2/18/2023 baseball Edit

LSU pitching again stout as No. 1 Tigers move to 2-0

LSU second baseman Gavin Dugas (8) is congratulated by teammate Dylan Crews (3) after Dugas' first-inning leadoff solo homer got the No. 1 ranked Tigers rolling to a 5-3 Saturday afternoon win over Western Michigan in Alex Box Stadium. (Photo courtesy of LSU athletics)

Ron Higgins • Death Valley Insider

Columnist

A trio of LSU pitchers held Western Michigan to three hits for the second straight day as the No. 1 ranked Tigers recorded a 5-3 Saturday afternoon victory in Alex Box Stadium.

LSU (2-0) led from start to finish, ignited by second baseman Gavin Dugas hammering the third pitch of the day for the Tigers’ first homer of the season.

The Tigers again got strong starting pitching, this time from Riley Cooper. He threw 5 1/3 no-hit, shutout innings with seven strikeouts and two walks.

“Riley can throw four pitches for strikes,” LSU head coach coach Jay Johnson said. "Ehen you’re a hitter, that’s a lot to deal with. I don’t think they really took a good swing on him all day, and that’s a credit to his location, his movement and his changing speeds.”

Also, freshman designated hitter Jared Jones continued his hot bat, going 2 for 3 including a first-inning RBI single. Jones is 3 of 6 with three RBI after his first two college games.

And for the second straight game, LSU committed no errors, even with Johnson shuffling his starting lineup to get some different looks.

Graduate student Dugas, sophomore left fielder Josh Stevenson, junior catcher Alex Milazzo and sophomore right fielder Josh Pearson got their first starts of the season.

Johnson also changed his batting order. The only starting Tigers who batted Saturday in the same place in the lineup as they did in Friday’s season-opening 10 were center fielder Dylan Crews in the 3-hole and infielder Ben Nippolt at the bottom of the order.

First baseman Tre Morgan, who batted fifth on Friday, batted second on Saturday. Jones moved from sixth to the cleanup spot at four. Shortstop Jordan Thompson jumped from eighth to sixth.

LSU closes the series vs. WMU with a Sunday afternoon game set for a 12:30 start. True freshman pitcher Chase Shores is scheduled for his first college start.