BATON ROUGE — LSU scored 11 runs in the first three innings, providing more than enough run support for four Tiger pitchers who combined to blank the University of New Orleans, 14-0, in seven innings Tuesday night at Alex Box Stadium.
The game was called after seven innings — a mutual decision between the teams’ coaches — marking the second time a game was shortened this season. The Tigers defeated Jacksonville State, 19-1 in seven innings, on February 22.
“Ever since the UL-Monroe game, we tried to focus on who is going to break the link once we get the bats rolling,” said LSU head coach Smoke Laval. “We have to have competitive at-bats once we have the momentum going, and we swung the bats really well tonight.”
LSU (No. 1 Collegiate Baseball, No. 4 Baseball America, No. 5 ESPN/Sports Weekly) won its fifth straight to improve to 16-2, while the loss dropped UNO to 9-12 on the season.
The Tigers open Southeastern Conference play at South Carolina (No. 3 Baseball America, No. 4 Collegiate Baseball and ESPN/Sports Weekly) on Friday night at 6 p.m. CST in a critical opening series for both squads.
Four LSU pitchers combined for the three-hit shutout Tuesday, as they struck out nine batters in the process. Freshman left-hander Clay Dirks (4-0) picked up his team-high fourth win of the season in two innings of work as the starter.
UNO starter Marcus McKenzie did not make it out of the first inning. The Tigers sent 12 batters to the plate in an eight-run, six-hit barrage to chase the freshman left-hander with two outs in the first.
Matt Liuzza started the scoring, ripping an opposite-field single, plating Ryan Patterson, who had reached on a double. Following Clay Harris’ RBI sacrifice fly, Nick Stavinoha lined a 3-2 McKenzie offering off of the top of the wall to collect his second double and 14th RBI of the season. The Tigers increased the lead to 5-0 on Blake Gill’s two-RBI triple down the right field line.
Will Harris walked, bringing UNO head coach Randy Bush out to the mound to make the pitching change as McKenzie gave way to freshman right-hander Justin Garcia. Matt Horwath greeted Garcia with a double, scoring Gill, before Patterson collected his second hit of the inning on a two-run single.
“I think last year we didn’t have quite the intensity in the mid-week games, so we have tried to change that this year,” said Patterson who finished the night 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI. “We have so many good hitters that we are bound to explode all at the same time.”
Seven of the eight runs were charged to McKenzie (1-2) who allowed seven hits and four walks during his outing.
Liuzza increased the lead to 9-0 in the second inning with a leadoff homer — his third of the season — that carried over the right-field wall. The sophomore catcher finished the night 2-for-2 with two runs and two RBI.
The Tigers tacked on three more runs in the third in a rally highlighted by J.C. Holt’s RBI triple, his second of the season, that scored Derek Hebert. Dustin Weaver, pinch-hitting for Liuzza, made it 12-0 on an infield single.
Freshman Michael Bonura allowed one hit in two innings of relief, while sophomores Greg Smith and Jason Determann combined to retire the side in order in the sixth and seventh innings.
UNO (9-12) — 000 000 0 — 0 3 2
LSU (16-2) — 813 011 X — 14 12 0
WP — Dirks (4-0)
LP — McKenzie (1-2)
E — Wasserman (3), Gonzalez (6); DP — LSU 1; LOB — UNO 4, LSU 6
2B — Valverde (3); Horwath (1), Hebert (4), Patterson (8), Stavinoha (2); 3B — Holt (2), Gill (2); HR — Liuzza (3); SF — Hebert (1), Weaver (1), Harris, C. (2)
Time — 2:09
Att. — 7,798 (paid); 3,662 (actual)