On the heels of a Frisco Classic win, the Tigers struggled in an 11-9 dogfight with lowly NDSU on Fat Tuesday. Poor defense and inconsistent pitching allowed NDSU to lead the Tigers by as many as 6 runs before the Tigers clawed back to avoid a midweek upset.
How It Happened:
The Junior lefty, Connor Ware, got the start for the Tigers. Ware’s start on the mound for LSU didn’t go as planned, as he faced early struggles in the first inning. After getting the first batter out, he struck out Dante Smith, but an errant pitch in the dirt allowed Smith to reach first base. A pickoff attempt on pitch later got past first baseman Bear Jones, allowing Smith to reach third. Kyle Law capitalized on the situation, hitting a triple to center field that scored Smith. The scoring continued for NDSU when Davis Hamilton followed with a well-placed single up the left side, bringing in another run to extend the lead to 2-0.
Ware’s control continued to falter as he issued back-to-back walks, loading the bases. With the pressure mounting, Ware walked in a run, pushing the NDSU lead to 3-0. Despite the rough stretch, Ware was able to regroup and struck out the next batter to retire the side.
Derek Curiel led off the bottom of the first for the Tigers and wasted no time, drawing a walk off right-hander Matt Sargeant. Bear Jones, batting second, followed suit, also drawing a walk, giving LSU runners at first and second with no outs. Sargeant responded with back-to-back strikeouts, then Steven Milam lined out to end the inning.
Ware settled in, in the second inning and retired the Bison in order on 10 pitches after throwing 38 in the first inning.
In the bottom of the second, Jake Brown started things off with a single to right field. Michael Braswell III followed by advancing Brown to third with a loud out to deep right. Chris Stanfield then came through with a single up the middle, bringing Brown home and putting the Tigers on the board, 3-1.
Ware began to lose his command again in the third inning, issuing a walk to Hamilton to start the frame. A passed ball later moved Hamilton to third, and when he attempted to score, he collided with Braswell at third base. The umpires ruled obstruction on Braswell, awarding Hamilton home and extending NDSU’s lead to 4-1.
Jaden Noot would come in to relieve Ware. Ware’s final line was 2 IP, 2 H 4 R 3 BB.
Noot ran into trouble in the third, allowing a single and a walk to load the bases after a fielder’s choice. Tommy Simon then hit an RBI single to right, extending the Bison’s lead to 5-1 and ending Noot’s outing.
Sophmore DJ Primeaux would come in for Noot and inherit a bases loaded jam.
Primeaux would get Smith to hit a ground ball to Milam who flipped to 2nd for one but on the throw to first Jones couldn’t get in front of it allowing Smith to be safe at first and 2 more runs to score making it 7-1 NDSU. Primeaux bounced back, striking out Law to finally retire the side and end the inning.
In the bottom of the third, LSU seized a big opportunity when Sargeant walked three straight in Jones, Dickinson, and Pearson right out of the gate. Milam managed to pick up an RBI but grounded into a double play in the process, bringing the score to 7-2 NDSU. Jake Brown followed by ripping a ball through the legs of first baseman Alex Urlaub, allowing Dickinson to score and cut the deficit to 7-3. The Tigers weren’t done yet, as Cade Arrambide stepped up and launched his first home run in purple and gold, a two-run shot to left field that brought LSU within two at 7-5.
In the fourth inning, after allowing two base runners, Chandler Dorsey came in relief for Primeaux, becoming the Tigers’ fourth pitcher of the night. After more pitching miscues, the Bison would score two more on pass balls. Dorsey was able to get a fly ball to end the inning.
The Bison would turn to Landon Koenig in the 4th to face the Tigers. Koenig would walk Curriel, then would give the Tigers two runs back off Dickinson’s bat as he crushed one out to left field for his fourth homer of the season, 9-7 NDSU.
The Tigers would tie the game up in the 6th off of two RBI from a couple of hits from Pearson and Milam to make it 9-9.
Dorsey and Zac Cowan would continue to shut the doors on the Bison, throwing up zeroes from the 5th inning to the 8th.
LSU would take its first lead in the bottom of the 8th when Monster Milam would come in clutch once again for the Tigers by lacing a two-run RBI double down the right field side, making it 11-9 LSU.
Casan Evans would come in, in the 9th to close out the ball game for the Tigers. Evans would walk the first batter he faced, then strike out a batter and get a ground out to secure an 11-9 win for the Tigers.
BIG NUMBER: 20
A whopping 20 runs were scored in the Tigers’ 11-9 win over the Bison. 16 runs altogether were scored in the first 4 innings before the Tigers’ pitching staff finally took control of the game and halted the Bison offense.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Zac Cowan
Cowan came in the 6th inning for Chandler Dorsey and proceeded to toss 2.2 innings to pick up his second win of the year. Cowan only allowed one hit from the Bison and struck out three through the eight batters he faced in the Tigers’ 11-9 win over NDSU.
UP NEXT: The LSU Tigers baseball team will wrap up their doubleheader with NDSU Wednesday, March 5th. First pitch between the Bison and the Tigers is at 6:30 PM, and the action can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles.
