Live Gameday Updates/Thread: No. 12 LSU Baseball vs Eastern Kentucky Game 1
Pregame
A few pregame stories to get your night started:
Mainieri continuing to toy with lineup
On Alex Milazzo, LSU's freshman catcher that was always told he was too short.
LSU lineup:
1. Doughty, 2B
2. Cabrera, RF
3. Mathis, 3B
4. Garza, DH
5. Beloso, 1B
6. Milazzo, C
7. Hampton, CF
8. Toups, LF
9. Hughes, SS
Paul Mainieri said he hopes to get six innings or 90 pitches from all three of his starters this weekend. Cole Henry will take the mound in about an hour.
LSU will officially start four freshmen tonight with Doughty at second, Hampton in center, Milazzo at catcher and Toups in left field.
It's a brisk one out here tonight, hence a pretty small crowd. That or everyone's out watching parades.
Top 1
The Tigers have taken the field and it's almost time to play ball.
Cole Henry strikes out the first batter of the game on a 95 mph heater and we're underway at the Box.
Henry goes three up, three down with a strikeout in the first inning. LSU up to bat after a five hit performance against Nicholls on Wednesday.
Mid 1
Cade Doughty pops out to first base to start the evening on offense for LSU.
Three up, three down for the Tigers as Cabrera grounds out to short and Zack Mathis strikes out looking to end the first inning.
Top 2
Upshaw flies out to Cabrera in right field and Cole Henry has retired all four batters he's faced.
A couple of really nice gloves from Zack Mathis ends the second inning. Cole Henry has retired all six batters he's faced with one strikeout.
Mid 2
Eastern Kentucky starting pitcher Brennan Kelly is throwing 68 mph on his breaking balls and hovering around 82 mph on his fastballs. Certainly will be an eye adjustment for the LSU hitters
Saul Garza, right on cue flies out to right field. Cade Beloso and Maurice Hampton follow suit with popouts of their own.
Tiger bats have remained cold thus far, six up, six down.
Top 3
Cole Henry puts his first runner on base with a walk. First baserunner for either team.
Sacrifice bunt moves Ludwick over to second. Eastern Kentucky has a runner in scoring position.
Henry has lost his command a bit in the third, walking his second batter of the inning. A screaming grounder goes right through the glove of Zack Mathis and the bases are loaded.
One out in the third. LSU could really use a Henry strikeout if it wants to keep this a scoreless game.
Milazzo nearly picked off a runner at third. Very close but Mainieri decides not to challenge it. Henry picks up his second strikeout of the evening on the next pitch. Two away now in the third.
An infield single gives Eastern Kentucky not only its first hit of the game but its first lead. Tigers trail 1-0 with two outs in the third.
LSU surrenders one run and leaves the bases loaded. An error and two walks told the story of that half inning.
1-0, Eastern Kentucky
Mid 3
Hampton strikes out swinging after a 10 pitch at bat.
Nine up, nine down for LSU as the Tigers have gone three innings without plating a runner. Tigers need to find some offense fast.
Top 4
Henry issues his third walk of the evening to start the fourth. His command has suffered a bit these last two innings. Up to 63 pitches
Milazzo picks off his first runner of the season. Couldn't have been a better throw. Play puts Eastern Kentucky at two outs in the fourth.
Henry picks up his third strikeout to end the inning. Tigers need to wake up at the plate as they've recorded five hits over the last 12 innings of baseball.
Mid 4
Daniel Cabrera draws a walk for LSU's first baserunner of the evening. One away with Zack Mathis at the plate.
Slow roller from Mathis advances Cabrera to second base. Saul Garza up to bat with a runner in scoring position.
Garza flies out to centerfield. Still no hits for the Tigers after four innings.
Top 5
Leadoff single for Eastern Kentucky as Brewer blasts a hard line drive in the third base-shortstop gap.
Another single with one out is good enough to bring home Eastern Kentucky's second run of the evening. Tigers can't afford to let this get to out of hand with the bats not getting going for a second straight game.
At 87 pitches, that's likely the last we've seen of Cole Henry tonight. He goes five innings and allows two runs on three hits. Also struck out three and walked three .
LSU out of the inning with just one run coming across, trail Eastern Kentucky 2-0.
Top 5
Cade Beloso leads off the fifth with a single to right field, the Tigers first hit of the evening.
Alex Milazzo draws a four pitch walk and LSU is in business with runners on first and second and no outs. Maurice Hampton at the plate.
Hampton flies out to deep left field as the wind probably kept that ball in the park.
Hal Hughes comes to the plate with the bases now loaded and one out in the fifth. Eastern Kentucky making a pitching change. Kelly had LSU in a rut for four innings but a few hits and a walk has Tigers in business.
Hughes strikes out. It's up to Cade Doughty to not squander LSU's best inning yet. Bases loaded, two outs.
Doughty pops out to end the inning. Killer ending for the Tigers who literally had done nothing on offense before that inning.
Top 6
Jaden Hill enters the game for Cole Henry and strikes out two and retires all three batters in the inning. Hill is star in the making if he can stay healthy.
Mainieri hoping to get two more innings out of him tonight as the team lightly increases his workload.
Mid 6
Cabrera draws a walk to kick off the sixth inning. After not having any baserunners the first three innings, the Tigers have plated five in the last two innings
Mathis lines out to centerfield. Ball had just a little too much steam allowing Brewer to make the play.
Cabrera's walk was all LSU could muster in that inning. Tigers trail 2-0 after six innings as Cade Beloso strikes out swinging
Top 7
Hill issues a four pitch walk to start the seventh.
Jaden Hill has walked two batters and a passed ball advances the runners to second and third. Tigers in a tough spot but there are two away.
Eastern Kentucky almost shut the door on this one but a three-run homer comes inches short of the wall. Tigers down 2-0 at the seventh inning stretch
Still nobody warming up for LSU, looks like Hill might be going another inning.
Mid 7
Milazzo, Hampton and Toups up to start the seventh. Tigers have just one hit tonight.
Milazzo draws his second walk of the night which is honestly the best batting performance of the night so far.
Hampton strikes out looking and Milazzo successfully steals second. Tigers have a runner in scoring position.
Hayden Travinski pinch hitting for Hal Hughes as Eastern Kentucky goes with a lefty reliever. Travinski pops out to end the inning. It's just been a nightmare two games at the plate.
Top 8
Double in the gap has Eastern Kentucky in prime position to add insurance runs
Jaden Hill reaches his pitch limit and Matthew Beck replaces him. Hill goes 2.2 innings with five strikeouts and three walks. Remains to be seen if Eastern Kentucky can add an insurance run.
Runners on first and second.
Nice play from Collier Cranford, who grabs a ball up the middle and flips it to first. Still 2-0 as Tigers approach the bottom of the eighth.
Mid 8
Mathis flies out with Cabrera on second. Two away in the eighth with Saul Garza at the plate. Nothing going in the eighth
Top 9
Matthew Beck walks two but Tigers don't surrender a run. Defense has not been the problem tonight. A program like LSU should be able to beat Eastern Kentucky when allowing just two runs
Tigers down to their final three outs.
Mid 9
LSU gets a hit from Maurice Hampton but that is all as Tigers drop series opener to Kentucky 2-0.