METAIRIE, La. — No. 1-ranked LSU won its eighth-straight game on Tuesday evening behind a masterful performance by freshman left-hander Clay Dirks as the Tigers shut out No. 8 Tulane, 6-0, in front of 10,916 fans at Zephyr Field.
LSU improved to 10-1 on the season and has now won eight-straight games for the first time since 2001. Tulane had its six-game winning streak snapped and fell to 8-2. The Tigers are off to their best start since opening the 1997 National Championship season 19-0. LSU defeated the Green Wave for the third-straight time in the series and improved to 156-117-3 all-time against Tulane. LSU shut out its first opponent since the Tigers blanked the Green Wave 8-0 on April 15, 2003.
Dirks, a native of Hernando, Miss., went the distance for the Tigers to run his record to 2-0. He limited the Wave to just four hits while striking out seven and allowing one walk in his third start of the season. Dirks became the first LSU pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout since Brian Wilson did so on March 14, 2003 in a 9-0 win over Florida.
“I thought he (Dirks) would compete, line up and pitch, but boy he made very few mistakes,” said LSU head coach Smoke Laval.
“I came out focused, got some run support and threw well,” said Dirks.
“(Matt) Liuzza did a heck of a job behind the plate for me and the defense played great. You could not ask for more.”
Junior centerfielder J.C. Holt went 4-for-5 with three RBI to lead the Tigers, getting a hit in his final four at-bats. Holt tied a career high with his four hits, a feat he accomplished for the fifth time.
The Wave had a chance to take the lead in the second inning after a one-out double by center fielder Matt Barket, but he was left stranded as Dirks retired the next two.
LSU took the lead in the top of the third as designated hitter Nick Stavinoha singled through the left side, scoring J.C. Holt, who had reached on a single to right field. Bogusevic got out of further trouble by fanning third baseman Clay Harris and getting Jon Zeringue to foul out to first.
Dirks escaped trouble in the third as the LSU infield turned a dazzling 5-4-3 double play, erasing a leadoff single by Mark Hamilton. Manzella then popped out to short to end the inning. Dirks would retire 11 of the next 12 Tulane batters.
Holt delivered a two-out opposite-field double just inside the left field line that scored both Derek Hebert and Ryan Patterson in the fourth to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. The inning seemingly got off to a harmless start as Bogusevic retired the first two Tiger hitters on groundouts, but Hebert singled with two outs and then Patterson reached on an infield single to chase Bogusevic.
Sophomore catcher Matt Liuzza, a Metairie native, greeted Tulane reliever Daniel Latham with a towering homerun to left field to increase the Tigers’ lead to 5-0. The homer was Liuzza’s second of the season and extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Dirks got better as the game progressed as he struck out the side in the fourth, getting the first two batters of the inning looking and then retiring Barket on a pitch in the dirt to end the frame.
The Tiger lefty struck out Stringer and Manzella to open the sixth and then got Holland on a fly out to center. Dirks set down 20 of the final 22 batters of the game, while Tulane had just two base runners reach second base.
The top of the Tiger order was lethal on Tuesday evening, as the first three hitters in the order, Patterson, Holt, and Liuzza, combined to go 8-for-15 with five RBI. Second baseman Blake Gill and third baseman Will Harris each contributed two hits as LSU banged out 14 hits.
Bogusevic (0-2) look the loss, as he was charged with four runs on eight hits in 3.2 innings with one walk and one strikeout.
The Tigers return home to face the Houston Cougars in a three-game weekend series at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge. Game times for the weekend are 6:30 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday, and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
LSU — 001 400 010 – 6 14 0
TU — 000 000 000 – 0 4 0
WP — Dirks (2-0) LP — Bogusevic (0-2) LOB — LSU 9; Tulane 3
2B — Holt (2); Barket (4); HR — Liuzza (2); SB — Holt (3)
Time — 2:43 Att. — 10,916