BATON ROUGE — A three-run home run by Ryan Patterson and a two-run single by Blake Gill helped LSU overcome a sluggish start and pull away to a 6-2 victory over Nicholls State on Wednesday night at Alex Box Stadium, the Fighting Tigers’ 10th consecutive victory over the Colonels.
LSU (19-9-1) returns to Southeastern Conference play this weekend with a three-game series against defending conference champion South Carolina beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m. The series continues with games on Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Tigers enter the weekend series at 7-1-1 in the SEC, one-half game behind conference leader Mississippi St.
Nicholls (16-16) built a 2-0 lead and held it through the fifth inning behind the strong pitching of starter Mike Prejean, who gave up just three hits in the first five innings and repeatedly brought LSU up short with runners in scoring position, as the Tigers were 0-for-7 with RBI opportunities through five.
But following a one-out single by Ivan Naccarata in the sixth, Colonels coach B.D. Parker removed Prejean, who struck out seven through 5 1/3 innings but had thrown 91 pitches, and replaced him with left-handed sidearm thrower Mike Bourg.
Bourg walked Blake Gill, but struck out Clay Harris for the second out of the inning to bring up designated hitter Ryan Patterson. Patterson promptly gave LSU a 3-2 lead when he lined a 1-0 pitch just over the left field fence for his sixth home run of the year, tying Jon Zeringue for the team lead.
Gill extended LSU’s lead to 5-2 in the seventh with a two-out, two-run single. The Colonels had an opportunity to end the inning one batter earlier when Naccarata hit a line drive at third baseman David Tano, but he could not tag Bruce Sprowl in time to convert the double play.
Gill has collected 13 of his 23 RBI with two out this season.
The Colonels scored their runs in the third with the help of a pair of Tiger errors.
The first LSU error came with one out in the third when Aaron Hill let a routine ground ball by Nicholls shortstop Chuck Hickman go under his glove into left field. Hickman then moved to second when LSU pitcher Jason Determann’s pickoff throw went past first baseman Clay Harris into foul territory.
Determann struck out Tony Ruiz for the second out of the inning, but he then gave up a ground ball single by Bryan Dantonio that bounded through the right side of the LSU infield to score Hickman for a 1-0 Colonel lead.
Dantonio stole second and then scored on a well-executed hit-and-run when Bryan James slapped a ground ball past LSU third baseman Naccarata into short left field.
Determann, making his first start in more than a year after an elbow injury limited him to two appearances in 2002, struck out a career high seven, walked none and yielded just three hits in four innings.
Reliever Chad Vaught, a fifth-year senior who had pitched to one batter prior to Wednesday, earned the win, his first career decision at LSU. Vaught gave up four singles but retired seven batters on ground balls
Nicholls St. (16-16) 002 000 000– 2 8 1
LSU (19-9-1) 000 003 30x– 6 9 2
Mike Prejean, David Bourg (6), Casey Duhe (7), Beau Lambert (7) and Scott Wearne; Jason Determann, Chad Vaught (5), Greg Smith (9) and Shawn French.
WP–Vaught, 1-0.
LP–Bourg, 2-5.
2B–LSU: Blake Gill (5), Jon Zeringue (6).
HR–LSU: Ryan Patterson (6).
T–2:40.
A–7,416 (paid); 2,910 (actual).