BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU shortstop Zach Arnold and first baseman Tre’ Morgan combined for seven hits and six RBI Tuesday night to lead the Tigers to a 16-8 win over No. 14 Louisiana Tech in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
The game was shortened to seven innings due to severe thunderstorms in the Baton Rouge area.
With the win, LSU improved to 30-18, while Louisiana Tech dropped to 33-13.
LSU returns to action at 7 p.m. CT Friday when the Tigers play host to Alabama in Game 1 of a three-game SEC series in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
The matchup will be streamed on the SEC Network +, and it will be carried on LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates.
“Louisiana Tech has a talented, veteran team, and they’re one of the best teams in the country, so this was an important win for us,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “Our guys did a tremendous job tonight; we got off to a slow start, and it was tough to shut down their offense.
“We finally got going at the plate in the third inning, and our pitchers gave us a couple of shutout innings late to help us earn the win.”
Arnold was 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles, four RBI and one run scored to pace the Tigers’ offensive outburst.
Morgan was 4-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored, leftfielder Gavin Dugas collected three RBI and three runs, and designated hitter Cade Beloso contributed two doubles, three runs and one RBI.
LSU’s 17-hit attack also featured the first career triple for catcher Braden Doughty, who drove in two runs and scored once.
LSU freshman right-hander Michael Fowler (1-0) earned the relief win, pitching the fifth inning and giving up two runs on two hits with two strikeouts.
Six pitchers made appearances for the Tigers, with right-hander Blake Money and Trent Vietmeier blanking the Bulldogs in the sixth and seventh innings.
Louisiana Tech reliever Landon Tomkins (2-2) – the fifth of seven Bulldogs pitchers — suffered the loss, giving up three runs on four hits in 0.1 inning.
