By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Zach Yorke went an entire month and 16 games without a home run, but he made up for it Tuesday night with two as the Tigers walloped Louisiana Tech, 15-5, at Alex Box Stadium for a 10-run-rule win in eight innings.
Yorke hit his fifth and sixth home runs of the season – a solo shot in the fifth for an 8-2 lead and a three-run blast in the eighth for a 12-5 advantage. Omar Serna Jr. added a two-RBI single for a 14-5 LSU lead in the eighth. Then Derek Curiel ended it with a double to center field as Serna scored all the way from first base, avoiding the tag at the plate with an excellent slide for the 15-5 final.
The play was reviewed, but Serna was ruled safe.
“He’s been working hard, and I’m happy for him,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said of Yorke, who is hitting .275 with 16 RBIs and 22 strikeouts. “Proud of him for persevering and sticking through failure.”
Yorke went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in the Tigers’ 4-2 loss to Oklahoma on Friday and did not play in the 4-3 loss to the Sooners on Saturday.
“He hasn’t stopped working,” Johnson said. “He’s remained engaged in what he needs to do. Derek Jeter said, ‘Baseball has humbled you, or will humble you.’ We have a few guys getting through that. Him (Yorke) certainly is one of them. But I’m proud of his response, and hopefully it’s the start of good things to come for him.”
LSU collected 14 hits in all. Curiel was 3-for-5 with two RBI doubles. Steven Milam went 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Trent Caraway finished 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Yorke was 2-for-4 with four RBIs. Serna was 2-for-6 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Of the Tigers’ 15 runs, 11 scored with two outs.
“It just seemed like we put more good at-bats together,” Johnson said. “Not trying to do too much. It’s not complicated. Throwing strikes, field play, two-out hits are going to win and lose games, and we were on the right side of it tonight.”
Seven of LSU’s nine pitchers walked one or fewer.
Reliever Ethan Plog, who was one of nine Tiger pitchers, picked up the win to go to 2-0. He threw two innings over the first, second and third innings, allowing no hits or runs on two walks with three strikeouts. Santiago Garcia picked up his second save with a third of an inning in the eighth, giving up zeroes across the board.
The Tigers (17-9, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) host No. 19 Kentucky (20-4, 4-2 SEC) on Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at noon – all on SEC Network+. Kentucky 10-run ruled Murray State, 14-4, in seven innings Tuesday night.
LSU scored five runs in the second inning to take a commanding 7-2 lead. Jake Brown hit a two-run single after Steven Milam singled and Trent Caraway doubled.
After Yorke’s homer in the fifth, Curiel followed with an RBI double for the 9-2 advantage.
Louisiana Tech (15-11, 4-2 Conference-USA) drew within 9-5 in the eighth inning.
“‘Just different’ really entails a lot.”
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) March 24, 2026
-Lane Kiffin.https://t.co/8qFJkVw9tX
The Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead in the first inning off LSU starter Reagan Ricken, who allowed one earned run on one hit with two walks in two-thirds of an inning. An unearned run crossed on a throwing error by Brown in right field.
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