GAME BLOG: LSU 18, ULM 7 (final)

Lineups, notes and more from March 9 game

By CARL DUBOIS
Tiger Rag Associate Editor

Freshman right-hander Michael Reed came within one out of qualifying for his first college victory in his first college start, Trey Watkins hit his first home run of the season, Micah Gibbs and Blake Dean also hit homers and LSU remained undefeated with an 18-7 victory against the UL-Monroe Warhawks.

Leon Landry was 3-for-3 with a single, a double and a triple, three RBIs and two runs before leaving the game with what he described to coach Paul Mainieri as a “Charley horse” that probably kept him from turning his double into his fourth triple in two games. Dean was 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored.

LSU (12-0) was scheduled to play at 6 p.m. Wednesday against Northwestern State at Shreveport, with sophomore left-hander Chris Matulis the scheduled starting pitcher, but at 11 o’clock tonight LSU announced a postponement of the game until April 20 at Fair Grounds Field in Shreveport.

CLICK HERE to read more about that decision.

Facing a five-game week when the day began, the Tigers were able to win tonight without using one of their regular pitchers.

Shane Riedie, Ben Alsup (1-0) and Forrest Garrett pitched in relief of Reed, who came within one out of the necessary five innings required for a starter to be credited with a victory. He gave up six hits, five earned runs and five walks and struck out five.

ULM (5-5) scored five runs in the fifth inning with two outs, including one on a wild pitch, one on a balk and three on two-out RBIs. Three consecutive walks, the last to force in a run, ended Reed’s night of pitching for the Tigers.

Linescore

ULM: 7 runs, 9 hits, 3 errors.
LSU: 18 runs, 16 hits, 1 error.

Boxscore

CLICK HERE for a PDF of the boxscore.

Quotable

“I felt good. I saw the flags, got a little happy. I just saw the ball well. Everybody was swinging it well today, so it’s kind of like a virus when everybody hits well. You just kind of want to jump on the bandwagon.”

– Gibbs, on the wind blowing out, and his home run being part of LSU’s 16-hit night

Audio

CLICK HERE to listen to Gibbs talk about his hitting, about the mindset of not wanting a rainout on game day, and a text message Mainieri sent the players early this morning to make sure they came ready to play.

CLICK HERE to hear Reed talk about his first start and how he couldn’t quite get the third out of the fifth inning, which caused Mainieri to take him out of the game.

CLICK HERE to listen to Landry talk about the injury that caused him to leave the game, plus about his success at the plate, especially with extra-base hits.

CLICK HERE for the first part of Mainieri’s postgame comments, a segment that ends with me asking him about the Wednesday pitching plan beyond Matulis’ start. The file below starts with his answer.

CLICK HERE to hear Mainieri talk about wanting to get a few pitchers in the game Wednesday, including Daniel Bradshaw and Matty Ott, plus talk more about Anthony Ranaudo’s situation.

NOTE: All interviews happened before the postponement of Wednesday’s game.

Scorebook

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

Recap

Here’s how the game unfolded inning-by-inning on the blog, beginning with pregame notes and starting lineups:

While we wait to see if we’ll get gorillas in the mist or a rainout tonight at Alex Box Stadium, the UL-Monroe Warhawks are becoming acquainted with the Box. This is ULM’s first baseball trip to Baton Rouge since 2006, so players, coaches and support personnel are getting their first good look at the ballpark.

There are small puddles of water in front of the dugouts, but the playing field looks good. Game management personnel said they don’t expect game-threatening rain until around 11 p.m., so they’re expecting baseball tonight at the Box.

That doesn’t mean the LSU Tigers (11-0) and Warhawks (5-4) won’t get wet, but as I sit in my seat at the press box two hours before the scheduled first pitch, all systems are go.

Or, if you prefer, geaux.

The scheduled pitching matchup: LSU freshman right-hander Michael Reed (0-0, 7.71) vs. ULM senior right-hander Corey Brown (0-1, 9.64).

LSU has a 6 p.m. game Wednesday night in Shreveport vs. Northwestern State, then a weekend home series vs. Kansas. ULM has a home game at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday vs. Memphis, then a weekend Sun Belt Conference road series at Middle Tennessee, a 2009 Sun Belt co-champion (and the Sun Belt tournament champion via a 3-1 victory against ULM).

The busy schedule means the Tigers and Warhawks hope to get through tonight without using a lot of pitchers. It’s possible they won’t have to use any, but it’s too early to tell. I’ll post more soon, including starting lineups (weather permitting), and I’ll keep you informed about the status of the game until first pitch. After that, it’s inning-by-inning updates as long as they play ball.

