BATON ROUGE — Six LSU pitchers combined to pitch a two-hitter while Brad Cresse, Jeff Lipari and Brad Hawpe hit multiple-run home runs to power LSU past New Orleans, 17-2, Wednesday night at Alex Box Stadium.
After scoring 17 runs for the second consecutive game,LSU improved to 16-8 on the season while UNO fell to 13-6. Starting pitcher Bo Pettit picked up the win after pitching a scheduled four innings and allowing no runs and no hits. Pettit improved to 2-1 on the season.
The Tigers would take the no hitter into the seventh before Jason Scobie allowed a single to the leadoff batter.
Starter Todd Thompson, the first of six UNO pitchers, received the loss after pitching 2 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs on six hits while walking one and striking out three. He fell to 2-1 on the season.
LSU has now won five straight games and beaten UNO in 18 of the last 22 meetings between the two schools.
After Pettit put UNO down in order to begin the game, LSU drew first blood when Ryan Theriot hit a one-out single before Brad Cresse punched the first pitch over the right field wall for a two-run home run, his ninth of the season.
To open the bottom of the second, Jeremy Witten was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a stolen base. Designated hitter Jeff Lipari then hit a sharp ground ball through the left side to drive in Witten and give LSU a 3-0 lead.
Pettit continued to dominate the Privateers, retiring the side in order in the second and allowing only one runner to reach base on an error after a strikeout in the third.
Cresse walked to open the bottom of the third inning and then moved over to second on a single up the middle by Brad Hawpe. With runners on first and second and no outs, Blair Barbier drove in his 20th run of the season with a chopper past shortstop Cooper to score Cresse and increase the lead to 4-0. Barbier moved to second on the throw to the plate and Hawpe advanced to third. Hawpe scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by center fielder Wally Pontiff.
After Witten fanned on a high fastball for the second out, Lipari chased Thompson from the game after putting a 1-0 fastball into orbit over “The Intimidator” in right field to increase the margin to seven runs. It was Lipari’s first home run of the season and his fifth and sixth runs batted in. UNO’s Kevin Uhles came in to get the inning’s final out on one pitch.
Pettit allowed a walk in the fourth but got out of the inning with a strikeout and a great defensive play by shortstop Mike Fontenot who went deep in the hole to rob UNO’s leading hitter, John Ballon, of a base hit.
LSU put runners on the base to open the bottom of the fourth innings as Fontenot was hit by a pitch and Theriot reach on an error on the second baseman that could have resulted in a double play. Both would score when Cresse singled to left and drove in his third and fourth run of the game to make the score 9-0.
After pitching four innings of no-hit ball, Pettit was relieved by Billy Brian to begin the fifth. Pettit struck out six and walked one while facing two over the minimum in four innings.
Brian put UNO down in order in the fifth and sixth innings.
For the first time in the LSU half of the frame, the Tigers failed to score in the fifth inning after putting two aboard with only one out.
Right-hander Ryan Lousteau entered the game in relief of Uhles in the bottom of the sixth. Uhles pitched 2 1/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on one hit while striking out one.
For the Tigers in the top of the seventh, Jason Scobie made his first appearance of the season, and the first batter he faced, Ballon, broke up the no-hit bid with a single up the middle. However, he quickly recovered to sit down the next three UNO batters and get out of the inning.
Jeremy Loftice came in to pitch the eighth for the Tigers, but walked the first two batters he faced and was lifted in favor of Ben Saxon. Saxon gave up the second hit of the game by UNO, a single to pinch hitter Drew Pizza, to load the bases with no outs. Pinch hitter Chad Stouder then walked to score Rowland Skinner and give UNO its first run. The next batter up, Ballon, would hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field to score Mike Sanchez and cut the lead to 9-2.
The Tigers would answer UNO’s runs in the bottom of the innings as Ryan Jorgensen hit a no-out, bases-loaded double to drive in Fontenot and Ray Wright, making the score 11-2. Hawpe came to plate next and launched a 400-plus foot bomb over the right-center field wall for his second home run of the season and a 14-2 lead.
Witten continued the onslaught by roping a double to left-center to score Barbier from second. Then, Ray Wright lined a double into right-center to drive in Witten and make the score 16-2 with one out. With the bases loaded after a walk to Fontenot, Victor Brumfield reached base on a fielder’s choice, driving in Lipari from third for LSU’s final run.
LSU would score eight runs on five hits in the eighth to finish off the Privateers.
Weylin Guidry would retire the side in order in the ninth to end the game.