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It was another cold night at Alex Box, and while LSU's offense couldn't catch fire, they did just enough to pul a win away from Princeton 3-2. LSU was facing an Ivy League team that was walking on grass for the first time in 2015, and yet they could only manage 3 runs on 4 hits. The Princeton pitching staff, especially middle relief Nick Donatiello, really gave them a good chance to win, recording a collective 5 Ks and keeping LSU from scoring anything past the 4th inning. LSU made up for the lack of hits by being aggressive on the base paths, stealing on 4 of 6 attempts. Alex Bregman turned a lead off walk into an RBI off of a Conner Hale single. LSU will certainly want better production at the plate, but they maximized what they got.
On the mound, Jared Poche' had an ok 6.2 IP, giving Princeton all of their 6 hits on the night, including a solo shot HR to left in the 6th by Billy Arendt. The relief had the tough task of keeping the slimmest of leads with no backup, but they were able to hold on. Jesse Stallings picked up his 5th save in his 2nd straight night of action, blowing away Princeton with his intensity, striking out the side in the 9th.
In the upcoming doubleheader, LSU needs to start blasting at the plate again. There's no excuse for a team this talented to be held to 4 hits by a Princeton team that's still defrosting. We'll see if Stevenson's return to CF can give a good spark.