FINAL: LSU 10, La. College 2

Tiger reserves too much for Division III foe

By HUNT PALMER
BBI Senior Writer

Moments after LSU’s, 10-2, win against Louisiana College, Tiger Head Coach Paul Mainieri received an unexpected request.

Louisiana College Head Coach Mike Byrnes asked him to pose with him for a photograph.

“That was probably a first,” Mainieri said with a chuckle. “Mike’s a good guy, and they were appreciative of the opportunity to come down here. I hope it helped their program visibility-wise.”

The Division III Wildcats (10-15) were invited down because of LSU’s rain out against Notre Dame that was never made up. Mainieri said when he ask Byrnes to bring his club down to Baton Rouge, he jumped at the chance.

Byrnes’ players weren’t the only ones who had their chance Tuesday night as Mainieri sat the majority of his regular starting nine to give the reserve players a chance to gain some experience.

“You give them a chance to play, and they get the opportunity to show whether you can count on them or not,” Mainieri said. “Some guys showed well. I thought other guys were fair. Some guys didn’t show well at all.”

Freshman Tyler Moore fits into the first category.

The left handed hitting first baseman racked up three hits, including a double, in his four at bats. He also drove in three runs.

“I’m feeling more comfortable and finding my swing,” Moore said.

“Tyler’s a good hitter,” Mainieri added. “I think Tyler will give us some good at bats and drive in some huge runs for us in the second half of the season.”

Starting his first game of the season, Jordy Snikers joined Moore with three hits, as did freshman centerfielder Jared Foster.

In all, seven Tigers appeared on the mound, combining to allow just two runs on four hits.

Freshman starter Cody Glenn allowed a leadoff single to Cole Bagbey on the first pitch on the ballgame. Bagbey would come around to score the game’s first run by way of a balk and a pair of ground balls on the infield.

LSU (23-6) answered with one in the second when Casey Yocom singled to lead the inning off and moved to third on a couple of wild pitches before Evan Powell’s sacrifice fly chased him home.

It was in the third and fifth innings when the Tigers put the game away with four-run outbursts.

Snikeris and Moore contributed RBI singles in the third. Snikers led of with a blistering single to center in the fifth, and Moore capped the scoring in that frame with a two-run single.

After Brent Bonvilliain yielded a run in the Wildcat fourth, Carson Baranik, Kevin Berry, Michael Reed, Aaron Johnson and Joe Broussard combined to blank their visitors from Pineville.

“I didn’t think anyone was outstanding, and I didn’t think anyone was too, too bad,” Mainieri said. “I was hoping Cody would go out there and dominate right from the start. I was hoping Baranik would dominate. We got through the game. We gave up four hits. We had five walks which is too many for my liking.”

The Tigers will board a plane for Gainesville on Wednesday in preparation for Thursday’s series opener with No. 1 Florida.

Below is Hunt Palmer’s game blog.

It’s Tigers and Wilcats (had to look that up) tonight at the Box in a game scheduled to replace the Notre Dame rainout from a few weeks ago.

Louisiana college is 10-14 on the season and probably just thrilled to be here.

Paul Mainieri is going with an all-reserve lineup tonight outside of Jared Foster. Expect to see guys like Carson Baranik and Brent Bonvillain to see time on the mound after Cody Glenn’s two innings. Mainieri just wants everyone healthy for the trip to Gainesville tomorrow.

Starting Lineups:

Louisiana College (10-14)
1. Cole Bagbey CF .256
2. Matt Scott 1B .305
3. Jordan Marks SS .322
4. Mike Doughty DH .280
5. Steven Bowman LF .240
6. Cary Myers 3B .317
7. Taylor Beavers C .228
8. Cole Prejean 2B .289
9. Adam Broussard Rf .314

SP- Dustin Fulks LHP (3-2, 2.27ERA, 31.2IP, 30H, 11R, 8ER, 9BB, 27K, OPP BA- .246)

LSU (22-6)
1. Arby Fields LF .118
2. Jared Foster CF .195
3. Alex Edward RF .278
4. Jackson Slaid DH .265
5. Tyler Moore 1B .192
6. Casey Yocom SS .233
7. Jordy Snikeris C .200
8. Evan Powell 3B .222
9. Beau Didier 2B .167

SP- Cody Glenn LHP (1-0, 5.11ERA, 12.1IP, 19H, 9R, 7R, 4BB, 14K, OPP BA- .358)

Top 1
Cole Bageby didn’t waste any time. He slashes the first pitch of the game through the left side for a leadoff single… Glenn balks him to 2nd… Matt Scott grounds to short. Yocom makes the play as Bageby reaches 3rd. 1 out… Jordan Marks grounds to 3rd. Good enough to get Bageby home. 2 out… Matt Doughty flies to right… LC 1, LSU 0

Bottom 1
Arby Fields grounds to short. 1 out… Jared Foster takes a called 3rd. 2 out… Alex Edward walks… Jackson Slaid bounces into a fielder’s choice. Edward is out 6-4 at 2nd… LC 1, LSU 0

Top 2
Evan Powell makes a nice running catch of Steven Bowman’s foul pop on the third base side. 1 out… Cary Myers flies to right. 2 out… Taylor Beaver flares a single into right, just out of Beau Didier’s reach… Cole Prejean grounds to 2nd. Didier’s throw is wide of first, but Tyler Moore made a diving catch while holding the bag for the out… LC 1, LSU 0

