Spring Break
Diamond Dogs rebound against LSU in 10-8 win Saturday
Four players finish with three hits to lead the way
MICHAEL FITZPATRICK
Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: Sports
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LSU (22-8, 7-4 SEC) scored first on the game's third pitch when two-hole hitter Jared Mitchell hit a solo home run to center that just cleared the fence. But the Diamond Dogs (25-4, 8-3) answered quickly with four runs in the bottom of the inning.
"We had a heart-to-heart before [the game] with our hitters and we had a much cleaner approach today and got some timely hits," head coach David Perno said. "We were doing very undisciplined things, but we were able to clean it up today."
With center fielder Mat Cerione and first baseman Rich Poythress on base after singling, designated hitter Bruce Massanari hit a three-run home run (9) to right center field, his third home run in as many at bats. Later, Colby May hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring right fielder Lyle Allen.
"Yeah man, I'm seeing the ball well and finally starting to get things going at the plate," Massanari said.
"He's not there yet," Perno said of Massanari. " He's getting there, he's closer. I thought the last three at bats Friday would help him out today and it obviously did. He makes our lineup and takes it over the hump. Everyone knows what Poythress can do, but when you have a one-two punch, it makes pitcher's lives much tougher."
Georgia's defense bailed out starting pitcher Alex McRee in the second after a McRee throwing error on a pickoff play. LSU's Mikie Mahtook tried to score all the way from first, but Poythress threw a strike to catcher Joey Lewis, who tagged out a sliding Mahtook to protect Georgia's 4-1 lead.
"I was pumped up," Lewis said. "Rich made a great sliding play over there and threw a missile to me at the plate. I don't get a lot of plays at the plate, so we better make them, and when we do, it pumps me up."
In the subsequent inning, McRee pulled a Houdini act after loading the bases with no outs and LSU's three, four and five-hole hitters due up. He escaped the inning only allowing one run. McRee got Blake Dean to foul out to Lewis for the first out, then picked off Jared Mitchell for the second out. After a wild pitch allowing Tyler Hanover to score, McRee walked Sean Ochinko before inducing D.J. LeMahieu to ground out to short.
"It was huge because it took the momentum right away from them when they could have taken it from us," Lewis said. "He knows when he needs to pitch out of a jam and he's done it for us for three years."
McRee (3-0) pitched six innings, his longest start of the season, to earn the victory. He allowed three runs and seven hits, while walking only three, a far cry from the 12 combined walks in his last two starts.
"I didn't feel the best I felt, but I didn't care as long as I threw strikes this weekend, because I had been walking a lot of guys," McRee said. "This team can hit because if I walk them, I'm not going to be able to get away with it. If I walked them, they were going to crush me."
The Diamond Dogs added two more runs in the bottom of the third on RBI hits by Lewis and May to extend their lead to 6-1. May, Lewis, Massanari and Poythress each finished the game with thee hits.
Georgia added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings and scored twice in the seventh.
LSU made it a game in the eighth and ninth inning when it scored three times against star freshman reliever Michael Palazzone and twice in the ninth against Georgia closer Dean Weaver. But the Dogs held on for the 10-8 victory.
The win came at a cost however, as Allen fouled a ball of his right ankle in the third, and suffered a contusion - a bone bruise - and will not play Sunday and will be re-evaluated on a day-to-day basis.
"He did it to himself," Perno joked after the game. "He couldn't lay a bunt down, and I waited until I heard it wasn't broken before I laid into him about it."
Sophomore Justin Grimm will take the mound for Georgia Sunday, and will be countered by Louis Coleman, originally slated to pitch Saturday.
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