LSU baseball run-rules Kentucky in SEC Baseball Tournament behind pair of grand slams
Jared Jones was 0-for-7 during the SEC Baseball Tournament when he stepped into the batter's box in the top of the seventh inning against Kentucky Wednesday morning in Hoover, Alabama.
Wildcats coach Nick Mingione decided to intentionally walk red-shot Tommy White to face the LSU baseball first baseman, who was struggling mightily at the dish. UK reliever Cameron O'Brien left a breaking ball up and Jones caught all of it for a moonshot grand slam that opened the game up.
Next inning, White had a chance with bases loaded and he didn't miss, sending one opposite field for LSU's second grand slam of the game. LSU downed Kentucky 11-0 in eight innings at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium as the first team to hit a pair of grand slams in the same game at the SEC Tournament.
The Tigers (38-20) advance in the winners bracket Thursday, where they will take on the winner of No. 2 Arkansas and No. 10 South Carolina Thursday at 4:30 p.m. at The Met.
LSU baseball starter Luke Holman goes hitless in win over Kentucky
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While the offense methodically built a little bit of a lead, Tigers starting pitcher Luke Holman found his groove as well. After allowing a leadoff walk in the first, the junior right-hander retired nine straight into the fourth inning.
Holman set the tempo and commanded the tone while Kentucky (39-13) was at bat for most of the morning. While the Wildcats managed contact, but when they did they hit soft popups and grounders. Through his first four innings, Holman didn't allow a hit but did walk two batters and in the fourth, faced a runners on corners situation but struck out Ryan Nicholson to end the threat.
Coming into his start in the SEC Tournament, Holman has won five straight starts and has pitched at least five frames. He went six frames against Kentucky, going hitless and struck out seven.
Michael Braswell heating up at SEC Baseball Tournament for LSU
Against Georgia, Braswell recorded his first three-hit game of the season. The junior followed that up by homering in his first at-bat to lead the game off Wednesday and drove home LSU's second run.
Through two games in Hoover, Braswell is 4-for-9 with three RBIs and two runs. More importantly, he's setting the table for the Tigers' offense at the top of the order.
LSU baseball piling up grand slams
Jones and White's grand slam marked the third and fourth LSU has hit this season and the third it's collected in its last three games. White has two grand slams in the last three games.
White came through with the bases loaded in the series finale against Ole Miss this past weekend. Jones' grand slam against the Wildcats came in a big spot that gave LSU all the insurance it needed against what has been a good Kentucky club this season.
The Tigers' ability to not only get grand slams with bags full but safe hits and drive in runs will be huge for this team as it navigates its way through an NCAA regional next weekend.
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Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU baseball downs Kentucky behind two grand slams