This is the first game for the Warhawks at LSU in four years, but it’s not their first game of the season against an SEC opponent. As many of you know, ULM opened the season Feb. 19 with a 6-5 victory against Ole Miss. The Rebels won the other two games of that series, 14-0 and 13-2.

From the you-should-have-been-here-to-see-it file: Paul Mainieri was just dancing (it was subtle, but he was dancing) in front of the LSU dugout to “I’m a Believer” (Smash Mouth version) as it played on the Alex Box Stadium loudspeakers. With any luck, his moves will be on YouTube later for me to post.

Lineups

ULM (5-4)
Boomer Blanchard, ss
Caleb Clowers, 2b
Nick Wade, 3b
Matt Laird, cf
Perry Smith, rf
Judd Edwards, lf
Josh Chappell, 1b
Jordy Poche, dh
Jarrett Hammond, c
Senior right-hander Corey Brown (0-1, 9.64) is the starting pitcher.

LSU (11-0)
Trey Watkins, lf
Austin Nola, ss
Blake Dean, 1b
Micah Gibbs, c
Tyler Hanover, 2b
Leon Landry, cf
Mikie Mahtook, rf
Matt Gaudet, dh
Wet Delatte, 3b
Freshman right-hander Michael Reed (0-0, 7.71) is the starting pitcher.

Umpires
HP: Ray Gregson
1B: Paul Guillie
3B: Mike Aldridge

It’s cloudy, and it’s windy, with the flags in center field showing a steady breeze from right to left (and blowing out, good news for left-handed pull hitters), but no rain was falling as I went down to field level a few minutes before 6 p.m. It’s looking like baseball.

Blanchard, Clowers and Smith are ULM players from LSU Eunice. So is junior pitcher Stefan Comeaux. Blanchard and Smith are seniors, and Comeaux is a junior. Comeaux and Clowers are first-year ULM players, so they were teammates of LSU’s Watkins and Joey Bourgeois at LSU Eunice.

6:25 p.m. update: Kids are on the field to stand with the Tigers during the national anthem, as is the custom for midweek games. We’re a few minutes away from first pitch.

Game-time conditions: 68 degrees (and yet, I think someone has the heat on in the press box), 81 percent humidity, and winds from the south at 8 mph.

TOP OF THE FIRST

Boomer Blanchard leads off for the Warhawks and fouls off the first pitch at 6:30. We’re on time. He flies out to right on the next pitch. … Caleb Clowers is on with a ground ball into left field, scored an error on third baseman Wet Delatte. The ball scooted just to the left of him, and under his glove. … Nick Wade walks. … Matt Laird hits into a 6-4-3 double play. ULM 0, LSU 0.

BOTTOM OF THE FIRST

Trey Watkins leads off for the Tigers and lines a hard-hit single into right field, a few feet away from second baseman Clowers on his glove side. … Austin Nola is next and takes a ball as Watkins steals second, his seventh stolen base of the season in nine attempts. Nola takes another ball, and Watkins is halfway between second and third, and when catcher Jarrett Hammond throws to second, Watkins heads for third and slides in ahead of the tag for his eighth stolen base in 10 attempts this season. Nola fouls out to first baseman Josh Chappell, and Watkins holds at third. … Blake Dean lines out to left, and Watkins tags and scores for a 1-0 lead. … Micah Gibbs lines out to right. LSU 1, ULM 0.

TOP OF THE SECOND

Perry Smith leads off for the Warhawks and sends Leon Landry deep to center to catch a fly ball. … Judd Edwards singles near the right-field line as Mahtook, Hanover and Dean chase but can’t make a play. … Josh Chappell singles to left-center. … Jordy Poche is next. Being from Gonzales and Dutchtown High, he just got a shout-out from the stands seconds before hitting into a 4-6-3 double play. LSU 1, ULM 0.

BOTTOM OF THE SECOND

Tyler Hanover leads off for LSU. He starts the game at .250, tied with Wet Delatte or the lowest batting average among LSU players in the starting lineup. Hanover is hit by the first pitch and advances to second on a balk on the next pitch (to Leon Landry). Landry triples into right-center to drive in Hanover for a 2-0 lead. It’s Landry’s third triple in two games (and in his last four at-bats) and his 11th RBI of the season. … Mahtook triples to the same area and drives in Landry for a 3-0. I was just talking on Tiger Rag Radio with Jeff Palermo about Landry and Mahtook being two of LSU’s speedy gap hitters, and almost as if on cue, they delivered in that regard. … Matt Gaudet strikes out swinging. That’s his 13th strikeout, tops on the team. Nobody else is in double figures. … Wet Delatte grounds out to second to drive in Mahtook for a 4-0 lead. … Watkins grounds out to shortstop. LSU 4, ULM 0.

