Wham-bam another Tommy White grand slam boosts No. 1 LSU past Ole Miss
Consider it mission accomplished for No. 1 LSU in its Friday 7-3 SEC series-opening win at Ole Miss.
First on the only time all night the Tigers had the bases loaded, LSU third baseman Tommy White cleared them with a fifth-inning grand slam that gave the Tigers a lead they never relinquished.
More importantly, LSU (30-7 overall, 10-5 SEC West) got the victory over the struggling defending national champion Rebels (21-17, 3-13 SEC West) while using just two pitchers.
Saturday’s game two starts at 2 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN 2. Ty Floyd will start on the mound for the Tigers.
LSU's Friday starting pitcher Paul Skenes threw a season-high 117 pitches and went six innings, the ninth time in 10 starts Skenes has lasted six or more innings.
Also as college baseball’s strikeout leader, he had 11 strikeouts and three walks. Skenes' only mistake of the night was giving up a fourth-inning three-run homer to Ole Miss designated hitter Will Furniss, son of LSU all-time home run leader Eddy Furniss.
Tigers’ freshman Griffin Herring relieved Skenes to start the seventh and threw three scoreless and hitless innings.
LSU managed seven hits off a pair of Ole Miss pitchers, led by White’s 2 for 5 night that featured his third grand slam of the season.
Center fielder Dylan Crews’ two-out triple off the left field wall set up White’s one-hop rocket grounder over the glove of Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez that plated Crews for 1-0 first-inning lead.
The Tigers added a run in the third. Second baseman Gavin Dugas doubled down the left field line, advanced to third on a ground out by left fielder Tre Morgan and scored on a wild pitch by Ole Miss starter Xavier Rivas.
Skenes looked in full control, striking out five of seven at one point including all three Ole Miss batters in the third and two of the first three in the fourth.
He was twice one strike away from ending the fourth with a strikeout.
Rebels’ third baseman Ethan Lege chopped a high bouncing infield single off Skenes' glove. Then on a 1-2 count, Furniss proved to be a chip off the old block when he cracked a three-run homer to right center for a 3-2 Ole Miss lead.
LSU’s answer in the top of the fifth was definitive. The Tigers loaded the bases with walks issued to Dugas and Crews with a Morgan single sandwiched in-between.
Then, Rivas’ first pitch to White was also Rivas’ 104th and final throw of the night. White rocketed a grand slam homer to dead center field to regain the lead for LSU at 6-3.
The Tigers tacked on a run in the seventh on catcher Alex Milazzo’s RBI single.
After LSU reliever Herring retired the Rebels on 11 pitches in the seventh, he dodged a bullet in the eighth.
Ole Miss' Gonzales made a huge baserunning mistake and was easily nailed at home plate for the third out by LSU’s Morgan, who had been moved from left field to first base to start the inning.