FINAL: LSU 13, SLU 1

Katz, Rhymes, Tigers explode for big win over Southeastern

By RICHARD FISCHER and HUNT PALMER

Baseball is a game of percentages, numbers and trends.

With the track records seniors Mason Katz and Raph Rhymes have cemented over the last two seasons, LSU coach Paul Mainieri didn’t wonder if, only when, those two would begin to hit.

Two pitches into Sunday’s resumption of Friday’s suspended game against Southeastern, Katz blasted a three run home run to break free from the shackles of a .217 slump and kick start a 13-1 beatdown of the visiting Lions.

Katz and Rhymes teamed up to drive in 11 runs on seven hits in nine at bats to spearhead the assault on seven Southeastern arms.

“Me and Mason realized it was about time we turned it on, and we had a pretty good day,” Rhymes said. “When both teams come out fired up like that, for us to get off to a hot start like that is huge. To come from a veteran guy like that, it sets the tone for the young guys.”

Rhymes had delivered just one two-out RBI all season until Sunday when jerked a pair of carbon copy doubles to left field with two outs to drive in one in the second and two in the fourth.

Through four innings the Tigers had an 8-0 advantage, and junior starter Ryan Eades had retired nine of 11 batters faced on the afternoon, the two hits coming in the fourth when Aaron Haag dropped down a perfect drag bunt followed by Jameson Fisher’s single to centerfield.

Unfazed, Eades induced a harmless ground ball from Gabe Woods to escape trouble.

More issues arose for Eades in the fifth when a pair of singles to right field and a walk loaded the bases with Lions. But Eades dug deep and got a 20-foot tapper off the bat of Lion three-hole hitter Harry Slade to leave the sacks packed and extend his outing.

“(Jams) are going to happen,” Eades said after the game. “I was able to get out. (The cushion) was nice.”

Eades couldn’t wiggle off the hook in the sixth as Haag led off with an infield single to shortstop and came around to score on a single by Ben Hernandez.

That would be the only blemish on Eades’ card. He fired six innings and allowed just the lone run on seven hits while striking out five to earn his first win of the 2013 season.

“I felt like my fastball was really good,” Eades said. “My curveball was good. My changeup, I’ll have to keep working with that.”

Maineiri added, “Eades was really outstanding. It’s not easy to do what he did…(Friday) He went through a half hour starter’s routine and gets himself mentally fired up. And then to have to kinda come to a screeching halt, and have to regroup and do this again, I thought he did a pretty good job.”

The Lions appeared to be the more emotional team in pregame warmups, donning bright gold jerseys and matching pants. Their pregame huddle featured loud chanting and a player diving up top of the pile.

With one swing, Katz sucked the energy right out of the gold shirts and provided a surge of emotion into the home dugout.

The Tigers rode the wave to 19 hits and played an errorless game to boot.

Eades gave way to four Tiger relievers who fired three and two thirds scoreless frames while allowing just one hit and striking out one.

After Saturday’s bullpen implosion, the Tigers righted the ship in that department. Tuesday the Tigers hit the road for the first time this season, traveling west on I-10 to visit Lafayette for the first time in 11 years.

Sophomore left hander Cody Glenn will take the ball against the Ragin’ Cajuns who swept a weekend series with UTSA. Louisiana-Lafayette moved its record to 6-1 with the sweep.

Below is Richard’s preview and Hunt’s game blog.

After each team took a day off to play BYU, the Tigers and Lions are set to continue their contest that got called off Friday night due to lightning and rain.

CLICK HERE for a brief recap of less than an inning’s worth of action Friday night before fans ran for cover.

LSU will start today with Mason Katz at the plate and runners on the corners in the bottom of the first inning.

Ryan Eades threw a dominant first inning Friday night, and he will continue on the mound today. As will Jordan Hymel who started Friday for Southeastern.

Below will be Hunt’s game blog picking up from where we left off Friday night.

