BATON ROUGE — Justin Meier improved to 3-0 with five shutout innings of three-hit ball, and Aaron Hill drove in three runs as LSU held off a ninth-inning rally by Southeastern Louisiana
LSU (8-6) continued its mastery of Louisiana opponents, winning its 16th game in its last 17 outings against in-state competition. The Fighting Tigers also won their ninth consecutive midweek contest dating back to last season.
The Tigers have also won 18 of their last 20 meetings with SLU (3-6) dating back to 1990. LSU will host SLU on April 23 in a game that was added to the schedule after both schools suffered rainouts in February.
LSU (No. 16 Baseball America, No. 18 Collegiate Baseball) opens a three-game weekend series with Winthrop (9-3) of the Big South Conference at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Meier, a freshman from Windmere, Fla., allowed the Lions three hits and fanned a season over his five-inning stint to improve to 3-0. In his three starts this season, Meier has allowed one run and eight hits in 15 innings for an 0.60 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .160.
SLU started the ninth with a single to Anthony Garibaldi and a double to Mark Weinmunson to put runners on second and third with no out. LSU reliever Jason Determann retired the next two batters, but Justin Casas cut the Tiger lead to 4-2 with a two-run single up the middle.
Determann struck out pinch hitter Robert Waltman to end the game and nail down his first career save.
SLU starter Risley St. Germain retired seven of the first eight batters he faced before allowing back-to-back singles to Matt Liuzza and Bruce Sprowl with two out in the third.
Quinn Stewart walked to load the bases, but J.C. Holt hit a routine ground ball to shortstop that appeared would end the inning with no damage for the Lions. But the ball went off of Chris Rusnak’s glove into short left field to score Liuzza, and then Hill dropped a two-run single into right center for a 3-0 Tiger lead.
Each team had an opportunity to score in the fourth but failed to do so. Weinmunson led off the top of the inning with a double and went to third on Jeff Janzen’s ground ball to second, but Blaine Wyninger hit a soft line drive to second base and Hill made a diving stop of Casas’ ground ball and threw Casas out by a half step to end the inning.
LSU loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batsmen in the bottom of the fourth, but like SLU in the top of the frame, the Tigers came away empty as Stewart grounded to shortstop to end the inning.
J.C. Holt drew a leadoff walk and stole second in the fifth to set up Hill, and the Tigers’ junior shortstop lined the ball past a diving attempt by SLU center fielder Carl Trosclair to score Holt for his third RBI of the game.
LSU put runners on second and third with one out following Hill’s triple, but Blake Gill lined into an unassisted double play to Lion shortstop Chris Rusnak to end the threat.
Hill and Ivan Naccarata, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games, both went 2-for-4 to lead the Tigers at the plate.
The game marked the homecoming for SLU coach Dan Canevari, who was an assistant at LSU from 1991 through 2002, including the previous five seasons as the Tigers’ pitching coach. SLU was playing its first game in eight days, a 7-1 loss at Tulane on February 25.
SLU (3-6) 000 000 002– 2 6 2
LSU (8-6) 003 010 00x– 4 7 1
Risley St. Germain, Jeremy Mizell (5), Brad Pitarro (7), Colin Casey (8) and Justin Casas; Justin Meier, Jason Determann (6), Billy Sadler (9) and Matt Liuzza.
WP–Meier, 3-0.
LP–St. Germain, 0-1.
S–Determann (1).
2B–SLU: Mark Weinmunson 2 (3).
3B–LSU: Aaron Hill (2).
T–2:22.
A–7,235 (paid); 2,330 (actual).