GAME BLOG: LSU 9, Brown 2 (final)

The March 7 game, plus a Ranaudo update and more

By CARL DUBOIS
Tiger Rag Associate Editor

Leon Landry was 3-for-4 with an LSU record-tying two triples, drove in two runs and scored another in the Tigers’ 9-2 victory this afternoon against Brown. LSU (11-0) is off to its best start since 1997, when a team coming off a national championship the previous season opened with 19 consecutive victories before winning another national title.

LSU freshman left-hander Jordan Rittiner (2-0) won his second consecutive start. He pitched six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on nine hits. He struck out two and didn’t walk a batter.

Anthony Ranaudo update

We’ll get back to today’s game in a little bit, but here’s an update on LSU junior right-handed All-American pitcher Anthony Ranaudo. Paul Mainieri said Ranaudo is supposed to do some throwing Monday, and if a progression of days of activities goes well, he could start the Sunday game of the Kansas series at home next weekend. If that happens, LSU would try to ease Ranaudo back into the Friday role by having him pitch the Saturday game of the SEC-opening series March 19 against Arkansas, then the Friday game of the SEC road series March 26 at Tennessee.

Speaking of Mainieri, he’s on the field now as I type this (3:42 p.m.), pitching batting practice to his son Tommy in an almost empty Alex Box Stadium.

Pitching rotation for the week

There is a lot of “maybe” here, but the coming week shapes up this way, Mainieri said:

6:30 p.m. Tuesday vs. UL-Monroe: freshman right-hander Michael Reed.
6 p.m. Wednesday vs. Northwestern State at Shreveport: sophomore left-hander Chris Matulis or junior right-hander Austin Ross, a Shreveport native.
7 p.m. Friday vs. Kansas: sophomore right-hander Joey Bourgeois.
2 p.m. Saturday vs. Kansas: Rittiner or Ross.
1 p.m. Sunday vs. Kansas: Ranaudo, Rittiner or Ross.

Junior right-hander Daniel Bradshaw remains an option for the Wednesday start, but Matulis and Ross seem like more probable candidates for that specific day and opponent (NSU).

Linescore
Brown: 2 runs, 11 hits, 0 errors.
LSU: 9 runs, 13 hits, 1 error.

Boxscore

CLICK HERE for a PDF of the boxscore.

Audio

CLICK HERE to listen to Landry talk about his two triples.

CLICK HERE to hear Rittiner critique his performance on the mound.

CLICK HERE to hear Gibbs talk about receiving his Gold Glove trophy before the game (see Recap below) and on starting the game on the bench and spending much of it as an observer.

Next are two clips from Mainieri’s postgame interview with reporters, the first during a commercial break on his radio show, and the second after the show. The quality of the first (and much of the second) is poor because of the background noise in the Champions Club, from where the postgame show originates, but you can hear what Mainieri has to say. The last part of the second clip is much better.

CLICK HERE as he talks about getting closer Matty Ott some work at the end of the game, plus other insights into the team’s play this afternoon.

CLICK HERE for a more extensive recap by Mainieri, plus a detailed explanation of the pitching plans for the week and beyond, especially with regard to Ranaudo.

Scorebook

CLICK HERE for a PDF of my scorebook pages, which appear in smaller images below.

Recap

Here is the game as it unfolded inning-by-inning on the blog, beginning with pregame notes, audio and a musical interlude:

Brown University and LSU are warming up for today’s game, which is scheduled to start at noon at Alex Box Stadium. The Bears (1-2) are playing their fourth game in three days. The Tigers (10-0) are playing their fourth game in four days.

Pepperdine, the other team involved in this three-team weekend, is done.

Brown defeated Pepperdine 8-7 in a Friday afternoon game, lost 13-7 to LSU that night and lost 19-3 to Pepperdine the next day.

You’d have to plan well and try pretty hard to find three teams as far from each other geographically and put them on the same baseball field in the regular season. Brown, an Ivy League school, is located in Providence, R.I., a coast-to-coast trip away from Pepperdine, which is located in Malibu, Calif.

Baton Rouge, home of the LSU Tigers, is close to neither school, but there is at least one thing the Capital City shares with Malibu - Interstate 10.

“Get on I-10 and go west all the way until you fall into the Pacific Ocean,” Pepperdine coach Steve Rodriguez told LSU game marshal Sam Lasavio, “and that’s where we are.”

I waited with Sam this morning for the Brown team vans to arrive outside Alex Box Stadium so I could visit with Bears coach Marek Drabinski.

CLICK HERE to listen as he talks about the differences between Brown’s home in Rhode Island and Baton Rouge, the Southern tour of games the Bears are playing, and on the difficulties of playing baseball at a northern school in the months of February and March.