TOP OF THE THIRD

Jarrett Hammond leads off for ULM and grounds out to shortstop. … Blanchard doubles into the left-field gap. … Clowers sends an opposite-field RBI double to the same area, and it scores Blanchard to cut LSU’s lead to 4-1. … Wade walks. … Laird lines out to center, and Clowers goes to third. Runners are on the corners for Smith. He takes a called third strike on the outside black of home plate. LSU 4, ULM 1.

BOTTOM OF THE THIRD

Nola leads off and is hit by a pitch. … Dean pops up to shortstop. … Gibbs sends him to third with a single on the hit-and-run. … Hanover drives in Nola with a sacrifice fly to center field, and it’s 5-1. … Landry walks. … Mahtook is next with runners on first and second and two outs. He walks to load the bases for Gaudet. He flies out to the warning track in right. LSU 5, ULM 1.

TOP OF THE FOURTH

Edwards leads off for the Warhawks. He reaches first on a ground ball Nola tries to backhand in the hole at shortstop but can’t grab. It’s scored an infield hit. … Chappell strikes out swinging. … Poche takes a called third strike, becoming Reed’s third strikeout victim of the game, and the third in four batters. … Hammond is out on a ground ball to second, snared by a diving Hanover in the hole on the right side before throwing to Dean for the out. LSU 5, ULM 1.

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH

Junior right-hander Luke Briley is the new ULM pitcher. Brown gave up four hits and five earned runs in three innings. He walked two and struck out one. … Delatte leads off against Briley and walks. … Watkins is next and hits his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to left-center for a 7-1 lead. … Nola is on with a leg double to left center, and LSU fans show they appreciate the hustle. … Pitching change: Senior left-hander Devin Pourciau is the new pitcher for ULM. … Dean is first to bat against him and walks. … Gibbs is next. Junior right-hander Josh Gill is warming up in the Warhawks bullpen. … Gibbs strokes a towering home run to left-center, a three-run shot for a 10-1 lead. It’s his third homer this season. … Hanover reaches on a fielding error by the shortstop. … Landry singles to right, sending Hanover to third, and takes second on the throw to third. … Pitching change: Gill replaces Pourciau. He’ll face Mahtook with runners on second and third and nobody out. This feels like one of those big LSU home-game innings in progress. … Mahtook doubles in two runs for a 12-1 lead. … Gaudet strikes out swinging for the first out. … Delatte is hit by a pitch, putting runners at first and second for Johnny Dishon, who is pinch hitting for Watkins (who homered earlier in the inning). The runners advance a base on a wild pitch. Dishon takes a called third strike. … Nola pops up to third base. LSU 12, ULM 1.

TOP OF THE FIFTH

Paul Mainieri substitutes en masse. Dishon stays in the game in left. Grant Dozar is the new catcher. Beau Didier is the new second baseman. Alex Edward is the new right fielder. … Blanchard strikes out for the first out. … Clowers singles to right field. … Wade takes a called third strike. … Shane Ardoin pinch hits for Laird. Yes, it’s the same Shane Ardoin who used to pitch at LSU. He’s listed as a pitcher and outfielder for ULM.  … Clowers goes to second on a balk. Ardoin walks. … Smith comes to the plate as LSU pitching coach David Grewe jogs out to the mound to talk with Gibbs and Reed. … Smith walks on five pitches, and that brings Edwards to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. He walks to force in a run, and that will cost Reed the win. Mainieri was trying to let him finish five innings so he’d qualify, but he came up one out short. That’s it. New LSU pitcher: sophomore right-hander Shane Riedie. He inherits a 12-2 lead — and the bases loaded with two outs. Kelvin York, another Dutchtown High alumnus from Gonzales, pinch hits for Chappell and receives verbal acknowledgement from somewhere in the crowd. … A wild pitch makes it 12-3, and now there are runners on second and third. … York walks, loading the bases and continuing a natives-are-restless vibe all over the Box. … Poche is next. A strike on a 1-0 pitch breaks a streak of 12 consecutive balls thrown by LSU pitching. … Poche’s two-run double to left makes it 12-5. … A balk makes it 12-6 and ends the night for Riedie. New LSU pitcher: junior right-hander Ben Alsup. … While we wait for him to warm up, chew on this note: The Warhawks had four two-out RBIs this season prior to this game, and they have three in this inning. Thanks to SID Adam Prendergast of ULM for that stat. … Alsup gets a first-pitch ground ball to shortstop to end the five-running inning. LSU 12, ULM 6.

BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH

Ardoin remains in the game in center field for ULM. York is the new left fielder. Edwards moves from left to first base. … Dean leads off for the Tigers and gets to first on an infield hit, to second on a throwing error by the second baseman on the same play. … Dozar bloops a single down the left-field line, putting runners on the corners. … Didier singles for a 13-6 lead. … Landry doubles to deep center, driving in two runs for a 15-6 lead but pulling up at second base when we all thought he’d go for another triple. … He’s hurt. LSU athletic trainer Beau Lowery is out to check him out, and they walk off the infield together. Zach LaSuzzo is the pinch runner for Landry at second. … Edward grounds out to shortstop. … Gaudet does the same. … Delatte strikes out swinging. LSU 15, ULM 6.

TOP OF THE SIXTH

Dishon moves over to center in Landry’s absence, and Mason Katz is the new LSU left fielder. … Blanchard leads off against Alsup and grounds out to third base on the first pitch. That’s two pitches, two outs recorded by Alsup since coming into the game. … Clowers grounds out to third on the fifth pitch of his at-bat. … Wade is next. Tickets sold and distributed: 9,659. Attendance: 2,666. … Wade walks. … Ardoin strikes out swinging. LSU 15, ULM 6.

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH

Dishon leads off for LSU and strikes out for the second time in two at-bats tonight. … Nola is out 5-3 on a ball that was headed to shortstop, slowly on a high chop, when the third baseman cut it off and threw to first. … Dean strokes a loud home run to the deepest part of the right-center field gap, his second homer of the season, for a 16-6 lead. … Dozar is on second with a bloop double to shallow center. Correction: It’s scored an E6. The ruling is the shortstop had a play and was calling for it by waving his hands, then failed to make the play on a catchable ball. The case for it being a hit was the possibility he lost it in the lights. Who’s right? We don’t know, but it goes in the books as an error. Official scorer Bryan Lazare tells ULM’s representative in the press box he’ll change it to a hit if the shortstop, Blanchard, says later he lost it in the lights. … Didier walks on a wild pitch, and now runners are at the corners for Katz. He walks, loading the bases for Edward. He takes a called third strike, standing three baserunners. LSU 16, ULM 6.

TOP OF THE SEVENTH

Smith leads off for ULM and strikes out swinging. … Edwards is next. If you’re still following along, you really like college baseball. … Edwards doubles down the right-field line, making him 11-for-21 with five doubles this season. He’s a true freshman who didn’t start in the first four games. … York drives him in with a single, making it a 16-7 game. … Poche lines out to shortstop. … Hammond flies out to right field. LSU 16, ULM 7.

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH

“For it’s one, two, three strikes you’re out at the ol’ … ball … game.” … The new ULM pitcher is freshman left-hander John McDermid. … Gaudet leads off against him and is hit by a pitch. … Delatte walks. … Dishon is next, arriving at the plate to the sounds of the Chuck Berry classic that features Dishon’s first name in the title (and throughout the chorus). He flies out to right field on a ball that was an adventure for the right fielder. … Matt Fury pinch hits for Nola and strikes out swinging. … Dean doubles to center for an 18-7 lead. The center fielder was playing him to pull, and Dean hit it on the left-field side (barely) of center. … Dozar strikes out swinging. LSU 18, ULM 7.

TOP OF THE EIGHTH

Fury is the new LSU shortstop. Gaudet is at first base, giving up his role as DH, which means Alsup is now in the No. 3-hole in the batting order (replacing Dean). … Blanchard is hit by an Alsup pitch to lead off the inning. … Clowers hits one off Alsup’s glove, and it deflects to Didier at second. He flips to Fury for the force out, making it a 1-4-6 put-out of Blanchard. We were rooting a bit for 1-4-6-3, but LSU couldn’t turn the double play. … Wade sends Dishon to the wall in deep left-center, and he catches the ball for the second out. … Ardoin flies out to Dishon for the third out. LSU 18, ULM 7.

BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH

Didier leads off for the Tigers and doubles off the wall near the right-field pole. … Katz grounds out to shortstop. … Edward grounds out to third. … Gaudet is next, looking for his first hit tonight. He fouls one almost straight back, meaning he’s very near to being right on the pitch. But, he goes down on a called third strike on a 2-2 pitch. LSU 18, ULM 7.

TOP OF THE NINTH

Freshman left-hander Forrest Garrett is the new LSU pitcher. Taylor Abdalla pinch hits for Smith. Pinch hitter Nick Rome is on deck. He’s the son of former ULM and NFLer Tag Rome. Abdalla strikes out swinging, and Rome is up now. He walks. … York flies out to right. … Casey Auttonberry pinch hits for Poche and strikes out swinging.

LSU 18, ULM 7 (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.