Box Score Box Score
BATON ROUGE – Southeastern Louisiana's
Cody Gougler posted the first five-hit game of his career and
Cass Hargis went 3-for-5 with a triple and two RBI, but No. 15 LSU erased a 5-4 deficit as it scored five unanswered runs and posted a 9-5 victory Tuesday night at Alex Box Stadium.
Mikie Mahtook and Blake Dean belted two-out homers in a three-run sixth inning as LSU (33-13) snapped a seven-game losing streak – its longest since 1982. LSU used six pitchers in the game, including starters Joey Bourgeois and Anthony Ranaudo who pitched one inning each and sealed the win after Southeastern (33-14) loaded the bases in the ninth.
“I thought our guys battled hard and we got the tying run to the plate against Ranaudo, we just hit it right at them,” Artigues said. “Every ballgame is big and we came here to win it. Obviously, we weren't planning on using (Chris) Franklin. We got the lead in the sixth inning, but we weren't going to go to him because we need him for this weekend.”
Gougler, who went 5-for-5 with a RBI, posted the first five-hit game by a Lion since Matthew Schexnadyer went 5-for-5 in a 16-9 win over Texas State on April 13, 2008. Gougler joined Schexnayder, Hargis (5-for-5 against Stephen F. Austin on March 15, 2008) and Kyle Ginn (5-for-8 against Louisiana-Monroe on May 20, 2005) with five-hit games by a Lion hitter in the past five years.
Josh Janway (3-1) pitched effectively for 5.2 innings before Mahtook extended his hitting streak to 14 games when he connected for his 12th home run of the season, tying the game at 5-5. Austin Nola followed with a double that chased Janway and Dean greeted reliever
Justin Schneider with a two-run homer to right, giving the Tigers a 7-5 lead.
“We need other guys to step up. (Josh) Janway did a good job with the start and (freshman)
Stefan Lopez did a great job at the end. We just need to do a better job in between.”
LSU added two more runs in the seventh when Leon Landry scored on a passed ball and Matt Gaudet scored on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Hanover.
The Lions staged a rally in the ninth after Ranaudo fanned the first two batters.
Justin Boudreaux drew a walk before
Jeff Harkensee and Gougler reached on singles to load the bases and putting the potential tying run at the plate, but Ranaudo got
Chris Ernest to ground out to second to end the game.
Southeastern trailed 2-0 before scoring three times in the third to take its first lead of the game. Hargis drove in
Trey Martin with a single before scoring two batters later on Harkensee's single to left. Gougler followed with an RBI single off LSU starter Austin Ross that plated Boudreaux and put the Lions ahead, 3-2.
Hargis led off the fifth inning when he tripled past the outstretched glove of Mahtook in right and scored on Boudreaux's single to center. The Lions loaded the bases after Harkensee reached on a fielder's choice, Gougler singled and
Joe Sparacino was hit by a pitch, but Bourgeois got
Josh Cryer to hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
In the sixth inning,
Brock Hebert and
Chad Gough-Fortenberry each drew walks to lead off the inning and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Martin. Hargis drove in Hebert with a single to right, putting runners at first and third, but Boudreaux hit into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play ending the threat.
“Cody (Gougler) swung the bat well, but we had some non-competitive at-bats in some crucial times and that's disappointing because that's the time you need to step up and get that big hit to put the game away.”
Janway, a Baton Rouge native and former Parkview Baptist product, scattered 10 hits and fanned five in his second start of the season. Harkensee went 2-for-5 for the Lions, who collected 11 hits in the game.
Southeastern will return to Southland Conference play beginning Friday when it opens a three-game series against visiting Sam Houston State. First pitch for Friday's opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the series resuming Saturday at 2 p.m. and concluding Sunday at 1.
Tickets are available by calling the Southeastern Athletic Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or on-line at www.LionSports.net.
Southeastern La..... 003 011 000 - 5 11 1 (33-14)
LSU................. 201 013 20x - 9 15 0 (33-13)
Janway, Schneider (6), Lopez (7) and Gough-Fortenberry, Lucas (8). Ross, Bourgeois (5), Alsup (6), LaSuzzo (7), Bertuccini (7), Ranaudo (9) and Gibbs. W - Alsup (3-0). L - Janway (3-1). E - Gough-Fortenberry (5). DP - LSU 2. LOB - SLU 9, LSU 9. 2B - Nola (11), Dean (15), Landry (9), Hanover (12). 3B - Hargis (6). HR - Mahtook (12), Dean (9). HBP - Sparacino. SH - Martin (11), Dozar (2). SF - Gibbs (4), Landry (5), Hanover (3). SB - Martin (5), Mahtook (22), Dean (1). CS - Mahtook (7). T - 2:59. A - 10,692.