Here’s one difference he didn’t mention in the comparison between Baton Rouge and Providence, but one I’m sure is there: I’m betting his players don’t usually take batting practice while listening to this song, which is playing as the Bears get loose for today’s game:

More to come, including starting lineups when they are available. A few notes about LSU’s lineup: Micah Gibbs gets the day off as Grant Dozar starts at catcher. Matt Gaudet will take Gibbs’ spot as the cleanup hitter and will play first base. Blake Dean will be the designated hitter.

Starting lineups

Fresh off the copying machine in the press box, the Variations on a Theme of Regular Starting Lineups by Paul Mainieri Rhapsody-in-Purple Starting Lineup:

Brown (1-2)
Graham Tyler, ss
Matt Colantonio, c
Ryan Zrenda, 2b
Pete Greskoff, 1b
Josh Feit, dh
Cody Slaughter, 3b
Nick Punal, cf
Chris Tanabe, lf
Kevin Carlow, rf
Senior right-hander Rob Wilcox is the starting pitcher for the Bears, making his first appearance of the season. He was 4-2 last season with a 4.76 earned run average.

LSU (10-0)
Trey Watkins, lf
Austin Nola, ss
Blake Dean, dh
Matt Gaudet, 1b
Tyler Hanover, 2b
Leon Landry, cf
Mikie Mahtook, rf
Grant Dozar, c
Beau Didier, 3b
Freshman left-hander Jordan Rittiner (1-0, 1.12) is the starting pitcher for the Tigers.

Yep, that’s the most adjusting Mainieri has done with the lineup so far this season.

The Tigers are in purple jerseys and caps and white pants. The Bears are in their chocolate-brown jerseys of a couple of days ago, the ones with the red lettering and numerals, and red caps with brown bills. This time, they’re in white pants instead of gray.

Mainieri just presented Gibbs the trophy he received as the catcher on the 2009 Rawlings NCAA Division I Gold Glove Team, and LSU fans applauded with gusto.

Note: Because of Brown’s travel plans, the top of an inning cannot begin after 3:15 p.m.

If you’re not here today, why is that? Game-time conditions: 67 degrees, 24 percent humidity, southeast winds at 7 mph. We’ve got clouds, but the sun is winning that battle. It’s a great day for baseball.

TOP OF THE FIRST

Graham Tyler leads off for da Bears and takes a first-pitch strike at 12:01 p.m. He grounds out to Nola on a 1-1 pitch. … Matt Colantonio grounds out to second base. … Ryan Zrenda pops up, and Tyler Hanover catches it in shallow right field. I’m not judging right field, mind you. I was referring to the area on the field. I’m sure right field has some deep thoughts at times. BROWN 0, LSU 0.

BOTTOM OF THE FIRST

Trey Watkins singles to left. … Austin Nola grounds out to shortstop, and because Watkins was running, Brown’s only play was to first. Watkins is at second for Dean, who is the DH for the first time since last season. Dean pops up to shortstop for the second out. … Matt Gaudet is next, batting cleanup for the first time. He strikes out swinging. BROWN 0, LSU 0.

TOP OF THE SECOND

That’s the saxophone from “Tequila” you hear playing over the loudspeakers between innings. … Pete Greskoff leads off for Brown and singles to left-center field. Landry cuts it off and holds him to one base. … Josh Feit gets on base on a fielder’s choice, and Greskoff is safe at second on a throwing error by third baseman Beau Didier, whose throw pulled second baseman Tyler Hanover well off the bag. … Cody Slaughter is next. He lines an RBI single to right-center for a 1-0 Brown lead, and runners are at first and third for Nick Punal. He drops another one into no-man’s land, this time in short left-center, and it’s 2-0 in favor of the Bears. Mainieri is on the mound talking with everyone except the outfielders. … Chris Tanabe is next with runners at first and second and nobody out. He bunts foul on the first pitch. He bunts fair on the next pitch, a 2-4 sacrifice that puts runners on second and third for Kevin Carlow, the No. 9-hole hitter. … He lines out hard and fast to right field, and Slaughter has to hold at third. He didn’t immediately tag up, instinctively moving toward home on the hard line drive, and he had to go back and touch the base, leaving him no chance to make it home. It was all bang-bang. … Graham Tyler is next with runners at second and third and two outs. He lines out to Nola, who jumps to snag it. BROWN 2, LSU 0.

