Ricky John Bergeron
June 2, 2008June movie releases
June 4, 2008LSU proved to be rude hosts this weekend by going 3-0 in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional Tournament and extending the nation’s best winning streak to 23 games in the process.
The Tigers (46-16-1) won three games in three days with victories over Texas Southern (12-1 on Friday), Southern Miss (13-4 on Saturday) and Southern Miss (11-4) on Sunday. LSU will now advance and play host to UC-Irvine this weekend at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge.
LSU advanced in the NCAA playoffs with the Sunday win over Southern Miss, which had eliminated UNO earlier in the day. Against the Eagles, the Tigers put the game away with a 6-run sixth inning that featured RBI singles by Matt Clark and Michael Hollander and a three-run triple by Blake Dean, who was named the Most Outstanding Player in the Baton Rouge Regional.
Micah Gibbs gave LSU a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with a RBI double and Leon Landry upped the Tigers lead to 3-0 in the second with a two-run homer to left field. Hollander added a two-run double in the seventh to give LSU an 11-2 lead they would never lose. Paul Bertuccini (2-0) picked up the win in relief after tossing 1.1 innings and striking out all four batters he faced. Blake Martin started the game and went 4.2 innings. Martin allowed seven hits and two runs. Jared Bradford pitched the final three innings for his fifth save of the season. Bradford allowed four runs and an earned run in the contest. Hollander had four of the Tigers’ 11 hits in the game.
In Saturday’s contest against Southern Miss, LSU belted five home runs, including a pair by Clark. Hollander, Dean and Sean Ochinko added homers in the contest. The Tigers went up 1-0 in the third inning then took a 5-0 lead after four innings and then blew the game open in the eighth with four more runs. In the fourth, Dean had a solo homer, Clark had a two-run homer and Landry had an RBI double. In the eighth, Ryan Schimpf had a two-run double and Hollander hit a home run. On the mound, Ryan Verdugo (9-2) allowed six hits and four runs in five innings. Louis Coleman pitched three scoreless innings and Anthony Ranaudo shut down the Eagles in order in the ninth in a non-save situation. LSU outhit Southern Miss, 12-8, in the game.
On Friday in the initial game of the regional, the LSU Tigers struck for four runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back in the rout of the Texas Southern Tigers, 12-1.
LSU got a pair of home runs from Dean (four runs batted in) and one from Clark in the contest. LSU increased its lead with two runs in the fourth, one more in the fifth and four in the sixth. LSU outhit Texas Southern, 13-8. Jared Mitchell was 3-for-5 with three RBIs.
BERTMAN HAS STENT PROCEDURE
LSU’s outgoing athletic director and former national championship baseball coach Skip Bertman had what doctors believed were early signs of a heart attack on Saturday.
LSU sports spokesman Herb Vincent said the 70-year-old Bertman had a stent placed in one of the main arteries carrying blood from the heart.
Bertman was on campus earlier Saturday working in his office and began to feel discomfort after driving home to get ready for LSU’s NCAA regional game against Southern Mississippi on Saturday night, which LSU won 13-4.
Bertman’s wife, Sandy, drove him to the hospital and notified LSU athletics officials of her husband’s condition later Saturday night.
As LSU baseball coach, Bertman led the Tigers to five national titles (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000) while leading the Tigers to 11 College World Series appearances beginning in 1986. He retired from coaching and became athletic director after the 2002 season and is due to officially step into a fundraising role as athletic director emeritus on July 1.
