UNO edges LSU in exhibition game, 8-7

BATON ROUGE, La. – The University of New Orleans edged LSU, 8-7, Sunday in a 14-inning fall exhibition game before nearly 2,500 fans in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

The teams will meet in a second exhibition game at 5:15 p.m. CT on Friday, October 26, at UNO’s Maestri Field.

“I thought this was a very productive experience for our team,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “We had a great crowd, and they gave our players a real sense of what a game at ‘The Box’ is like. It was important for our new players to perform in this environment, and some of them made a very positive impact on the game.

“We have a lot of work to do this fall as we develop our team, and I was pleased overall with the experience our players gained tonight.”

Sunday’s game featured some strong outings by the Tigers, including starting pitcher Landon Marceaux, a freshman right-hander from Destrehan, La. Marceaux worked the first three innings of the contest, limiting the Privateers to no runs on two hits in three innings with five strikeouts.

“Marceaux is going to be a really critical guy for us all year,” Mainieri said. “I think he showed tonight what he’s capable of doing, and I think he can be even better.”

LSU freshman right-hander Riggs Threadgill recorded six consecutive outs in the 10th and 11th innings.

Senior rightfielder Antoine Duplantis led the Tigers’ 13-hit attack by going 4-for-6 at the plate with three RBI. Freshman third baseman Drew Bianco was 3-for-4 with a triple and three runs scored.

Freshman outfielder Giovanni DiGiacomo had two hits in three at-bats for LSU and scored one run.

LSU opens the 2019 regular season on Friday, February 15, when the Tigers play host to Louisiana-Monroe in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.