Tigers Defeat VMI, 11-8, On Opening Day At 'The Box'

BATON ROUGE, La. – Second-ranked LSU defeated VMI, 11-8,  Friday afternoon inside Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field on the strength of third-year head coach Jay Johnson’s middle of the lineup that features veteran leadership, including designated hitter Hayden Travinski, first baseman Jared Jones and left fielder Mac Bingham.

The trio of Tigers finished the program’s 23rd consecutive Opening Day victory with eight RBI on seven hits.

LSU improved to 1-0 on the year, while the VMI dropped to 0-1.

The Tigers return to action Saturday afternoon to face Central Arkansas at 1:00 p.m. CT. in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. The matchup will be streamed on SECN+ and it will be aired on the LSU Sports Radio Network.

LSU left-handed reliever Nate Ackhenhausen (1-0) earned the win with three innings pitched, six strikeouts, and two walks.

“I’ve used the phrase, ‘I trust Nate with my life,’” Johnson said. “On the first day of the season, you want guys who can control their heartbeat. Sometimes it takes guys a while to acclimate to the atmosphere of a real game with a big crowd like we had today. Nate had some big strikeouts, and the momentum tipped to us during his outing.”

Left-hander Gage Jump made his LSU debut and recorded his first save by retiring the side in order with the ninth inning, firing two strikeouts.

VMI reliever Jaxon Lloyd (0-1), the third of four relievers for the Keydets, was charged with the loss after working 0.1 inning and allowing two runs on no hits.

LSU starter Thatcher Hurd shut out VMI for the opening two frames and recorded two strikeouts. Jones opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning for LSU with a three-run home run to put the Tigers up 3-0.

After VMI struck back to score four runs in the third inning, left-hander Justin Loer came was summoned from the LSU bullpen and ended the frame with a strikeout.

The Tigers responded with two runs to take a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the third. Travinski singled up the middle and Bingham was hit by a pitch to put two runners on for centerfielder Paxton Kling, who doubled down the left-field line to score Travinski and Bingham.

VMI answered with single runs in the next two innings, as centerfielder Owen Prince provided an RBI double, and rightfielder Cole Jenkins launched a solo home run to left-center field to give the Keydets a 6-5 advantage.

LSU erupted for five runs on only one hit in the sixth inning, capitalizing on five hit-by-pitches. Kling and catcher Brady Neal were hit by a pitch, and shortstop Michael Braswell III executed a sac bunt to advance the runners.

Rightfielder Jake Brown and third baseman Tommy White then became a part of the string of HBP by VMI pitchers. Kling came in to score on White’s free pass, and Neal scored when Travinski was plunked.

Jones drew a bases-loaded walk to score Brown, and Bingham lined a two-RBI double down the left-field line to give the Tigers a 10-6 lead.

“Mac is a great player, he’s a great person,” Johnson said. “He’s confident, he’s focused, he’s disciplined, and he played really well today.”

LSU added a run in the bottom of the eighth on Travinski’s solo homer.

“It was a good team win,” Johnson said. “Our best player, Tommy White, didn’t have a hit today, and we still put up 11 runs on 12 hits. I’m excited about that.”