LSU Baseball shuts out North Dakota State, 7-0
BATON ROUGE, La. – Six LSU pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout Wednesday as the second-ranked Tigers blanked North Dakota State, 7-0, in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
LSU improved to 16-2 on the year, while North Dakota State dropped to 3-13.
The Tigers return to action at 6 p.m. CT Friday when they meet Mississippi State in Game 1 of a three-game SEC series in Starkville, Miss. The game will be broadcast on affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network, and it will be streamed on SEC Network +.
LSU pitchers Griffin Herring, Christian Little, Nic Bronzini, Will Hellmers, Cam Johnson and Aiden Moffett each contributed to the shutout, allowing a combined three hits with 13 strikeouts.
“It was a really good effort by our pitchers,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “I was pleased with Griffin and his efficiency, and Christian gave us a great outing with four strikeouts.”
Hellmers (2-0) was credited with the win as he retired all six batters he faced after entering the game in the fifth inning, needing just 24 pitches to record the six outs.
“Will has been a really good story within our team,” Johnson said. “He executed all of his pitches at a high level. Nic Bronzini keeps striking out hitters, Cam’s fastball velocity was back up to 97 today and I was proud of his outing, and the story of the day was Aiden Moffett. I really love him as a kid, and he’s got all the talent in the world, and I think we’re starting to see it come together.”
NDSU starter Matt Sargeant (0-1) was charged with the loss, as he surrendered three runs – one earned – on one hit in 0.2 inning with three walks and one strikeout.
Herring started the game and worked 1.2 innings with one hit, no walks and two strikeouts, and he was relieved by Little, who pitched 2.1 innings with one hit, one walk and four strikeouts.
Leftfielder Mac Bingham led the Tigers at the plate, as he was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his second dinger of the year.
LSU grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning as designated hitter Hayden Travinski provided an fielder’s choice RBI, shortstop Michael Braswell III was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and centerfielder Paxton Kling drew a bases-loaded walk.
The Tigers stretched the lead to 5-0 in the fifth when first baseman Jared Jones slammed an run-scoring double, and second baseman Josh Pearson delivered a sacrifice fly.
Bingham’s two-run homer in the sixth expanded the LSU advantage to 7-0.
LSU press release.
