A two-run double by Gavin Dugas highlighted a five-run sixth inning as LSU defeated Southern 9-2 Saturday afternoon at Alex Box Stadium Skip Bertman Field.
Managing only a single run and trailing 2-1 through the first five innings, the Tigers (5-1) finally broke out in the sixth against Jaguars relief pitcher Jerry Burkett II.
Designated hitter Brayden Jobert led off the inning reaching on an error and after an infield single by Jordan Thompson, both runners advanced into scoring position on an error.
Dugas then lined a two-run double into the right centerfield gap, scoring Jobert and Thompson to give the Tigers its first lead of the game. After a sacrifice bunt by Alex Milazzo, an RBI double by Jack Merrifield made it 4-2 and Tre’ Morgan followed with an RBI single to extend the lead to 5-2. Jacob Berry later added a sacrifice fly to make it 6-2 Tigers.
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“It was kind of two good at bats and then one bad at-bat kind of thing,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said after the game. “I’m happy because I think we are going to play a lot of games like this one. I’m proud of the players; there was no flinching or panicking. You could kind of see it coming. I like having nine runs on the board with 15 hits and none of them being home runs. I think that’s a trademark of a really good hitting team. From our vantage point, it really did feel like only a matter of time.”
Morgan was the leading hitter on the afternoon for LSU, picking up four hits. Crews, Thompson and Merrifield also added a pair of hits in the win as well.
“My swing felt really good in batting practice today,” Morgan said. “I felt like I was going to have a good day. I was just going to try and stay smooth; I had been coming out in the recent games. My swing was on point today. Yesterday the swing was on but I squared up two hard hit balls right to fielders. Today was big.”
The LSU bullpen was impressive in relief as the combination of Javen Coleman, Paul Gervase and Trent Veitmeier shut out the Jaguars (2-4) for five innings, with Gervase picking up his first career win at LSU.
Southern’s lone offensive output came in the fourth inning via an RBI triple by Hunter Tabb and a RBI single from Tremaine Spears off of starter Ma’Khail Hilliard.
The Tigers return to action on Sunday with a double-header. LSU will take on Towson at 11 a.m. and then play its second game against the Jaguars with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.