Lineups:

Southeastern 4-1

1. Corey Bryan CF .263
2. Jesse Buratt 3B .278
3. Harry Slade RF .579
4. Aaron Haag 1B .222
5. Jameson Fisher DH .176
6. Gabe Woods 2B .200
7. Ben Hernandez SS .429
8. Sam Roberson C .294
9. Ladd Rhodes LF .200

P- Jordan Hymel LHP
Unavailable players - nobody

LSU 5-0

1. Chris Sciambra CF .500
2. Mark Laird RF .300
3. Alex Bregman SS .350
4. Raph Rhymes LF .333
5. Mason Katz 1B .211
6. JaCoby Jones 2B .417
7. Alex Edward DH .143
8. Ty Ross C .231
9. Christian Ibarra 3B

P- Ryan Eades RHP
Unavailable players - nobody

Bottom 1 (cont.)
That didn’t take long. Katz took a pitch and then tok then next one over the bleachers in left. 3 run bomb… 3-0 LSU… JaCoby Jones cracks a single through the left side… Jones steals second. Think this team is focused? Edward shoots a single through the right side. Jones scores. 4-0 LSU… Ross dumps a single to right. Edward up 90 feet… Ibarra goes down looking, but the message had been sent. Now back to work for Eades… LSU 4, SLU 0

Top 2
Jameson Fisher watches a fastball. He’s out No. 1… Gabe Woods grounds to third. Easy for Ibarra. 2 out… Great Eades breaking ball has Ben Hernandez out in front. Easy roller to Bregman at short for the third out. Great stuff from Eades in that inning. Filled up the zone and executed his out pitches… LSU 4, SLU 0

Bottom 2
Sciambra fans on three pitches. 1 out… Laird strokes a double off the wall in left. Showed a little pop there… Wow. Jay Artigues wastes no times and pulls ace Jordan Hymel. That’s a little surprising. Right hander Mason Klotz is the new SLU arm… Bregman flies to center. 2 out… Rhymes turns on a fastball and drills a double off the wall in left. Laird gallops home… 5-0 LSU… Katz follows with a single to left. Rhymes scores. 6-0 LSU… Katz is caught stealing. Inning over… LSU 6, SLU 0

Top 3
Eades snaps off a breaker in the zone. Roberson watches. 1 out… Ladd Rhodes can’t catch up. 2 out… Corey Bryan flies softly to right. Eades impressive… LSU 6, SLU 0

Bottom 3
Jones pops to shallow right. 1 out… Edward grounds to short. 2 out… Ty Ross fans… Quick inning for Mason Klotz… LSU 6, SLU 0

Top 4
Jesse Buratt flies softly to right. 1 out… Harry Slade rolls to short. 2 out… Aaron Haag, the 4-hole hitter, just dropped down a perfect drag bunt. He’s on… Now Jameson Fisher drills a single up the middle. Haag to second. Composure spot for Eades here… Gabe Woods grounds to third. Nice job by Eades… LSU 6, SLU 0

Bottom 4
Ibarra pops to center, but it gets lost in the sun. Give Ibarra credit. He busted it out of the box and turned it into a double. Any lack of hustle would have cost him… Sciambra drops down a bunt. He’s out 1-3, but Ibarra moves to third. 1 out… Infield in for Laird who grounds to first. They get Ibarra in a rundown and tag him out. Laird does advance to second with 2 out… Bregman walks. 1st and 2nd… Rhymes produces a duplicate of his 2nd inning 2B and scores 2. 11 hits for LSU already. 8-0 LSU… SLU goes to righty Jason Greenleaf now… Katz walks… Jones fans. We’ve played four… LSU 8, SLU 0

Top 5
Ben Hernandez singles to right… Sam Roberson lines to left. Rhymes is there, but another good swing. 1 out… With Hernandez moving, Ladd Rhodes singles just past Jones. That wasn’t hit all that well, but it was in the right spot.. Corey Bryan fans. Good breaking ball. Rhodes moves up to second on a ball in the dirt. 2 out. Another big spot… Eades walks Jesse Burrat on four pitches to load the bases. Here’s 3-hole hitter Harry Slade with 2 out… Slade taps in front of the plate. Ross pounces on it and fires to first in plenty of time. Eades escapes trouble again… LSU 8, SLU 0

