Louisiana State had the right stuff in Saturday’s 5-1 home baseball victory over Hawaii.
A crowd of 10,866 witnessed the Tigers even the three-game series entering today’s finale at 9 a.m. (Hawaii time).
All seven of the Tigers’ hits went to the right side, including Zach Watson’s leadoff homer in the first inning and Hunter Feduccia’s two-run blast in a three-run third. LSU’s leadoff hitter reached base in each of the first three innings against UH left-hander Dominic DeMiero.
“They have a tremendous approach,” UH coach Mike Trapasso said of the LSU batters. “They’re physical and they’re strong. Every guy, one through nine, has plus bat speed. They’re not going to strike out. Their two-strike approach is so good. They’re short to the ball with great discipline. They’re just good. That’s why LSU is in the top level of offenses in the country.”
The Tigers entered with a slash line of .294 batting average, .390 on-base percentage, and .447 slugging percentage. In his first three starts, DeMiero was 1-0 with a 1.89 earned-run average and 1.05 WHIP.
But on Saturday night, Trapasso noted, “Dom didn’t have it. Every (pitch) was up in the zone. He couldn’t throw anything down, couldn’t locate, couldn’t change speeds. It was just a bad outing. It wasn’t a good fit (against) these guys. The way he pitched, he wouldn’t have been a good fit for anybody tonight.”
DeMiero exited after three innings, allowing five earned runs, six hits and two walks. He struck out one.
But after that, the Tigers managed one base runner — Beau Jordan’s single in the sixth — against freshman relievers Cade Smith and Jeremy Yelland.
“The two freshmen came out and pitched their tails off,” Trapasso said. “I think that’s going to go a long, long way for them from a confidence standpoint. … They kept us in the game. They gave us a chance to stay within striking distance. It just wasn’t our night.”
The ’Bows stranded nine, including six in scoring position. They failed to score after loading the bases in the seventh. They also hit into two double plays.
But the ’Bows received improved bats from two slumping hitters. Dustin Demeter went 2-for-4. Kekai Rios, who had missed six games because of a hamstring injury prior to this series, drove in the UH run on a double to left in the eighth inning.
“One of the good things about coaching is, even in a loss, you can see some bright spots like Kekai and Demeter swinging well, and starting to feel it again,” Trapasso said.
Trapasso said center fielder Dylan Vchulek should be back in the starting lineup today. Vchulek did not play on Friday because of flu-like symptoms, and was used as a pinch hitter in the ninth on Saturday.
Trapasso said Logan Pouelsen, who pitched a shutout against Loyola Marymount a week ago, will start today. That means Pouelsen, who hit a homer on Friday, will not bat. Neil Uskali, who had been the No. 3 starter the first three weeks, will be available as a reliever.
“We’ll go with Logan, and see what happens,” Trapasso said. “I think we’ll see (Pouelsen and Uskali).”