NEW ORLEANS — LSU starter Lane Mestepey rebounded for his fifth win in seven-plus innings of work and reliever Jordan Faircloth delivered his most impressive performance of the season to register his third save as sixth-ranked LSU held off No. 13 Tulane in front of a paid crowd of 21,343 Tuesday night at the Louisiana Superdome.
The recorded attendance fell short of the collegiate single-game record (40,106) set earlier this season at San Diego’s brand new PETCO Park in a contest between San Diego State and Houston.
It was the third-straight 9-5 final score between the two teams in the three previous Superdome meetings. Tulane captured a 9-5 victory in 2003, while LSU defeated the Wave 9-5 in 2002.
The Tigers (32-11) captured the season series after both teams split the first two contests by virtue of a pair of shutouts. LSU hosts Alabama in a three-game Southeastern Conference series that gets underway Friday at 6:30 p.m. Tulane (30-13) travels to Memphis this weekend.
Junior outfielders Ryan Patterson and Jon Zeringue continued their recent success, going a combined 5-for-10 with four runs and two RBI on Tuesday. The two enjoyed stellar weekends at Tennessee, batting .444 (12-for-27) with eight RBI and two homers.
Both LSU and Tulane traded runs to start the game. Patterson wasted little time extending his hitting streak to a team season-high 15 games when he ripped a one-out double down the left field line. He would come around to score the game’s first run on Zeringue’s RBI single.
The Wave manufactured a run on a pair of doubles by second baseman Joe Holland and catcher Greg Dini.
LSU reclaimed the lead in the third on Zeringue’s double play groundout that scored Patterson again.
Matt Goebel entered the game to start the fourth, relieving starter Billy Mohl (6-3) who was touched for two runs on seven hits, registering 56 pitches in three innings.
Goebel was greeted with singles by Ivan Naccarata and Derek Hebert before facing J.C. Holt with a runner in scoring position. Holt delivered the big blow in as many games, belting a three-run opposite field homer to give the Tigers a 6-1 advantage.
The 2004 Golden Spikes Award nominee smashed a three-run double to give the Tigers the lead for good in Sunday’s series finale versus Tennessee.
Mestepey was on his game for the first four innings, setting down seven straight at one point, before surrendering a leadoff single to Wes Swackhamer to start the fifth.
Swackhamer was erased on 1-6-3 double play groundball, but the Wave managed to cut into the deficit after taking advantage of two-out walk to Tommy Manzella. Scott Madden, the No. 9 hole hitter, drilled a two-run homer that made it a 7-3 contest.
The Tigers capitalized on a pair of Tulane miscues in the sixth. Holt worked a leadoff walk, then stole second before scampering to third on a throwing error by Dini. He was followed by Patterson who reached on third baseman Brian Bormaster’s throwing error, allowing Holt to score. Zeringue followed with his RBI single.
Tulane mounted a serious threat in the eighth, chasing Mestepey after a leadoff homer by Holland and three straight singles by Dini, Bormaster and Swackhamer. Mestepey left after allowing five runs on 11 hits in 7.1 innings — his longest outing of the season.
“I ran out of juice there in the end,” said Mestepey. “I haven’t really went that long in a long time, but it helps when your guys score runs for you. It is a positive momentum shift, and you just have to go out there and throw strikes.”
Jordan Faircloth inherited a one-out, bases loaded jam with the tying run represented at the plate by Brian Bogusevic. Faircloth fanned Bogusevic and got Manzella to ground out to shortstop to silence the threat.
He worked a scoreless ninth, recording two strikeouts to pick up his third save of the season.
“Our pitching is getting stronger every weekend,” said Mestepey. “I think we have a good future ahead of us.”
LSU 9, Tulane 5 (Apr 27, 2004 at New Orleans, La.)
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LSU…………….. 101 502 000 – 9 15 1 (32-11)
Tulane………….. 100 021 010 – 5 11 3 (30-13)
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Pitchers: LSU – Mestepey; Faircloth(8). Tulane – Mohl; Goebel(4); Latham(6).
Win-Mestepey(5-1) Save-Faircloth(3) Loss-Mohl(6-2) T-2:51 A-21343
HR LSU – Holt (5).
HR TU – Holland (6); Madden (3).