Antoine Duplantis collected three hits and Jordan Romero had a tie-breaking two-run single in the fifth inning as LSU defeated UNO 9-4 in a non-conference game at The Box on Wednesday night.
HOW THEY SCORED
UNO first inning – With two out, Dakota Dean hit a home run over the leftfield fence. UNO 1, LSU 0
LSU first inning – Kramer Robertson singled and stole both second and third base. Jake Fraley walked and stole second base. Robertson scored on Duplantis’ single. After Duplantis stole second base, Beau Jordan walked to load the bases. Fraley scored when Bryce Jordan hit into a 6-4-3 double play. LSU 2, UNO 1
UNO second inning – With one out, Preston Marsh walked and moved to second on a wild pitch by Doug Norman. Marsh scored on a double by Chaz Boyer. UNO 2, LSU 2
LSU fifth inning – With one out, Duplantis singled and Beau Jordan reached safely on an error by shortstop Aaron Palmer. Both runners moved up a base on Bryce Jordan’s ground ball to the pitcher. Duplantis and Beau Jordan scored on a single by Romero. After Michael Papierski was hit by a pitch, pinch-runner Greg Deichmann scored on a single by Chris Reid. LSU 5, UNO 2
LSU sixth inning – Robertson walked. After Fraley fouled out to the third baseman, Robertson scored on Duplantis’ triple. Duplantis scored on a wild pitch by Keaton Brewer. After Beau Jordan fouled out to the third baseman, Bryce Jordan hit a home run over the leftfield fence. LSU 8, UNO 2
UNO seventh inning – Jay Robinson doubled and moved to third on a ground ball to the pitcher by Ryan Calloway. Robinson scored on a sacrifice fly to the rightfielder by Palmer. LSU 8, UNO 3
LSU eighth inning – With one out, Fraley walked. Fraley scored on a double by pinch-hitter Bryce Adams. LSU 9, UNO 3
UNO ninth inning – Marsh walked and Boyer singled. Boyer was forced at second base on Robinson’s ground ball to the shortstop. Marsh scored and Robinson was forced at second base on calloway’s ground ball to the second baseman. LSU 9, UNO 4
LSU MISSED SCORING OPPORTUNITIES
Second inning – With one out, Reid walked. Reid was forced at second on Cole Freeman’s ground ball to the shortstop. After Freeman stole second base, Robertson grounded out to the second baseman.
Third inning – Fraley singled and stole second base. Fraley was thrown out trying to steal third base. Duplantis walked and was forced at second on a ground ball to the second baseman by Beau Jordan. Bryce Jordan flied out to the centerfielder.
Fourth inning – With one out, Papierski walked. Papierski was forced at second on a ground ball to the shortstop by Reid. After Freeman beat out a bunt for a hit, Robertson flied out to the centerfielder.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Duplantis enjoyed the most productive game of the season with a triple, two singles, two runs scored and two runs batted in. Duplantis scored two runs in a game for the third time this season and had two RBIs in a game for the second time this year. Duplantis singled home a run in the first and tripled in a run in the sixth. The single went to leftfield, while the triple went down the rightfield line. Freeman is now batting .417 for the season.
Duplantis’ comments: “I just hit the ball where it’s pitched. On the first hit, I had two strikes. So, I shortened up a bit and just tried to put the ball in play. I don’t really worry about my swing. (Hitting streak) is in the back of my mind because everybody is talking about it. This start is more than I could have imagined. It is something that has just happened. I have been fortunate enough to find some holes. I am just coming to the field every day ready to play.”
ABOUT THE HITTERS
No other player besides Duplantis had more than one hit. Beau Jordan and Papierski were the only two starters without a hit. Beau Jordan walked once and reached on an error. Papierski walked twice and was hit by a pitch. . .The top three hitters in the lineup – Robertson, Fraley and Duplantis – each scored two runs. . .LSU stranded eight runners – five in scoring position. The Tigers were 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
ABOUT THE PITCHERS
For the first time this season, the Tigers used a pitching-by-committee approach. No pitcher worked more than one inning. Starter Alden Cartwright allowed two hits, including a homer by Dean. He struck out one hitter. . .Doug Norman was ineffective in his one inning as he gave up two doubles and walked two. The only reason Norman gave up just one run was Boyer was thrown out trying to extend a double into a triple. . .Russell Reynolds threw a perfect inning with one strikeout. . .Cole McKay yielded an infield hit and threw a wild pitch in his inning. He got Robinson to fly out to rightfield with a runner at second and two out. . .Austin Bain walked one and struck out in his inning. He retired Hezekiah Randolph with a runner at third and two out to end the fifth. Bain was credited with the victory. . .Jesse Stallings gave up a single while throwing a scoreless sixth. . .Parker Bugg yielded a run and a hit in the seventh. . .Hunter Newman struck out both batters he faced in the eighth. . .Hunter Devall got one out in the eighth, but gave up a walk and a single to start the ninth. . .Caleb Gilbert got three ground ball outs to end the game. . .Tigers pitchers walked four and struck out six.
NOTES
Third baseman O’Neal Lochridge was again unavailable due to a back injury. Reid started at third base for the third consecutive game. Bryce Jordan was the first baseman and Romero was the designated hitter. . .Duplantis and Fraley extended their hitting streaks to 16 and 11 games, respectively. Duplantis has hit safely in every LSU game this season. . .UNO starting pitcher Bryan Warzek gave up five runs and six hits in 4.2 innings. The three runs Warzek allowed in the fifth were unearned due to an error by Palmer. . .The Tigers did not commit an error for the third consecutive game. . .Boyer had three of UNO’s eight hits. . .LSU has now won eight straight games against the Privateers. . .The Tigers are 13-3, while UNO is 13-4. . .The paid attendance was 10,211. The actual crowd was about 4,100.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
Coach Paul Mainieri’s comments: “This was quite a game with (UNO coach) Blake Dean coming in with his team and (former LSU player and Blake’s brother) Dakota Dean hitting a home run in the first inning. We had a couple of innings where it was a little hairy. For the most part, the guys did a good job on the mound. Jordan Romero had a huge, clutch two-out base hit. It was a really good ball game. I am glad it’s over. Now, I can go back and root for Blake Dean and UNO in every game they play.”
UP NEXT
LSU will play host to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference opener at The Box on Friday. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. Central. The Crimson Tide (11-5) lost to USM 9-2 in Hattiesburg on Tuesday night. Alex Lange (2-0) will be the starting pitcher for the Tigers. The LSU-Alabama game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