BOTTOM OF THE SECOND

LSU just announced Susan Davis as Fan of the Game. It’s the second inning … what has she done to deserve that? What if she rests on her laurels for seven innings? I say it’s too early to pick an MVP, too early to pick a Fan of the Game, but that’s just me. … Tyler Hanover leads off for the Tigers. He doubles off the wall in left, his first double of the season. … Leon Landry flies out to center. … Mikie Mahtook flies out to right. … Grant Dozar lines out hard to second base. BROWN 2, LSU 0.

TOP OF THE THIRD

Colantonio leads off for Brown and fouls out to Didier at third. … Zrenda sends the next pitch out to Didier on a ground ball Didier fields nicely before throwing out Zrenda for the second out. … Greskoff strikes out swinging. BROWN 2, LSU 0.

BOTTOM OF THE THIRD

Didier leads off for LSU and flies out to left field. … Watkins flies out to right. … Nola is retired 4-3 on an outstanding play by Ryan Zrenda, who slides to his left in the gap between first and second and throws to the pitcher, who makes the running catch-and-step-on-first play to end the inning. BROWN 2, LSU 0.

TOP OF THE FOURTH

Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark,” which had a video that introduced us to Courteney Cox long before we saw her on “Friends,” just got us through the break. … Feit leads off for the Bears and is out 2-3 on a swinging bunt played nicely by Dozar. … Slaughter drops one in front of Mahtook in right for a single. … Punal singles up the middle, an infield hit caught on a great defensive play by Hanover, who flips to Nola at second but not accurately enough for Nola to catch the ball with his foot on the base. Everyone is safe, and Tanabe is batting with runners at first and second and one out. He flies out to Hanover in shallow right field. … Carlow singles to left to load the bases for Tyler. … Mahtook fights off the sun to catch Tyler’s fly ball near the right-field line, and an inning with three hits ends with three left on base. BROWN 2, LSU 0.

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH

Dean leads off for the Tigers and doubles to right-center field. … Gaudet flies out to center, and Dean has to stay at second. … Hanover grounds out to shortstop. … Landry is next. Throwback heckle: “Blue, you’re missing a great game.” It’s said by an LSU fan who disputes the strike call on the 1-1 pitch. … Landry triples to drive in Dean, as ball, outfielder and wall all meet at the same time, and the ball drops to the ground. It’s a 2-1 game in favor of the Bears. … Mahtook is next, and “Blue” hears it again from LSU fans after a strike call on a 3-1 pitch. Mahtook was headed to first when he was recalled by Blue, aka home plate umpire Mike Aldridge. … Mahtook walks on the eighth pitch. … Dozar strikes out swinging. BROWN 2, LSU 1.

TOP OF THE FIFTH

Colantonio leads off for the Bears. The two bullpens are quiet. … As soon as I type that, Mitch Mormann jogs out to LSU’s pen. … So does Michael Reed. Mormann is throwing, Reed is protecting. … Colantonio singles to right, bringing up Zrenda. … He bloops a single down the right-field line, just out of the reach of a diving Hanover. … Greskoff is next. He grounds into a 6-4-3 double play, and Colantonio advances to third. Feit grounds out to Hanover on a close play. BROWN 2, LSU 1.

BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH

All’s quiet again in the LSU bullpen. … Didier leads off for the Tigers. He singles over the head and off the glove of third baseman Slaughter, who tries to catch the ball over his shoulder as he runs away from the infield toward left field. … Watkins is next. Didier advances to second on a wild pitch that makes the count full. Watkins hits one deep to center, and after it’s caught Didier advances to third. … Nola ties the score on a ground ball to second that drives in Didier. … Dean is up with two outs and the bases empty. He pops up to the second baseman Zrenda near the right-field line. LSU 2, BROWN 2.

TOP OF THE SIXTH

Slaughter leads off for the Bears and grounds out to Nola up the middle. … Punal strikes out. … Tanabe singles to right-center. … Carlow grounds out to second. LSU 2, BROWN 2.

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH

Tickets sold and distributed: 10,401. … Attendance: 6,150. … Gaudet leads off for the Tigers and strikes out swinging. Mormann is throwing again in the LSU bulllpen. … Hanover singles to left, making him 2-for-3 today with a single and double. … Landry is next as Brown coach Marek Drabinski visits the mound to talk with pitcher and catcher. … Landry drives one near the corner in right, and Hanover comes around to score, sliding barely ahead of the throw, which gets away from the catcher. It’s a 3-2 LSU lead, and Landry is standing on third base with a triple. He’s the 11th LSU player to have two triples in a game. Nobody’s had three. D.J. LeMahieu had two in a game last season against Villanova. … Mahtook hits his second home run of the season, and now the Tigers lead 5-2. The ball hit the second fence in left-center, the chain-link fence above the inner wall. Dozar is next, and he walks. … Didier is up. Dozar steals second without a throw. … Didier strikes out swinging, and that’s it for Wilcox. … The new pitcher is junior right-hander Andrew Backowski, whose wild first warmup pitch from the mound gets a reaction from LSU fans. This is his first appearance of the season. … It’s Brown’s fourth game in three days, and pitching is stretched thin, so this game could get out of hand very quickly. … Watkins is the first batter to face Backowski. He walks on four pitches. … Nola singles to right for a 6-2 lead, and runners are on first and third for Dean. … He flies out to the warning track in right. LSU 6, BROWN 2.

