Price.
Pinch hitter Johnnie Thibodeaux struckout swinging and Raymer struckout looking to end the threat without a run.
Mestepey retired 10 batters in a row between the fourth and seventh innings before USC leadoff hitter Drew Meyer singled and Marcus McBeth doubled to open the eighth. With runners on second and third, Mestepey struckout Byron Jeffcoat on his 103rd pitch for the first out.
After pitching around the SEC’s leading home run hitter, Tim Whittaker, to load the bases, Mestepey gave up a sacrifice fly to Floyd to make it a two-run game, 5-3.
Guidry earned the first out of the ninth before walking Powell. After lefthanded pinch hitter Trey Dyson was announced, Guidry was pulled in favor of David. USC countered with another pinch hitter, righthanded Yaron Peters before Dyson could come to the plate.
David struckout Peters and got Meyer out on a fly ball to end the game.