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baseball Edit

Rewind: LSU 10, Kentucky 0

Alex Lange threw a six-hit shutout and Antoine Duplantis had three hits as LSU advanced to the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament with a 10-0 victory against Kentucky at Hoover (Ala.) Metropolitan Stadium on Thursday night.

Alex Lange
Alex Lange

HOW THEY SCORED

LSU second inning – With one out, Beau Jordan and Michael Papierski singled. Zach Watson was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jordan and Papierski scored when third baseman Tyler Marshall made an error on Kramer Robertson’s ground ball. Watson, who advanced to third on the error, scored on a single by Cole Freeman. Robertson scored on a single by Duplantis. Freeman scored on a single by Greg Deichmann. LSU 5, KENTUCKY 0

LSU fifth inning – Deichmann doubled and scored on a single by Nick Coomes. After Josh Smith doubled, Coomes scored on a ground out to the shortstop by Beau Jordan. After Papierski struck out, Smith moved to third on an infield single by Watson. Robertson hit a three-run homer over the leftfield fence. LSU 10, KENTUCKY 0

KEY STRETCH OF GAME

LSU jumped on SEC Pitcher of the Year Sean Hjelle for five runs in the second inning. Hjelle was the victim of a big error by Marshall, who misplayed a potential double play ball. Two runs scored on the error. Freeman, Duplantis and Deichmann followed with RBI singles. Those runs were more than enough for Lange.

KEY TEAM STATISTICS

LSU outhit Kentucky 12-6. Five of the Tigers’ 12 hits went for extra bases – four doubles and one home run. . .LSU stranded six runners – three in scoring position. The Tigers were 6-for-16 with runners in scoring position. . .The Wildcats also stranded six runners – two in scoring position. Kentucky only got two runners past first base. . .Kentucky made the only two errors in the game.

INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS

LSU Antoine Duplantis: 3-for-4, 1 RBI, 2 doubles

Greg Deichmann: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 run scored, 1 double

Zach Watson: 1-for-2, 2 runs scored

Kramer Robertson: 1-for-4, 4 RBIs, 2 runs scored, 1 home run

Alex Lange: 7 innings, 6 hits, 7 strikeouts

KENTUCKY

Connor Heady: 2-for-3

Sean Hjelle: 5 innings, 11 hits, 10 runs, 9 earned runs, 10 strikeouts

LSU’S PLAYER OF THE GAME

Lange was marvelous once again as he threw his second shutout of the season and the third of his career. The complete game was Lange’s third in his last four outings. Lange was in control the entire night as just two Kentucky batters reached second base. Lange gave up one-out singles by Heady and Tristan Pompey in the third. Lange retired Evan White and Zach Reks on fly balls. Watson made a sliding catch on the ball hit by White. In the sixth, Kole Cottam hit a two-out double. Lange then struck out Riley Mahan. Lange, who walked eight in his start against the Wildcats in Lexington, issued no free passes Thursday. Lange’s seven strikeouts give him 374 for his career – one more than Ben McDonald. Lange is No. 2 behind Scott Schultz on the Tigers’ all-time strikeout rankings. Lange’s comments: “I got a better feel for the curve ball as the game went on. Tonight, I was able to execute against Kentucky. I had command of my heater (fast ball) and I got my breaking ball over for strikes. That opens everything up.” NOTES LSU used its regular lineup. . .Every Tigers starter had a hit. . .Every LSU starter other than Duplantis and Smith scored a run. Every Tigers except for Smith, Papierski and Watson drove in a run. . .Hjelle allowed just two base runners – one an error – in the three innings when he did not give up a run. All but five of LSU’s outs in Hjelle’s five innings were by strikeouts. . .The Tigers have scored at least ten runs in their last four games against SEC opponents – two against Mississippi State and one against Missouri and Kentucky. The last time that happened was in 2000 when LSU scored at least ten runs in five straight games against SEC opponents – one against Auburn, three against Arkansas and one against Florida. . .The last time LSU scored at least ten runs in four consecutive games came in 2009. The Tigers reached double figures in runs in six straight non-conference games. . .LSU has reached the semifinals of the SEC tournament for five straight seasons. . .The Tigers, who have won nine games in a row, are 41-17. Kentucky is 39-19. . .The game was stopped after seven innings by the ten-run mercy rule. . .Jared Poche is expected to be the starter in the semifinal game Saturday.

FROM THE LOCKERROOM

Coach Paul Mainieri’s comments: “Alex worked hard. They hit some balls hard off him, but Zach Watson made some big plays on them. Zach’s play in centerfield was the story in the early part of the game. Our players felt that Sean Hjelle’s stuff was more electric than when we faced him before. We got a great at-bat by Duplantis and Deichmann got a hit right after that in the second. We also had some fortuitous things in that inning. Our team is mature and is playing with confidence. We are doing a lot of things well right now. But, this is a humbling game. We may play these guys Saturday and it could be the complete opposite. Kentucky is an excellent team. We were lucky to get one win up there earlier this year.”

UP NEXT

LSU will play either Kentucky or South Carolina in a semifinal game of the SEC tournament on Saturday at Hoover (Ala.) Metropolitan Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for noon Central. The Wildcats and the Gamecocks will meet in an elimination game Friday afternoon. LSU’s semifinal game will be available on the SEC Network.

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