Southern University baseball committed two errors and allowed eight runs in the first inning before No. 1 LSU toppled the Jaguars 17-0 Wednesday night at Alex Box Stadium.
Outfielder Javeyan Williams led Southern at the plate with a 2 for 4 effort with a run scored. The Jaguars allowed 18 hits and recorded four errors in the lopsided loss. LSU left 14 total runners on base.
After LSU retired the top of the Jaguars lineup in order to open the game, Southern third baseman Tyler LaPorte committed an error on the leadoff hitter before starter Christian Dixon walked the No. 2 hole hitter. Antoine Duplantis lined out to Zavier Moore at second before Coby Taylor committed the second error of the inning. Garza's RBI single gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead when Cade Beloso sent a three-run homer to right field to give LSU a 5-0 lead.
The Tigers added three more runs in the inning to put the game out of reach and Southern never recovered in the midweek contest with their cross-town neighbor.
LSU plated 12 runs in the first three innings, added four in the bottom of the fifth and capped their offensive onslaught with a run in the seventh.
Southern's Hunter David broke up the Tigers pitching staff's bid at a no-hitter with a two out single in the fourth inning. Michael Wright followed David with a single of his own but Willie Ward struck out to end the scoring threat.
The Jaguars would scratch across two runs in the top of the eighth. Zavier Moore lead off the inning with a walk and Javeyan Williams single to put runners at first and second. Tyler LaPorte drove in Moore with a hard hit single up the middle of the LSU infield. Hudson Hampton plated Williams from third on a fielder choice hit to LSU third baseman Chris Reid.
Southern added two runs in the ninth when Zavier Moore doubled to score Blake Martin from first before scoring on a wild pitch from Riggs Threadgill.
Southern will welcome Eastern Illinois for a four-game weekend slate for the 2019 home opener starting with a 2 p.m. doubleheader at Lee-Hines Field. The Jaguars will face the Panthers on Saturday at 1 p.m. before ending the series with a 1 p.m. matinee on Sunday on the Baton Rouge campus.
