No. 1 LSU rallies past Lions for 6-5 victory

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU’s Brock Mathis’ run-scoring single in the bottom of the eighth inning proved the game-winner, as the No. 1 Tigers bested Southeastern Louisiana, 6-5, in non-conference baseball action Tuesday evening at Alex Box Stadium.

The Lions (0-4) went toe-to-toe with the hosts in a game played in a steady rain. SLU out-hit LSU, 8-7, in the loss. Nick Ray paced the Lion offense with a home run, a double and three RBI, while Preston Faulkner added two doubles for Southeastern.

In his 2019 pitching debut, Trey Shaffer scattered six hits and struck out five in six innings of work. The Biloxi, Mississippi native yielded five runs (four earned) thanks in large part to a single-game school record six wild pitches, besting the previous mark of five set by Southeastern Athletics Hall of Famer and current Houston Astro Wade Miley versus Stephen F. Austin on March 14, 2008.

Southeastern scored in each of the first four innings against the Tigers, but the LSU bullpen would hold SLU hitless over its final five trips to allow for Mathis’ heroics.

Southeastern jumped out to the lead in the top of the first inning versus LSU freshman starter Cole Henry. Brennan Breaud sliced a one-out single through the right side of the infield. Faulkner then yanked a double off the third base bag and into the left field corner. Tiger left fielder Daniel Cabrera mishandled the ricochet off the wall, allowing Breaud to score the game’s first run.

An error by LSU first baseman Drew Bianco allowed Nathan Pilutti to reach, then Eli Johnson drew a walk to load the bases. However, Henry forced Lion senior Bryce Steckler to fly out to left to limit the damage to a 1-0 Lion lead.

LSU answered by touching up Shaffer, making his first collegiate start after appearing in 19 games in relief in 2018 as a true freshman out of Biloxi High School, in the bottom of the first. Josh Smith led off the inning with a single into shallow left. A walk to Cabrera put a pair of runners on with two outs.

Smith would score on an infield single by Zach Watson and Cabrera would come home on one of Shaffer’s three wild pitches in the opening inning to stake the Tigers to a 2-1 advantage.

The lead would last two pitches, as Ray turned on an 0-1 offering from Henry and powered it well over the left field fence. The redshirt freshman from Jefferson, Louisiana’s first career home run knotted the score at 2-2.

LSU took advantage of Shaffer’s control issues to retake the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Shaffer hit Hal Hughes and gave up a single to Smith to put a pair of runners on with one out. Two straight wild pitches, allowed Hughes to score and put the Tigers up, 3-2.

Southeastern answered in its half of the third inning. Pilutti was originally called out trying to steal, but the call was reversed after a replay. SLU took advantage of the second chance, as Steckler walked to put a pair or runners on, then Ray lined a double into the left centerfield gap just out of the reach of a diving Watson to score a pair and put the Lions back on top, 4-3.

Evan Pace then beat out an infield single and Cody Grosse drew a walk to load the bases and chase Henry from the contest. Tiger reliever Chase Costello forced Breaud to fly out to keep the Lion lead at one.

LSU scored for the third straight frame off Shaffer in the bottom of the third. Saul Garza walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored when a grounder off the bat of Drew Bianco took a bad hop past Lion third baseman Eli Johnson. The ball got far away enough for Bianco to leg out an RBI double that knotted the score at 4-4.

Southeastern put up a crooked number for the fourth consecutive inning in its half of the fourth. Faulkner led off the inning with his second double of the game, moved to third on a ground out by Kyle Schimpf and scored on a slow roller back to the mound off the bat of Pilutti to put SLU back on top, 5-4.

After retiring the Tigers in order in the bottom of the fourth inning, Shaffer had to pitch out of trouble in the LSU fifth. With one out, Cabrera lined a double into the left field corner to put the tying run in scoring position. However, Shaffer helped SLU maintain the lead, retiring Watson and Garza to get out of the frame unscathed.

The Tigers finally chased Shaffer in the bottom of the seventh inning, putting the first two on via a hit batter and a Shaffer error. Antoine Duplantis greeted SLU reliever Jared Biddy (0-2) with an RBI groundout to knot the score. Biddy did his job, however, keeping the game tied by retiring Cabrera and Watson.

After plating runs in each of the first four innings, SLU was held hitless by the Tiger bullpen trio of Matthew Beck, Devin Fontenot and Todd Peterson (2-0) over the next four innings. With the Lion bats held at bay, LSU finally retook the lead versus Biddy in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Giovanni DiGiacomo led off the frame with a pinch-run single, stole second and was moved over to third on a sacrifice bunt by Chris Reid. Mathis then flared a single just out of the reach of a drawn-in Grosse to score DiGiacomo and give the Tigers a 6-5 lead.

Peterson pitched a perfect ninth to close out the LSU victory.

The Lions return home for a three-game series versus Stony Brook, opening with a 6 p.m. game on Friday at Alumni Field. The series continues on Saturday at 2 p.m. and concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. Every home Sunday is Local Heroes Appreciation at the Pat, as all first responders, service members and military personnel will receive a discounted ticket with a valid ID.

LionVision subscribers will be able to access a live video stream of the SLU-Stony Brook series at www.LionSports.net/watch. Friday and Sunday’s game can be heard live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio, RadioFX and Lions Game Day Experience apps.

SLU – 112 100 000 – 5 8 1 (0-4)
LSU – 211 000 11x – 6 7 2 (4-0)
Trey Shaffer, Jared Biddy (7) and Evan Pace. Cole Henry, Chase Costello (3), Matthew Beck (5), Devin Fontenot (7), Todd Peterson (8) and Brock Mathis. W – Peterson (2-0). L – Biddy (0-2). HR – SLU: Nick Ray (1). 2B – SLU: Preston Faulkner 2 (4); LSU: Drew Bianco (1), Daniel Cabrera (2). T – 2:56. A – 10,004.

INSIDE SOUTHEASTERN BASEBALL WITH MATT RISER
The 2019 edition of Inside Southeastern Baseball with Matt Riser debuted on Monday at noon from Blackened Brew, located at 112 W. Thomas St. in downtown Hammond.

Riser joins host Allen Waddell at lunchtime every Monday during the regular season for the 60-minute radio show, talking the latest in Southeastern baseball. Each week, one of the Lion players will also join the duo.

The show airs on the flagship station of the Southeastern Sports Radio Network, KSLU 90.9 FM, online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Lions Gameday Experience, Radio FX and TuneIn Radio apps. A live video stream of the show will also be available via Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/sluathletics.

DIAMOND CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the baseball program are encouraged to join the Diamond Club. Lion baseball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.

All membership fees and donations to both the Diamond Club and S Club (baseball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern baseball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lions Baseball, follow @LionUpBaseball or @MattRiser17 on Twitter, @LionUpBaseball on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.