LSU sweeps Arkansas with 7-1 win
Caleb Gilbert threw five shutout innings in his first start and Jordan Romero hit a three-run homer as LSU defeated Arkansas 7-1 at The Box on Sunday afternoon to complete a sweep of their Southeastern Conference series.
HOW THEY SCORED
LSU second inning – Romero was hit by a pitch. After Chris Reid flied out to the leftfielder, Beau Jordan singled. Romero and Beau Jordan moved up a base on a wild pitch by Keaton McKinney. After Greg Deichmann struck out, Romero and Beau Jordan scored on a single by Brennan Breaux. LSU 2, ARKANSAS 0
LSU fifth inning – Cole Freeman singled and stole second base. Freeman advanced to third on a ground out to the second baseman by Antoine Duplantis. Freeman scored on a wild pitch by McKinney. Jake Fraley walked and Kramer Robertson singled. Romero hit a three-run homer over the leftfield fence. LSU 6, ARKANSAS 0
LSU eighth inning – Deichmann singled. After Breaux flied out to the centerfielder, Freeman singled. After Duplantis struck out, Deichmann scored on a single by Fraley. LSU 7, ARKANSAS 0
Arkansas ninth inning – With one out, Austin Catron singled. After Rick Nomura flied out to the centerfielder, Catron took second on defensive indifference. Catron scored on a single by Cullen Gassaway. LSU 7, ARKANSAS 1
LSU MISSED SCORING OPPORTUNITIES
Fourth inning – Reid doubled. Beau Jordan flied out to the leftfielder, Deichmann grounded out to the pitcher and Breaux struck out.
Seventh inning – Duplantis singled. After Fraley struck out, Robertson was hit by a pitch. Romero flied out to the rightfielder. Reid walked to load the bases. Beau Jordan struck out.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Romero had the big hit of the game – a three-run homer which doubled LSU’s advantage to six runs at 6-0 in the fifth inning. The home run was a team-leading eighth of the year for Romero. In the second inning, Romero was hit by a pitch and later scored on a single by Breaux. Romero, who flied out with two runners on base in the seventh, went 1-for-3.
Romero’s comments: “On the at-bat before the home run, I had been chasing balls in the dirt. I told myself not to be as aggressive or jumpy at the plate. I took three balls. I got the green light on 3-and-0 and I had a good swing on the ball. Caleb Gilbert pitched his butt off today. He kept his two-seamer down in the zone and got a lot of ground balls.”
ABOUT THE HITTERS
Every starter in the LSU lineup got a hit. The only player with more than one hit was Freeman, who went 2-for-3. . .The Tigers collected ten hits – eight of them being singles. Reid had a double and Romero hit a home run. . .LSU stranded eight runners – five in scoring position. The Tigers were 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Breaux, Romero and Fraley picked up the RBI hits with runners in scoring position.
ABOUT THE PITCHERS
Coach Paul Mainieri wanted to have a regular starting pitcher for at least one of the two games at Notre Dame. With John Valek struggling recently in the SEC, it made sense for Mainieri to hold him back for the series against the Fighting Irish. So, Gilbert got his first start of the season. Gilbert, who had lost his closer’s role, gave the Tigers five shutout innings. He allowed five hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Arkansas got two runners to second base against Gilbert. In the second, Gilbert retired Chad Spanberger on a ground out to the second baseman Freeman with a runner at second and two out. In the fourth, Gilbert got Michael Bernal to hit into an inning-ending force play with two runners on base. The victory was the fourth of the season for Gilbert. . .Parker Bugg followed up Gilbert with three shutout innings. Bugg allowed one baserunner – Bernal, who reached on a misjudged popup in front of the plate. Bugg struck out three batters. . .Jesse Stallings gave up a run and two hits in the ninth. . .Tigers pitchers walked one and struck out six.
NOTES
After getting three hits Saturday, Breaux was in the starting lineup in leftfield. Beau Jordan, who was benched in the first inning Saturday, was the designated hitter. Bryce Jordan, who had been the designated hitter, went to the bench. Bryce Jordan had a ten-game hitting streak end Saturday. ..Beau Jordan has a four-game hitting streak after singling in the second. Reid also has a four-game hitting streak following his double in the fourth. Fraley extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single in the eighth. Fraley has kept his hitting streak alive in his final at-bat the past two games. . .Neither team committed an error after combining for seven errors in the middle game of the series. . .Catron and Nomura each had two of Arkansas’ eight hits. . .McKinney gave up four runs and four hits with three walks and two strikeouts in 4.1 innings. Weston Rogers and Cody Scroggins allowed the other three Tigers runs. . .LSU has won five straight series against Arkansas. The sweep was the first for the Tigers over the Razorbacks since 2012. . .LSU is 31-16 overall, 14-10 in the SEC. The Tigers are tied with Ole Miss for third place in the SEC West – two games behind division-leading Texas A&M. . .Arkansas is 26-22 overall, 7-17 in the SEC. The Hogs have lost six games in a row. . .The paid attendance was 10,109.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
Coach Paul Mainieri’s comments: “Whether it’s the media or fans, people tend to think negatively. In the inner workings of the team, you can’t think negatively. For the first time this week, I sat down with the team and talked about our situation. I told them we have a chance to do this. Everybody has written us off. If we go out and play well, we can win these three games (against Arkansas). Then, if we have some success on this five-game road trip (two at Notre Dame and three at Tennessee), we can put ourselves in position in the last week. We still have a chance to host a regional. Nothing is easy, but anything is possible.”
UP NEXT
LSU will play Notre Dame in the opener of a two-game series at Frank Eck Stadium in South Bend (Ind.) on Tuesday. The Fighting Irish (26-20) avoided a sweep by beating Pittsburgh 5-0 in the last game of their three-game ACC series Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. Central. John Valek (6-2) will be the starting pitcher for the Tigers. The LSU-Notre Dame will be broadcast on ESPN’s digital network (ESPN3).