Box Score (PDF)

BATON ROUGE, La. – Five Tiger pitchers combined to shut out the University of South Alabama baseball team in No. 9 LSU's 2-0 win over the Jaguars Wednesday at Alex Box Stadium.

The game was scoreless until LSU (21-9) pushed across a run in the bottom of the seventh, followed by an insurance run in the eighth inning.

South Alabama (13-15) will return to action this weekend when it hosts No. 19 Coastal Carolina this weekend in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Stanky Field, with the series opener set for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch Fri., April 5.

GAME FACTS
- Dakota Dailey led off the top of the sixth with a single back up the middle, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bennett Shell. But LSU right-hander Trent Vietmeier got a popup into foul territory by Ethan Wilson for the second out of the frame, and induced an inning-ending popup to shallow center field off the bat of Michael Sandle to end the threat.
- LSU threatened in the bottom of the sixth when Zach Watson and Chris Reid reached on consecutive two-out walks, but Jaguar left-handed reliever Andy Arguelles struck out CJ Willis to end the threat.
- The Tigers pushed across the game's first run in the bottom of the seventh. Cade Beloso reached on a one-out single to center field, and advanced to second on a one-out walk by Brock Mathis. A 1-3 groundout off the bat of Brandt Broussard moved both runners into scoring position with two outs. Antoine Duplantis followed with an RBI infield single to shortstop to score Beloso with the game's first run.
- LSU loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the eighth on a one-out single by Reid, one-out walk from Willis and a two-out intentional walk to Beloso. Reid then scored the final run of the game on a wild pitch from Jaguar right-hander Chase Lambert.

NOTES
- Jaguar starter Patrick McBride retired the first eight batters he faced in the game, and 12 of his first 13 with the lone blemish coming on a two-out single to center field by Antoine Duplantis in the bottom of the third inning.
- Michael Sandle extended his hitting streak and on-base streak to four games with a single to left field in the top of the fourth inning.
- Santi Montiel extended his on-base streak to 13 games with a two-out walk in the top of the fifth inning.
- McBride tossed 5 2/3 shutout innings, and allowed three hits with one strikeout against six walks without factoring in the decision.
- Vietmeier (2-0) tossed two scoreless relief innings, and allowed three hits with one strikeout to earn the win.
- Arguelles (0-1) allowed one run on two hits with one strikeout against one walk in 1 1/3 relief innings in the loss.
- Duplantis finished with a game-high two hits to lead LSU at the plate.    
- The loss marked the third time this season the Jags have been shut out.

QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the loss:
"I am as proud of this team tonight as I was last night, the only thing different is the result. The effort, concentration, enthusiasm and passion were all the same. The only thing I'm bothered with is the result; I like seeing these guys win. They battled and worked extremely hard, and took the No. 9 team in the country right down to the end. Patrick McBride was outstanding. Both teams came to win; they (LSU) had their main lineup in there, and McBride was phenomenal tonight. He was aggressive, competed like crazy and threw three pitches for strikes. He got into a jam here or there, and we turned a double play behind him early on that was huge; it kept his pitch count down after a longer inning. He gave his teammates every reason to believe that we were going to be in this game, and we were going to be in a position to win it, and we were. I thought Patrick's effort was phenomenal."

- On the upcoming series with Coastal Carolina:
"Each and every game is different and brings new opportunities and challenges. It's all about the guy on the mound – getting momentum in the game and hanging on to it as long as you can, and when the other team gets it you try to take it away from them as soon as possible. That's what this weekend will be about. It's about playing good baseball, limiting mistakes and being opportunistic offensively. And it starts on the mound. Playing two good games midweek has nothing to do with this weekend. We'll have to come out and be ready to practice like crazy tomorrow, and continue to get a little bit better every single day. That was my message to the guys. I'm extremely proud of this program and this team, because of their effort. The results haven't quite been there; our schedule has been really tough, and we don't have as many wins as we like. But the effort is there and we're going to keep grinding until the end. That's the only way you get to where you want to be, and our team knows that. No matter what the outcome may be, our team is going to show up and play hard. If we limit our mistakes and become a little more opportunistic offensively, then we'll be on the other end of the result."

NEXT UP
South Alabama will return to action this weekend when it hosts No. 19 Coastal Carolina this weekend in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Stanky Field, with the series opener set for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch Fri., April 5.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Dugout Club - the baseball-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. Members enjoy all games from inside the Stadium Club with climate control, private restrooms, private concessions and access to listen to the radio broadcast. All donations to the Dugout Club go directly to support the South Alabama baseball program. For more information on how you can join visit JaguarAthleticFund.com.