Tuesday Night Recap

Coming off of a weekend in which the Tigers flexed their talent against an overmatched South Carolina team, they did the same against Tulane on Tuesday night. Jay Johnson described the game as the team’s most complete performance of the season. It still wasn’t perfect, but it was really good. He had said on his pregame radio interview that their plan was to start Danny Lachenmayer, hoping that he could get through the Green Wave lineup once and complete 3 innings. After that, they planned to go to their top-4 bullpen arms, including Deven Sheerin, Gavin Guidry, Santiago Garcia, and Grant Fontenot. With the help of some early offense, Fontenot was the only one that they had to use from that group. Those pitchers that they did call upon pitched well. Although Tulane scattered 11 hits throughout the game, LSU’s staff only walked 2 batters, which is very promising considering what we’ve watched at times this year. The 13 strikeouts from Tiger pitching was impressive from the middle of the bullpen.

LSU’s bats have been hot since being swept at home by Texas A&M in a series that they only scored 8 combined runs. Everyone in the starting lineup recorded a hit last night, totaling 16 in just 8 innings. The Tigers walked 6 times and were also hit by a pitch twice. Oddly enough, although Cade Arrambide had one of the best games of his career, his 3 strikeouts were the only 3 strikeouts LSU had in the game. They got off to as good of a start that one could hope for, as the first six batter of the game reached base. They hit around in the 1^st inning, scoring 6 runs. They added 3 runs in the 2^nd and went in to cruise control with a 9-0 lead before adding more later.

Pitching

Danny Lachenmayer made his first start of the season and got off to a great start. After striking out the leadoff hitter, he gave up a 1-out single to Jason Wachs, Tulane’s top hitter. He bounced back with a strikeout and then with 2 outs, Cade Arrambide gunned down Wachs trying to steal 2^nd. After a leadoff single to start the 2^nd inning, Lachenmayer struck out his 3^rd hitter of the night. We then saw one of the top-5 defensive plays of the season, as Arrambide made a sliding back-handed snag right up against the backstop for out #2. A flyout to William Patrick in right field would end the inning. After striking out the leadoff hitter looking, a single and a flyout set up Tulane’s first scoring play of the night. Wachs delivered his second hit of the night, this one an RBI double to cut the lead to 9-1. Lachenmayer would then strike out his 5^th batter of the game to end his outing.

• Final line: 3.0 IP / 4 hits / 1 run / 5 K / 0 BB / 48 pitches (28 strikes, 58%)

Cooper Williams took over for the 4^th and walked the first batter he faced, but bounced back with a strikeout looking on a filthy breaking ball. He then induced a ground ball that was beautifully turned by Jack Ruckert to Steven Milam, but the star shortstop had to rush his throw and Mason Braun was unable to dig it out of the dirt. Green Wave catcher Johnny Elliott and shortstop Kaikea Harrison recorded back-to-back doubles to cut the lead to 9-3 before Williams finally recorded an inning-ending strikeout.

• Final line: 1.0 IP / 2 hits / 2 runs / 2 K / 1 BB / 30 pitches (20 strikes, 67%)

Jay Johnson turned to Grant Fontenot to start the 5^th and he got off to a bumpy start. After a leadoff walk upon entering, Wachs blasted a 2-run homerun for his third hit of the night. The senior settled in after, going strikeout, groundout, strikeout go get out of the inning. He returned for the 6^th and got himself in to immediate trouble, again. He hit the leadoff batter on his first pitch, then gave up a hard single. Fontenot was able to lock in from there, though, getting a big first out on a groundout to John Pearson, who stepped on 3^rd base for the first out. After his third strikeout, he had to hold his breath on a ball hit to the wall in left field, but Tanner Reaves was able to haul it in.

• Final line: 2.0 IP / 2 hits / 2 runs / 3 K / 1 BB / 40 pitches (24 strikes, 60%)

Ethan Plog took over to start the 7^th inning. He struck out Wachs to start off his outing, marking the first time a Tiger pitcher was able to get the Green Wave DH out. He then swiftly recorded a flyout and another strikeout for the easiest inning of work for LSU had since earlier in the game. He came back out for the 8^th, but gave up a leadoff homerun and that was the end of his night.

• Final line: 1.0 IP / 1 hit / 1 run / 2 K / 0 BB / 14 pitches (9 strikes, 64%)

Zion Theophilus entered for Plog and despite giving up a single to his first hitter, he locked in after that. Getting a back pickoff from Arrambide certainly helps, as well. The freshman then drew a groundout to Milam and a strikeout looking to end the 8^th. He returned for the 9^th and immediately after allowing a leadoff single, he induced another groundball to the star shortstop, who sprinted to step on 2^nd base and then fired a bullet to Mason Braun at 1^st to complete another double play. Theophilus would then get a flyout to Derek Curiel to end the game to wrap up another Tiger win.

• Final line: 2.0 IP / 2 hits / 0 runs / 1 K / 0 BB / 29 pitches (18 strikes, 62%)

Hitting

Seth Dardar had another good game since returning to the lineup in game 2 last weekend. He led the Tigers with a 3-5 night that included a double. The senior drove in 2 RBI and scored twice. He also stole a base and was very active on the basepaths. After starting at 3^rd base twice over the weekend, he DH’d on Tuesday night to help keep him off of his bad ankle, but it is clearly still bothering him. After the game, he said in his press conference that he told Jay, “I’m not 100%, but I will give you 100% of what I got.”

Steven Milam has continued his typical late-season ascent with another multi-hit game. He went 2-4 with 2 doubles and led the way for LSU by driving in 4 RBI, while also scoring twice. His hitting streak is now up to 16 games, which is a large part of why his average has jumped all the way to .289 at this point.

John Pearson returned to the lineup from a hamstring injury that he had been dealing with and started at 3^rd base. He wasted no time getting his bat going again, producing a 2-5 night. His biggest swing was 2-run bomb that he hit over the Left Field Landing. He also added a double and finished with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored.

Cade Arrambide continues to torch the ball. He started off the scoring for the Tigers in the bottom of the 1^st when he blasted a ball over the wall to dead center for his 15^th homerun of the season. He finished 2-5 with those 2 RBI, 2 runs scored, and also drew a walk. That production at the plate makes him one of the most valuable players on the team, but once you add in what he did defensively, his value jumps exponentially.

Derek Curiel went 2-3 with a double and 2 walks, scored 3 runs and is somehow the fifth player on this list. That’s the type of production that LSU had up and down their lineup on Tuesday night.

Speaking of staying hot, Jack Ruckert continued his freshman ascension by going 2-4. He added in a double and, again, flashed the good defense that’s massively important for the Tigers.

While Mason Braun saw his 7-game hitting streak come to an end on Sunday, he kept getting on base a ton. He finished 1-3 on Tuesday night, which extended his on-base streak to 8 games. Despite the one hit, he had 2 walk and was also hit by a pitch. His one hit was a double and he scored twice.

Up Next

LSU will now hit the road to Athens for their weekend series at Georgia. The Tigers desperately need to pull of the upset to extend their late season postseason run. Jay Johnson said on his radio show Monday night that they feel like they need to win 5 of the final 7 games to have a chance, including tonight’s game. With a 9-15 SEC record, LSU needs to get to 13 conference wins and potentially win one or two in Hoover at the SEC Tournament. The Bulldogs lead the conference with an outstanding record of 18-6 and sit 38-11 overall. The series starts Friday with a 5:00 pm central first pitch, followed by 6:00 pm on Saturday evening, and 2:00 pm on Sunday. LSU will head to Georgia with an overall record of 29-21.

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