Bottom 2
Tyler Moore flies to left. 1 out… Casey Yocom has LSU’s first hit, a single to left… Wild pitch moves Yocom up 90 feet… Jordy Snikeris walks… Another wild pitch has runners at 2nd and 3rd with 1 out… Evan Powell with some good contact. He flies to right. That moves both runners up… Didier flies to center, and Snikeris is left standing on 3rd… LSU 1, LC 1

Top 3
Brent Bonvillain on to pitch… Adam Broussard grounds back to the mound. 1 out… Slider eats Cole Bageby up. 2 out… Matt Scott slaps a single to left… Snikeris guns Scott down at 2nd to retire the side… LSU 1, LC 1

Bottom 3
Greg Uzee is on for LC… Hitting from the left side, Fields rips a single to left field… Fields takes 2nd… Foster drops down a perfect bunt. No play. Runners now at the corners with no one out… Alex Edward shoots a single to right field. That scores Fields. Foster holds at 2nd… Jackson Slaid’s grounds ball bounces off the glove of the pitcher. He picks it up and throws wildly. Foster cpomes around to score. Edward to third and Slaid to second… Tyler Moore rips a single to right. That scores Edward. Corners with 0 out.. Moore is caught stealing. 1 out… Yocom draws a walk… Snikeris smashes one through the left side Slaid scores… Evan Powell flies to left. 2 out… Balk- Yocom to 3rd. Snikeris to 2nd… Didier strikes out swinging to end the inning… LSU 5, LC 1

Top 4
Jordan Marks can’t find the Bonvillain slider. 1 out… Mike Doughty walks on 4 pitches… Marks moves up on a wild pitch… Steven Bowman walks. 1st and 2nd with 1 out… Balk. Runners to 2nd and 3rd. This ump needs to chill out… Cary Myers grounds to 3rd. That plates the run as Powell throws across to get him. Bowman moves to 3rd on the throw. 2 out… Taylor Beaver grounds to short… LSU 5, LC 2

Bottom 4
Justin Reed is the the LC pitcher… Arby Fields grounds to 1st. 1 out… Jared Foster’s fly ball is just out of Bowman’s reach in left field. It’s a single… Foster takes 2nd… Edward swats a hanging breaking ball to left for a single. Foster to 3rd… Wild pitch moved Edward to 2nd… Slaid grounds to short. That scores Foster… Tyler Moore walks… Casey Yocom flies to center to end the inning… LSU 6, LC 2

Top 5
Carson Baranik on for LSU… Wow! Big league play from Casey Yocom who slid into the outfield grass to backhand a ball and made the long throw in time to get Cole Prejean. 1 out… Adam Broussard dumps a single into center… Broussard takes second base… Cole Bagbey pops foul to 1st. 2 out… Matt Scott pops to 1st to retire the side… LSU 6, LC 2

Bottom 5
Kory Kottenbrook on for LC… Jordy Snikers blasts a line drive single to center… Evan Powell skies to short. 1 out… Didier singles to right. Snikeris to 2nd… Fields takes a called 3rd… Foster didn’t kill it, but it gets down the 3rd base line. Thqat scores Snikeris. Both Foster and Didier move up as the left fielder misplays it… Edward grounds to short. Marks gloves it but threw low. Didier scores. Foster to 3rd. 2 out… Slaid is grazed by a pitch to load the bases… Tyler Moore smokes one through the right side to score a pair. He’s hit it hard twice tonight… Snikeris is out on strikes… LSU 10, LC 2

Top 6
Jordan Marks flies to deep center. Foster makes the play. He’s getting beter out there. 1 out.. Baranik punches Mike Doughty out. 2 away… Steven Bowman pops foul to third. Baranik gets them in order… LSU 10, LC 2

Bottom 6
Madison Lachney is the new Wildcat arm… Jordy Snikeris one-hops the wall in left center. Leadoff double… Evan Powell flies to left. 1 out… Didier taps to the mound. Snikeris to 3rd… Fields grounds to short. We’ve played six… LSU 10, LC 2

Top 7
Kevin Berry on for LSU. He wasn’t too sharp Friday… Berry hits Cary Myers… Taylor Beavers can’t catch up. 1 out… Cole Prejean flies to right and Mainieri will call on Michael Reed… Reed blows Broussard away. Stretch time… LSU 10, LC 2

Bottom 7
Jared Foster flies to left. 1 out.. Alex Edward grounds to 3rd. 2 out… Slaid strikes out swinging… LSU 10, LC 2

Top 8
Aaron Johnson on the mound for LSU… Cole Bageby grounds to short. 1 out… Matt Scott fans. 2 out… Jordan Marks walks… Pinch hitter Mark Riendeau walks… Jake Hillman flies to center to retire the side… LSU 10, LC 2

Bottom 8
Tyler Moore collects his third hit, this one a double into right center. Good night from the young man… Casey Yocom is out on strikes. 1 down… Snikeris posp foul to 1st. 2 down… Evan Powell flies to center… LSU 10, LC 2

Top 9
Joe Broussard takes the mound… Brennan Russell takes a called third. 1 out… Troy Green walks. Darien Bartie runs for him… William Cox grounds into a 3-6-3 double play. Nicely turned by Moore and Yocom… Tigers now head to Gainesville to meet No. 1 UF who, with a loss to Smoke Laval’s North Florida squad, has lost 3 of 4.

FINAL: LSU 10, LC 2