LSU Baseball
Report – April 23,
2007
Overall Record:
23-18-1
SEC:
8-9-1
Last Week:
2-2
April 18 – at New Orleans (L,
4-5)
April 20 – at # 15 Mississippi State (L,
3-12)
April 21 – at # 15 Mississippi State (W,
6-5)
April 22 – at # 15 Mississippi State (W,
3-1)
Nominee for Pitcher of the
Week
Jared Bradford, RHP, Jr.,
Hueytown, Ala.
Junior right-hander Jared Bradford
earned a save and a win in consecutive days to lead LSU to a series victory over
No. 15 Mississippi State in Starkville . . . Bradford worked the ninth
inning of Saturday’s 6-5 win, recording the final three outs on 15 pitches to
earn his team-best fifth save of the season . . . Bradford then came back on
Sunday as LSU’s starting pitcher and limited the Bulldogs – the SEC’s
top-hitting club with a .341 average – to one run on six hits in 7.1 innings
with two walks and five strikeouts . . . Bradford fired 102 pitches to earn his
seventh victory, which also leads the LSU staff . . . Bradford is 7-2 this
season with a 3.60 ERA and five saves . . . in 70 innings, he has recorded 15
walks and 60 strikeouts and opponents are batting .248 against
him.
Nominee for Player of the
Week
Michael Hollander, SS, Jr.,
Mandeville, La.
Junior shortstop Michael Hollander
enjoyed a productive weekend at Mississippi State, batting .455 (5-for-11) with
two doubles, one triple, one homer, two RBI and two runs . . . Hollander
provided the game-winning hit in Saturday’s 6-5 victory, as his two-out double
scored third baseman Chris Jackson from first base . . . Hollander also played
flawlessly at shortstop, handling 15 chances without an error as the Tigers
posted a series victory over the No. 15
Bulldogs.
Notes
on the Tigers
LSU posted a 2-1 SEC series victory
at No. 15 Mississippi State last weekend, marking the Tigers’ third series
victory in the past four weeks . . . the Tigers have recorded consecutive series
victories over Top 15 teams, defeating Mississippi State last weekend and No. 13
Ole Miss on April 13-15 . . . the Tigers’ series win in Starkville marked LSU’s
fourth victory in its last five trips to MSU’s Dudy Noble Field . . . junior
right-hander Jared Bradford earned a save and a win in consecutive days to lead
LSU to a series victory over Mississippi State . . . Bradford worked the ninth
inning of Saturday’s 6-5 win, recording the final three outs on 15 pitches to
earn his team-best fifth save of the season . . . Bradford then came back on
Sunday as LSU’s starting pitcher and limited the Bulldogs – the SEC’s
top-hitting club with a .341 average – to one run on six hits in 7.1 innings
with two walks and five strikeouts . . . Bradford fired 102 pitches to earn his
seventh victory, which also leads the LSU staff . . . Bradford is 7-2 this
season with a 3.60 ERA and five saves . . . in 70 innings, he has recorded 15
walks and 60 strikeouts and opponents are batting .248 against him . . .
sophomore second baseman Nicholas Pontiff drove in five runs in the Mississippi
State series as he delivered key hits in the Tigers’ two victories . . . in
Saturday’s 6-5 win, Pontiff launched a two-run homer in the sixth inning to tie
the game at 5-5 – it was the first homer of the year for Pontiff and just the
second of his career . . . in Sunday’s 3-1 victory, Pontiff delivered the
game-winning hit, a two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning to break a 1-1
tie . . . junior shortstop Michael Hollander enjoyed a productive weekend at
Mississippi State, batting .455 (5-for-11) with two doubles, one triple, one
homer, two RBI and two runs . . . Hollander provided the game-winning hit in
Saturday’s 6-5 victory, as his two-out double scored third baseman Chris Jackson
from first base . . . Hollander also played flawlessly at shortstop, handling 15
chances without an error . . . the Tigers committed just one error in the three
games at Mississippi State and played the final 20 innings of the series without
a miscue . . . junior rightfielder Jason Lewis, making just his ninth and
10th starts this season, hit .571 (4-for-7) in the Mississippi State
series with two doubles and two runs scored . . . sophomore infielder J.T. Wise
made his first collegiate pitching appearance in Friday’s game at MSU, as he
worked 1.2 scoreless innings . . . Wise, who has started 31 games this season at
third base, allowed one hit against the Bulldogs and recorded no walks and one
strikeout . . . freshman right-hander T.J. Forrest posted his first career SEC
win with three scoreless relief innings in Saturday’s victory at MSU . . .
Forrest entered the game in the sixth inning with the scored tied 5-5 and
blanked the Bulldogs over three frames, allowing just one hit with two
strikeouts . . . freshman designated hitter Blake Dean saw his hitting streak
end at 20 games on Saturday at MSU . . . Dean’s streak was the longest by an LSU
player since Cedrick Harris recorded a 21-game streak in
2000.