LSU Sweeps Boston College Double Header

Dodging light sprinkles and the tough test of a day/night double header, LSU showed strength in standing behind their starting pitchers as the Tigers swept their first DH since a set against William & Mary back in the 2010 season.

In Game 1, the Eagles jumped on Jared Poche early, notching 2 runs off of 3 hits and an errant pick off throw to 1B by Poche. With 18 innings to complete on Friday, that start made you think we were in for the worst, but the Tigers offense went out and pulled Poche back from the brink, with 4 runs on 10 hits over the frost 5 innings, including an RBI triple from Andrew Stevenson in the 2nd that really set the tone for how aggressive LSU was going to be at the plate. Poche left the game after 5 2/3rds and the bullpen combo of sidewinder Collin Strall, Zac Person, and Alden Cartwright kept Boston College from scoring again. Danny Zardon blasted a lead off HR in the 6th as LSU continued to inch their lead away. The Tigers scored 4 runs over their final 3 frames, using good base running and taking advantage of some BC errors to take a comfortable 8-3 win.

The Tigers continued their assault in Game 2, scoring runs in the 1st and 2nd innings with a Jared Foster triple and some more good baserunning. In his 2nd start, Alex Lange appeared to be cruising for another great performance until hitting a wall in the 5th allowing BC to load the bases on singles and walks, even walking in a bases loaded run. Mainieri allowed Lange to stay in to clear up his own mess, but not before allowing BC to take the lead with 4 runs on 3 hits. Once again, the Tigers offense got vengeance for their starting pitcher, taking the lead right back in the bottom of the 5th with back to back RBI doubles and scoring from 3B on a wild pitch. They continued to pull away, adding an additional run in the 6th and 7th, each time using BC field mistakes to put runners in scoring position and sac flying them home. The relief combo of Parker Bugg, another Alden Cartwright outing, and closer Jesse Stallings kept BC off the board for the 7-4 final.

What impressed me most on the day was how LSU backed up it's starting pitchers. In both games after Boston College had taken leads that chased away the LSU starters, the Tigers answered back immediately in the next half inning, allowing both Poche and Lange to come away with the wins yesterday. LSU also cut back on the errors, notching only 2 over the 18 innings of defense played. They'll need to continue that improvement in the final game and seal the sweep over BC

Game 3 is set for 3pm on SECN+. Cross your fingers that the rain holds off long enough.