First baseman Zach Yorke blasted a three-run homer Friday to highlight a nine-run eighth inning, as top-ranked LSU defeated Indiana, 14-7, in the opening game of the Live Like Lou Jax College Classic at VyStar Ballpark
Yorke’s three-run blast, his third homer of the season, erased a 5-4 Indiana lead and the Tigers added six more runs in the eighth inning to take a commanding 13-5 lead.
LSU improved to 6-0 on the season, while Indiana dropped to 1-4.
The Tigers return to action at 11 a.m. CT Saturday when they face Notre Dame in VyStar Ballpark in a game that will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and streamed on D1Baseball.com.
Yorke finished 3-for-4 on the day with the homer, a sacrifice fly and four RBI. Shortstop Steven Milam, designated hitter Mason Braun, second baseman Seth Dardar and leftfielder Tanner Reaves each provided two RBI, as the Tigers collected 18 hits in the contest.
“The story of this game was the amount of guys we have who can take quality at-bats,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “We’re never going to be out of a game with our offensive approach. The eighth inning was special; we have a lot of mature hitters that we can put in good spots to be successful. It was a great performance today up and down the lineup, and there were a lot of things today that we can look at as positives.”
Reliever Gavin Guidry (2-0) earned the win for LSU, as he entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning and worked 1.0 inning with one hit and one strikeout.
LSU starter Casan Evans worked the first 5.0 innings, limiting Indiana to three runs – two earned – on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
Indiana reliever Jackson Yarberry (0-1) was charged with the loss, as he surrendered three runs on three hits in 0.1 inning with no walks and no strikeouts.
LSU opened the scoring in the top of the first inning when shortstop Steven Milam lined an RBI single to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers increased the advantage to 2-0 in the third when Yorke lifted a sacrifice fly.
Indiana struck for three runs in the bottom of the third, as catcher Hogan Denny and designated hitter Brayden Ricketts delivered RBI singles, and the Hoosiers’ third run scored on an LSU error.
The Tigers regained the lead with two runs in the fifth, as Milam lined an RBI single and second baseman Seth Dardar drew a bases-loaded walk.
Indiana, however, plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh to claim a 5-4 lead, as third baseman Will Moore produced an RBI groundout and rightfielder Hogan Denny lined a run-scoring single.
The Tigers responded with nine runs in the top of the eighth in a rally that featured Yorke’s homer, an RBI double by Dardar, a two-run single by Reaves, an RBI groundout by rightfielder Jake Brown and a two-run single by Braun.
READ MORE:Zach Yorke homer highlights nine-run eighth inning as LSU defeats Indiana, 14-7