TOP OF THE SEVENTH

Mormann is LSU’s new pitcher. Rittiner went six innings, allowing nine hits, two runs (one earned) and striking out two. He didn’t walk a batter. … Gibbs is catching, and Dozar replaces Gaudet at first base. … Tyler leads off against Mormann with a single into center field. … Colantonio is next as Paul Bertuccini throws in LSU’s bullpen. … Colantonio is on first with a fielder’s choice after his ground ball to third forces out Tyler at second base. … Zrenda strikes out swinging. … Greskoff is next. A balk puts Colantonio on second. … Greskoff flies out to right. LSU 6, BROWN 2.

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH

The stadium-organ recording of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” makes its regular appearance during the seventh-inning stretch. People all over the Box are standing. Some are singing. Some are catching home-run T-shirts being thrown their way. … I hear the country song “Pflugerville” (Chris, are you paying attention?) on the stadium loudspeakers, and that can only mean one thing: Gibbs is coming to bat. This is his first plate appearance of the day, and he’s batting left-handed against the right-hander, Bankowski. … Gibbs flies out to left field. … Hanover is next as I ponder whether roomy is at the game as planned (and following along on the blog, perhaps?). … Hanover is hitting .250, the average slowly climbing to respectability. No change in the average this inning as Hanover walks, bringing up Landry. … He singles to left. … Mahtook is next, and Drabinski comes to the mound. That’s it for Backowski. New pitcher for Brown: right-hander Matt Kimball, who pitched one inning Friday against LSU and gave up a hit and a walk. He threw a wild pitch. … Mahtook is first to face him and forces Landry at second with a ground ball. Shortstop Tyler fielded the ball on the ground behind second base and tagged the bag with his glove. Runners are on the corners for Dozar. … Mahtook steals second, his seventh stolen base this season. Dozar doubles into the left-field gap, driving in two runs for an 8-2 lead. … Mason Katz pinch hits for Didier. Katz walks, bringing up Watkins. He forces Katz at second 4-6, and that’s that. LSU 8, BROWN 2.

TOP OF THE EIGHTH

Bertuccini is LSU’s new pitcher. Wet Delatte is now in the game at third base. … We’re an hour from the 3:15 p.m. travel curfew, after which the top of an inning cannot begin, but at this time that doesn’t look like it will be an issue. … Daniel Rosoff pinch hits for Feit and flies out to center. … Slaughter grounds out to shortstop. … Punal is next. Matty Ott is throwing in LSU’s bullpen. He didn’t get a lot of work this week, and he’s the only one throwing right now over there. This could just be the equivalent of a bullpen session on a day off. Ott pitched two innings last night for the save against Pepperdine. … Punal grounds out to second base. LSU 8, BROWN 2.

BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH

Nola leads off for LSU. He’s retired 1U, or pitcher unassisted, on a ground ball down the first-base line. … Johnny Dishon pinch hits for Dean. Dishon hits a lazy bloop down the right-field line, and when Brown’s right fielder takes his time trotting after it, Dishon hustles into second for a double. … Gibbs singles to left field, and there are runners on the corners for Hanover. He drives in a run with a sacrifice fly to right, and it’s 9-2. … Alex Edward is pinch hitting for Landry, and he forces Hanover at second to end the inning. LSU 9, BROWN 2.

TOP OF THE NINTH

Ott is the new LSU pitcher. Dishon is in left field, Edward in right field and Mahtook in center. Ott is currently in the No. 1-hole in LSU’s batting order in the absence of a DH. … Mike DiBiase pinch hits for Tanabe and singles to center. Jon Suzich pinch runs for him. … Carlow is next, and it’s a 3-0 count before Ott gets a strike on him. On a full count, he strikes out swinging. … Tyler is next. He sends Mahtook deep in center to catch the second out. … Colantonio grounds out to second to end the game.

LSU 9, BROWN 2 (final)

Carl Dubois has covered LSU athletics since 1999 and is Tiger Rag’s lead reporter for LSU baseball. Contact him at carl@tigerrag.com.