BATON ROUGE — LSU put together a pair of five-run innings in the first and fifth innings and held off Northwestern State, 10-5, in the second game of the season-opening three-game set on Saturday afternoon at Alex Box Stadium.
The Fighting Tigers (2-0) can complete the sweep of the Demons (0-2) Sunday at 1 p.m. LSU will start fifth-year senior right-hander Bo Pettit (9-7, 3.35 in 2002) against Northwestern State junior left-hander Phillip Martinez, a junior college transfer from El Paso Community College in Texas.
LSU has started 3-0 in five of the previous seven seasons, and four of the Tigers’ five national championship shave come after 3-0 starts.
The Tigers (No. 6 Collegiate Baseball, No. 7 ESPN/USA Today, No. 9 Baseball America) were held scoreless through seven-plus innings before scoring two runs in the eighth for a 2-1 victory on Friday, but wasted little time in overcoming an early 1-0 deficit.
J.C. Holt reached with a leadoff single and stole second, then scored the tying run on Aaron Hill’s double to the gap in right-center field, and Hill scored one batter later on Blake Gill’s RBI single.
Bruce Sprowl then hit a routine ground ball to Demon second baseman Brandon Morgan that would have ended the inning, but Morgan booted the ball, leaving the runners safe. Jon Zeringue made Northwestern St. pitcher Michael Perkins pay dearly for the error when he launched a three-run home run into the left-field bleachers for the Tigers’ first round-tripper of 2003.
Matt Horwath reached on an error by Hunter Thoms before Perkins was removed after lasting two-thirds of an inning. Perkins, a senior right-hander who pitched last year at Creighton, yielded four hits and five runs, although only two were earned.
The 5-1 score held until the fifth, when the Demons’ Steven Adams doubled home Josh Boop, who led off the inning with a single. Adams took third on the throw home, then scored on Anatole Vincent’s sacrifice fly.
Hill walked with one out in the fifth to start LSU on its way to its second big inning. Hill would score all the way from first when he took third on Gill’s single, then scored when Alonzo Soliz’ throw went past the third base line and almost into the Demon dugout.
Sprowl followed with a base hit to bring Gill home from second, and following a walk to Zeringue, Horwath doubled home both runners and eventually scored on a base hit by Dustin Weaver.
LSU starter Brian Wilson gave up eight hits and five runs (three earned) over 5 2/3 innings to pick up the win.
Northwestern St. put together three consecutive singles to start the sixth and scored a run on Michael Palermo’s base hit, and a two-out error later in the frame by Horwath allowed Nolan Jones to score, at which point Clay Harris replaced Wilson. Harris walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, but Soliz lined to Sprowl in left field to end the threat.
Northwestern St. (0-2) 100 022 000–5 11 4
LSU (2-0) 500 050 00x– 10 9 2
Michael Perkins, Cory Keener (1), Clayton Turner (5) and Blake Jones; Brian Wilson, Clay Harris (6), Jordan Faircloth (9) and Dustin Weaver.
WP–Wilson, 1-0.
LP–Perkins, 0-1.
2B–NSU: Steven Adams (1); LSU: Aaron Hill (1), Blake Gill (2), Matt Horwath (1).
HR–LSU: Jon Zeringue (1).
T–2:55.
A–7,576 (paid); 3,503 (actual).