BATON ROUGE — Outfielder Bruce Sprowl — in his first game since the 2003 season — went a perfect 3-for-3 providing one of four LSU homers, while senior left-hander Lane Mestepey proved to be in midseason form as the second-ranked Tigers defeated Nicholls State, 12-1, in the season opener Friday night at Alex Box Stadium.
LSU (1-0) will go for the series victory over the Colonels (0-1) in Game 2 set for Saturday at 2 p.m.
Sophmore left-hander Clay Dirks (8-2, 3.43 in 2004) will take to the mound against freshman righty Justin Breaux (1-2, 4.81 in 2004).
Mestepey (1-0) was brilliant in seven innings of work, allowing no earned runs on just two hits and striking out four. The Zachary, La. native threw an economical 80 pitches, including 58 for strikes in a game that lasted just 2:14.
“It feels great to get back out there with no pain,” said Mestepey. “I felt like my old self out there, competing and getting groundballs. I knew when I threw strikes the defense would do the job for me.”
The win elevated Mestepey to the 30-win plateau, moving the southpaw into a tie for fourth in LSU’s all-time pitching victories with Pat Moock, Chad Ogea and Mike Sirotka.
Nicholls State starter Mark Fernandez took the loss, allowing seven runs (all earned) on four hits and walking three in 3.2 innings of work.
The Colonels took advantage of a critical throwing error to take an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Leadoff hitter Michael Roberts reached on third baseman Bryan Harris’ throwing error and took second on a pass ball. Roberts would come around to score the Nicholls’ lone run on Tim Daigle’s RBI groundout.
Fernandez held the Tiger batters in check for the first two innings, but back-to-back hit batsmen on Derek Hebert and Rhett Buteau gave Sprowl and the Tigers their first scoring opportunity in the third.
Sprowl, making his first appearance since the 2003 College World Series, blasted Fernandez’ 0-2 fastball deep over the left field wall for the second homer of his career and the first since April 25, 2003 at Tennessee. The three-run shot gave the Tigers a 3-1 advantage after three innings.
Right fielder Nick Stavinoha cranked a three-run homer of his own one inning later, scoring Clay Harris and Dustin Weaver. In that same inning, leftfielder Rhett Buteau chased Fernandez from the game on his solo homer, the first of his career, inside the right-field line, giving the Tigers a six-run cushion at 7-1.
“The poise of the older guys kind of excited me here tonight,” said head coach Smoke Laval. “With this first game, you get behind and you boot a ball, but it seemed like the older guys didn’t show any panic whatsoever. That is a good sign.”
Buteau started in place of Ryan Patterson, a move Laval said was done to give the fifth-year senior a chance to prove himself.
A five-run seventh inning highlighted by a two-run single from Will Harris and a two-run homer from Dustin Weaver closed the door on Nicholls State.
Freshman Eric English, the Florida High School 6A Player of the Year, relieved Mestepey in the eighth and breezed through his first career outing, working the final two innings without allowing a hit to just two walks.
LSU 12, Nicholls State 1 (Feb 11, 2005 at Baton Rouge, La.)
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Nicholls State…… 100 000 000 – 1 2 1 (0-1)
LSU……………….. 003 400 50X – 12 10 1 (1-0)
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Pitchers: Nicholls State – Fernandez, M; Greer, Chris(4); Turano, Aaro(7). LSU – Mestepey; English(8).
Win-Mestepey(1-0) Loss-Fernandez, M(0-1) T-2:14 A-8185
HR LSU – Sprowl (1); Weaver (1); Stavinoha (1); Buteau (1).
Actual attendance: 5,284