The LSU Tigers exorcized some demons on Tuesday night against the Southeastern Lions with a 12-4 win, the least stressful game in weeks (and there was still some doubt early).
With the win, the Tigers broke a three-game losing streak after being swept by the Mississippi State Bulldogs this past weekend. LSU is now 24-21 on the season and has at least some momentum heading into a winnable home series against the South Carolina Gamecocks this weekend.
This game got off to a rocky start before the Tigers were able to put the game away later in the evening. Reagan Ricken got the start on the bullpen day and was pulled before recording an out.
Ricken walked a batter, gave up a single and then hit someone before Danny Lachenmayer came in to smooth things out. Lachenmayer succeeded at that task as the only run that ended up coming through was on a sacrifice fly. LSU put up two in the first frame to put that completely in the rearview mirror.
Lachenmayer had less success in the second inning as he walked someone and gave up a single before surrendering a three-run home run with two outs. He then hit two batters before getting his third strikeout of the frame. The Tigers' offense fought back again and put up three runs of their own to match in the bottom of the second.
LSU's pitching was pretty smooth for the rest of the day, not allowing any more runs to come through. Zac Cowan put up four innings of two hit, one walk and seven strikeout ball. It was the type of performance that the school had hoped to get more consistently out of the senior. Ethan Plog, Gavin Guidry and Zion Theophilus all saw the mound and got out clean.
On offense, Derek Curiel had the best day by far. He went 3-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, a walk drawn and two RBI. Curiel went yard for the sixth time this year.
Jack Ruckert put together the best offensive performance of his freshman season. He went 2-for-3, also picking up two doubles and two RBI. It was the second game with two hits and two RBI, but it was the first time he hit two extra-base hits in the same outing.
Tanner Reaves and Cade Arrambide also put together multi-hit performances. There's not much to complain about when the team posts 12 runs.