Bottom 5
Edward grounds to second. 1 out… Ross singles to left… Ibarra pops foul to the catcher. 2 out… SLU goes to LHP Kyle Cedetol… Sciambra grounds into the fielder’s choice. Ross is out 4-6 at 2nd. Headed to the sixth… LSU 8, SLU 0

Top 6
Haag grounds very softly past Eades. Bregman scoops and fires but it was late. Nola probably makes that play, but very few could. It’s a single. Eades hits Jameson Fisher in his elbow armor. 1st and 2nd. Eades back in trouble. Gabe Woods flies to center. Sciambra airmailed the cutoff man on the way to third, and that allowed Fisher to go 1st to 2nd and take away the double play. Mental error. 1 out. 2nd and 3rd. Hernandez dumps an 0-2 pitch into right for an RBI single. Corners. 1 out. 8-1 LSU… Sam Roberson pops foul near the seat by 1st. Katz makes the catch and hit the wall. 2 out. Corners… Alex Marse pinch hits for SLU, but during the AB Hernandez takes off on a ball in the dirt and Ross pegs him… LSU 8, SLU 1

Bottom 6
Laird grounds to first and a wicked hop gets by Haag. Single… Wild pitch moves Laird over… Bregman pops to center. He’s hitless today, 1 out… Raph squibs to second and it eats Woods up. Laird to 3rd. Rhymes safe. Corners with 1 out… SLU goes to RHP John Gremillion… Katz ropes an 0-2 pitch to the wall in LCF for a 2 RBI double. 10-1 LSU… Katz moves up on a wild pitch… This is becoming a theme. Jones grounds to third and they get Katz hung up and tagged out. Jones to second. 2 out… Edward pops to shallow right. 6 are gone… LSU 10, SLU 1

Top 7
Eades gives way to Kevin Berry. More on Eades in Hunt’s Around the Horn on BBI tomorrow, but his line reads 6IP, 7H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 5K… Corey Bryan flies to right. 1 out… Jesse Burrat pops to short. 2 out… Slade lines to short. Stretch time… LSU 10, SLU 1

Bottom 7
Chris Chinea pinch hits for Ross and singles to right… SLU goes to LHP Brennen Catalano… Tyler Moore pops to short. 1 out… Jared Foster hits for Sciambra and singles through the left side… Andrew Stevenson hits for Laird and fans on three pitches. 2 out… Casey Yocum serves a single to right to plate Chinea. Foster to 3rd and Yocum moves up to second on the throw. 11-1 LSU… Rhymes chases two more home with his fourth hit of the day, a sharp single to center. 13-1 LSU… Katz fans. We head to the eighth with the Tigers in total control… LSU 13, SLU 1

Top 8
Hunter Devall enters for LSU… Tanner Rainey pinch hits for SLU and he doubles to RCF… Jameson Fisher pops foul near the SLU bullpen. Great running catch by Tyler Moore. 1 out… Wild pitch sends Rainey to third… Brit Gautreaux flies to LC. Stevenson runs it down and Rainey doesn’t tag. Weird. 2 out… Devall gets Ben Hernandez swinging. Strands a runner a third… LSU 13, SLU 1

Bottom 8
JaCoby pops foul to the 2B who made the running play. 1 out… Michael Barash fans. 2 out… Chinea doubles to left. He’s 2 for 2… Moore flies to right. 3 out to play… LSU 13, SLU 1

Top 9
Taylor Butler on to pitch for LSU… Daniel Midyett taps back to Butler. 1 out… Marse grounds to short. 2 out and Paul will let Cotton get a man out. Cotton hasn’t pitched all weekend… Josh Watkins pinch hits. He grounds out to second. Tigers win the game and the weekend… Big day for the bats, especially Rhymes and Katz.

FINAL: LSU 13, SLU 1