JOURNAL SPORTS
BATON ROUGE – Big nights for LSU’s baseball and softball teams meant bad news for Louisiana Tech Tuesday night.
The struggling Tiger baseball team erupted for a 15-5 rout of the Bulldogs. A mile away at Tiger Park, the 20th-ranked LSU softball squad blanked Louisiana Tech 9-0. Both games were ended by run rules.
BASEBALL: First baseman Zach Yorke blasted two home runs as LSU rallied from a 2-0 first-inning deficit and quickly took command at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
The game was halted in the bottom of the eighth inning due to the 10-run rule. LSU improved to 17-9, while Louisiana Tech dropped to 15-11.
The Tigers, winning for only the sixth time in the last 14 games as the defending national champions have completely dropped out of top 25 polls, return to action Friday when they open a three-game SEC homefield series against Kentucky. The Bulldogs come home to begin a Conference USA series Friday against Jacksonville State.
Yorke was 2-for-4 on Tuesday night with two homers and four RBI to pace the Tigers’ 14-hit output. Rightfielder Jake Brown, catcher Omar Serna Jr., centerfielder Derek Curiel and third baseman John Pearson each contributed two RBI.
Curiel was 3-for-5 at the plate with two doubles, two RBI and one run scored. Shortstop Steven Milam also collected three hits, and he scored twice.
LSU trailed, 2-0, entering the bottom of the first inning, but Pearson’s two-out, two-run single tied the game, and Brown’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the second inning put the Tigers on top for good.
Reliever Ethan Plog (2-0) earned the win, as he entered the game in the first inning and worked 2.0 scoreless frames, allowing no hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
“Ethan really picked us up to get us off the field in the first inning,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson, “and we immediately scored two runs, and then he three-up, three-down in the top of the second.
“On the offensive side, the story of the game was our two-out hitting with runners in scoring position,” Johnson said. “John’s hit early, Jake’s hit early and obviously the two home runs by Zach were great.”
Colby Lunsford was the only ‘Dog with a multi-hit game, with a first-running single and a double in the fifth, his 10th multi-hit performance of the season. Colton Coates extended his reached-base streak to 10 games after drawing a pair of walks.
SOFTBALL: No. 20 LSU shut out Louisiana Tech in five innings on Tuesday night at Tiger Park for head coach Beth Torina’s 600th career victory at the helm of the program.
Torina joins legendary company at LSU — becoming just the third head coach in a head-to-head team sport to reach the milestone, alongside Skip Bertman (870) and Paul Mainieri (641). She stands as the only active LSU head coach with 600 or more wins.
LSU (22-10) earned its third consecutive victory and has won four of its last five games, while Louisiana Tech (17-15) dropped its fifth consecutive game. The Tigers also stretched their winning streak against the Bulldogs to 27 games in the all-time series.
“I’ve said all along that this team is getting better all the time,” said Torina. “They are growing all the time. I can’t recall a team that has had this much growth as the season continues. I am confident that we will continue to improve.”
LSU pitcher Paytn Monticelli started the game and set the tone in the combined shutout. The first seven outs for the Tigers were strikeouts for Monticelli, with four of them being swinging strikeouts. The senior hurler improved to 3-1 in the circle and allowed one hit and one walk in 3.0 innings.
The final two innings saw freshmen pitchers Cali Deal and Ashlin Mowery close the game. In the fourth, Deal notched one strikeout and gave up one hit, while Mowery struck out two of the four batters she faced in the fifth.
Tori Edwards (2-for-2) and Jalia Lassiter (2-for-3) both hit solo shots and scored two runs. Kylee Edwards contributed a two-run round tripper.
LSU scored four first-inning runs, then belted three home runs in the second to double the margin to 8-0.
Allie Fair and Bradi Gallaway singled for the only hits by the Bulldogs.
LSU jumps back into SEC competition this weekend with a three-game series beginning Friday with No. 5/3 Oklahoma. The Bulldogs return home to Dr. Billy Bundrick Field for a three-game CUSA series against Missouri State starting Friday night.