Cabrera walk-off saves LSU from midweek blunder against Nicholls, 5-4
It was a too close for comfort win for LSU but the Tigers won their fifth straight over Nicholls 5-4 with some late inning magic from the heart of the lineup.
In a tied ball game in the ninth inning, with Todd Peterson on the mound, Nicholls first baseman Adam Tarver stepped up to the plate with all the confidence in the world. Tarver had hit a solo homerun in the second that extended a one run lead to two and was leading off once again in the ninth.
On Peterson’s first pitch, Tarver took the cover off the ball and sent it flying into the brisk Baton Rouge night, giving Nicholls a one run advantage into the final half inning.
In the bottom half of the inning, pinch hitter Drew Bianco was able to dig out of a 1-2 count and drew a walk, bringing Hal Hughes up to the plate. Hughes had gone 2-for-3 on the night with a career high three RBI. Hughes was able to move Bianco to second on a tough ground ball, bringing pinch hitter Chris Reid to the plate, LSU down to the final out.
Reid hadn’t swung a bat all week as he was battling a bit of arm soreness but in the ninth inning coach Paul Mainieri went up to Reid and asked if he could swing a bat.
“I was just hanging out and he said get ready to go hit in the seventh inning but he came back to me in the ninth and said ‘get ready to hit’ and I got out there I just pieced it together as best I could,” Reid said. “You don’t want to make hitting to hard, it’s still see ball, hit ball.”
On a 2-2 count, Reid sent a fastball to the left centerfield wall, bringing home Bianco and tying the game at four. Extra innings were needed and after a scoreless relief inning from Trent Vietmeier, the heart of the LSU lineup was due up and they were due some hits.
The three, four and five hitters had gone 0-for-11 to that point and Antoine Duplantis was having no more of it. Duplantis drew a leadoff walk and a wild pitch moved him into scoring position.
After an 0-for-4 start to the game, it was Daniel Cabrera who sealed the deal with a double off the right field wall that brought Duplantis home for the game-winning run.
“I was ready to hit, I was smiling and I was hoping Antoine wouldn’t walk it off in front of me,” Cabrera said. “I want to hit in those moments and I look over on a 3-0 count and coach gives me a green light, which gave me a bunch of confidence on the next one.”
Landon Marceaux got the nod on the mound but it wasn’t completely certain he’d be the starter after suffering an illness that caused him to miss a few practices.
Marceaux’s command was certainly much improved from his last appearance but that didn’t stop Nicholls from putting the ball in play. Aside from two strikeouts, Marceaux allowed four hits in two innings including a solo homerun from first baseman Andrew Tarver that nearly re-arranged the scoreboard in left field.
The freshman was replaced in the third inning by Ma’Khail Hilliard and finished with three strikeouts, four hits and two runs but did throw 23 strikes to just seven balls.
Wednesday night was also the first chance to see catcher Saul Garza behind the plate and the sophomore needed to shake off a little rust, but overall had a nice outing. Garza did fail in his only pickoff attempt to second base, with the ball sailing left of shortstop Josh Smith.
Garza looked comfortable behind the plate and even knocked a few wild pitches to the ground and went 0-for-1 at the plate. Garza was pulled for Brock Mathis in the fourth inning.
It took a full rotation for the LSU offense to even put a bat on Nicholls starting pitcher Parker White. Smith and centerfielder Zach Watson got things going in the fourth with back-to-back singles and no outs that put runners at first and second.
Trying to gain some kind of momentum, Smith tried stealing third base but was thrown out, leading to an empty inning. The first four batters of the lineup went a combined 2-for-16 at the plate with Smith and Watson accumulating the two singles.
The bullpen did its job as the offense tried to find its rhythm Hilliard and freshman Chase Costello threw three no run innings. Costello made his first appearance since March 1 after battling arm soreness sustained in the Texas series.
First baseman Cade Beloso and designated hitter Giovanni DiGiacomo led the charge in the fifth inning as a walk and a fielder’s choice single left runners at first and second with no outs. Two batters later, Hughes came through with a single up the middle that brought home two runs and tied the game at 2-2.
Hughes number was called again in the seventh as the Tigers trailed 3-2 with a runner on second. The sophomore infielder delivered with another single back up the middle that tied the game at three. The three RBI from Hughes set a career high
Costello’s only blemish came in the sixth inning as a leadoff homerun from designated hitter Dillon Belle made it a 3-2 lead for Nicholls, the only run surrendered by the LSU bullpen.
LSU leaves for Athens on Thursday for a three game series with the No. 11 Georgia Bulldogs.