LSU pounds Texas Southern 16-5
Zach Watson led an 18-hit attack with a home run, a double and two singles as LSU defeated Texas Southern 16-5 in a non-conference game at The Box on Wednesday night.
HOW THEY SCORED
LSU first inning – With one out, Watson singled and advanced to second on an error by pitcher Chris Suarez on a pickoff attempt. Antoine Duplantis hit a two-run homer over the rightfield fence. Chris Reid walked and scored on Daniel Cabrera’s triple. Cabrera scored on a sacrifice fly to the centerfielder by Cade Beloso. LSU 4, TEXAS SOUTHERN 0
LSU second inning – With one out, Josh Smith walked and stole second. Watson hit a two-run homer over the leftfield fence. LSU 6, TEXAS SOUTHERN 0
Texas Southern third inning – With one out, Austin Garcia singled. Ryan Diaz reached on an error by the third baseman Reid. After Nic Garza flied out to the centerfielder, Garcia and Diaz scored on a double by Christian Sanchez. LSU 6, TEXAS SOUTHERN 2
Texas Southern fourth inning – With one out, Tyson Thompson walked and stole second. After Charles Robinson flied out to the rightfielder, Thompson scored on a single by Victor Cruz. LSU 6, TEXAS SOUTHERN 3
LSU fifth inning – With one out, Cabrera doubled and scored on Beloso’s single. Beloso moved to second on a ground out to the third baseman by Drew Bianco and scored on Brock Mathis’ double. Mathis scored on a single by Hal Hughes. LSU 9, TEXAS SOUTHERN 3
Texas Southern sixth inning – With one out, Cruz walked. After Garcia struck out, Cruz stole second and scored on a single by Diaz. LSU 9, TEXAS SOUTHERN 4
LSU sixth inning – Smith walked and went to third on a single by Watson, who advanced to second on the throw. Smith scored and Watson moved to second on a wild pitch by Robert Loza. Watson scored on Duplantis’ single. After Duplantis stole second, Reid walked. Cabrera singled and Reid was tagged out between second and third. Duplantis scored on a single by Beloso. Cabrera scored on a wild pitch by T.J. Winger. LSU 13, TEXAS SOUTHERN 4
LSU seventh inning – Smith doubled and went to third on a wild pitch by Winger. Smith scored on a double by Watson. Pinch-runner Giovanni DiGiacomo advanced to third on a wild pitch by Winger. After Duplantis grounded out to the pitcher, Reid walked. DiGiacomo scored and Reid moved to second on a wild pitch by Alex Carrillo. After Cabrera grounded out to the pitcher, Reid scored on a double by pinch-hitter CJ Willis. LSU 16, TEXAS SOUTHERN 4
Texas Southern ninth inning – Garza walked and went to second on a ground out to the third baseman by Sanchez. Garza advanced to third on a wild pitch by Will Ripoll and scored on a triple by Olajide Oloruntimilehin. LSU 16, TEXAS SOUTHERN 5
LSU PLAYER OF THE GAME
Watson had the first four-game hit of his career. He singled and scored a run in the first and hit his first home run of the season in the second. Watson singled and scored in the sixth and had a RBI double in the seventh. Watson, who went 4-for-4, is now batting .359 for the year.
KEY TEAM STATISTICS
Hits: LSU 18, Texas Southern 7
Errors: Texas Southern 1, LSU 3
Left on base: Texas Southern 10, LSU 7
Runners in scoring position: LSU 10-for-16, Texas Southern 5-for-16
Double plays: Texas Southern 1, LSU 1
Stolen bases: Texas Southern 5, LSU 3
Walks issued: LSU 7, Texas Southern 8
Strikeouts recorded: LSU 6, Texas Southern 1
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
LSU
Zach Watson: 4-for-4, 3 runs scored, 3 RBIs, 1 2B, 1 HR
Daniel Cabrera: 3-for-4, 3 runs scored, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 1 3B
Antoine Duplantis: 3-for-5, 2 runs scored, 3 RBIs, 1 HR
Cade Beloso: 2-for-3, 1 run scored, 3 RBIs
Hal Hughes: 2-for-5, 1 RBI
Josh Smith: 1-for-3, 3 runs scored, 1 2B
Chris Reid: 0-for-2, 2 runs scored
Clay Moffitt: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 K
Will Ripoll: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB
Aaron George: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
TEXAS SOUTHERN
Christian Sanchez: 1-for-5, 2 RBIs, 1 2B
Noe Guerrero: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB
NOTES
Coach Paul Mainieri’s father Demie passed Wednesday morning. Mainieri was in uniform at the game, but he did not bring the lineup card to home plate or make pitching changes. Mainieri did not conduct the post-game team meeting. Pitching coach Alan Dunn handled Mainieri’s media obligations after the game. . .LSU’s starting batting order was Smith, SS; Watson, CF, Duplantis, RF; Reid, 3B; Cabrera, LF; Beloso, 1B; Drew Bianco, DH; Mathis, C; Hughes, 2B. . . .Reid batted cleanup for the second straight game. . .Every starter except for Reid had a hit. Every starter except for Bianco and Hughes scored a run. . .The Tigers errors were committed by Reid, Mathis and George. . .Moffiit picked up his first career victory. He retired seven of the first eight batters he faced. The two runs Moffitt gave up in the third inning were unearned due to Reid’s error. . .Riggs Threadgill was replaced after injuring his arm with two out in the seventh. Threadgill gave up one hit and one run with two walks and one strikeout in 1.2 innings. . .Ripoll’s appearance was his first appearance of the season. . .LSU is 12-5, while Texas Southern is 2-12. . .The paid attendance was 9,712.
UP NEXT
LSU will play host to Kentucky at The Box on Friday. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. Central. The Wildcats (13-4) defeated Western Kentucky 15-0 in Lexington on Wednesday afternoon. Zack Hess will be the starting pitcher for the Tigers. The LSU-Kentucky game will be available on the SEC Digital Network.