Tigers even series with 9-3 win over Ball St.
Kramer Robertson had three hits, including a two-run single, as LSU defeated Ball State 9-3 in a non-conference game at The Box on Saturday night.
HOW THEY SCORED
Ball State third inning – Colin Brockhouse singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Matt Eppers. Alex Maloney walked. Brockhouse and Maloney scored on a triple by Ryan Spaulding. BALL STATE 2, LSU 0
LSU third inning – With one out, Robertson walked. Jake Fraley forced Robertson on a ground ball to the first baseman. Fraley stole second and scored on a double by Antoine Duplantis. BALL STATE 2, LSU 1
LSU fourth inning – Beau Jordan walked and Bryce Jordan singled. Michael Papierski walked to load the bases. Beau Jordan and Bryce Jordan scored on a single by Greg Deichmann. Chris Reid walked to load the bases. Papierski scored on a single by Cole Freeman. Deichmann and Reid scored on a single by Robertson. Both Freeman and Robertson moved up a base on a passed ball by Jarett Rindfleisch. Freeman and Robertson scored on a single by Fraley, who moved to second on an error by the leftfielder Maloney. Fraley advanced to third on a fly out to the rightfielder by Duplantis. Fraley scored on a sacrifice fly to the rightfielder by Beau Jordan. LSU 9, BALL STATE 2
Ball State fifth inning – With one out, Maloney singled. Maloney was forced at second base on Spaulding’s ground ball to the third baseman. Spaulding moved to second on a wild pitch by Alex Lange. After Alex Call walked, Spaulding scored on a single by Caleb Stayton. LSU 9, BALL STATE 3
LSU MISSED SCORING OPPORTUNITIES
First inning – Robertson and Fraley singled. Duplantis popped out to the second baseman and Beau Jordan hit into a 6-4-3 double play.
Fifth inning – With two out, Robertson walked and stole second. Fraley struck out.
Sixth inning – Duplantis singled and was forced at second on a ground ball to the third baseman by Beau Jordan. Bryce Jordan was hit by a pitch. Papierski flied out to the centerfielder and Deichmann lined out to the third baseman.
Seventh inning – With two out, Robertson singled and stole second. Fraley flied out to the centerfielder.
Eighth inning – With two out, pinch-hitter Bryce Adams reached second on a throwing error by the shortstop Sean Kennedy. Jordan Romero fouled out to the first baseman.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Robertson was perfect as the LSU leadoff batter as he reached base in all five of his plate appearances – three singles and two walks. Robertson had a key two-run single in the Tigers’ eight-run fourth inning. That hit put LSU in front 6-2. Robertson, who scored a run, stole two bases – his third and fourth of the season.
Robertson’s comments: “As the leadoff guy, my job is to get on base and set the tone. I did a good job for us (Saturday). I was really angry after we lost (Friday) night. I wanted to come out with a lot of energy. As a leader, I needed to have a positive attitude and get the team going. After Lange got out of that jam (with LSU losing 2-1), I told the guys he deserves better. I was aggressive with a runner on third with less than two out. I got a first-pitch slider and I got a good piece of the ball. It found a hole. Jake followed it up with a hit.”
ABOUT THE HITTERS
Three players besides Robertson had multiple-hit games – Fraley, Duplantis and Bryce Jordan. Those three individuals each had two hits. The only starters without a hit were Beau Jordan and Chris Reid. . .Fraley scored two runs. . .Robertson, Fraley and Deichmann each had two-run singles in LSU’s eight-run fourth inning. . .The Tigers stranded nine runners – six in scoring position. LSU was 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
ABOUT THE PITCHERS
Lange gave up three runs and five hits in six innings as he picked up his second victory of the season. Lange walked four and struck out a season-low five batters. He pitched out of a big jam in the fourth when Ball State had runners at second and third and one out. He got Trent Thiesen to fly out to Duplantis in shallow rightfield and struck out Brockhouse. Lange then struck out Kennedy with the bases loaded and two out in the fifth. . .Three relievers – Jesse Stallings, Hunter Newman and Alden Cartwright – each threw a scoreless inning. Newman issued a walk and Cartwright allowed two hits. . .The three relief pitchers walked one and struck out one.
NOTES
There were two changes in the starting lineup with Reid at third base and Papierski at catcher. Regular third baseman O’Neal Lochridge was nursing a back injury. Bryce Jordan was the designated hitter and Deichmann was the first baseman. . .Duplantis has hit safely in all 14 LSU games with his double in the third. Fraley singled in the first to extend his hitting streak to nine games. . . The Tigers sent 13 players to the plate in the fourth when they scored eight runs. . .LSU did not commit an error. . .No Ball State player had more than one hit. . .Cardinals starting pitcher Brendan Burns allowed four runs and four hits in three-plus innings. Reliever BJ Butler retired none of the five hitters he faced and all five scored. . .The start of the game was delayed about 50 minutes due to rain. . .LSU is now 11-3, while Ball State is 8-8. . .The paid attendance was 10,406. The actual crowd was about 3,500.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
Coach Paul Mainieri’s comments: “Ball State was tough on Alex Lange. They stayed off his breaking ball in the dirt and even hit some of his breaking balls. They did a good job on Alex early and we got in a hole. They to tried to squeeze and didn’t execute to get us out of an inning. When we were down 2-1, Alex got out of a jam and that was huge. He kept us in the game at 2-1. Then, we had our big inning with a lot of clutch hits. That inning was something to see. We had a lot of big hits and that allowed us to break the game open.”
UP NEXT
LSU will play host to Ball State in the rubber game of the series at The Box on Sunday. First pitch is set for noon Central. John Valek (3-0) will be the starting pitcher for the Tigers. The LSU-Ball State game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.