A paid attendance of 8,548 cheered the Tigers on to victory and enjoyed a special postgame fireworks display after Game 1 of the final regular-season series at "The Box."
LSU (33-16-1, 13-11-1) has won 10 straight games for the first time since 2001. LSU remained in first place in the SEC Western Division, one-half game ahead of Ole Miss and Alabama.
Mississippi State dropped to 20-30 and 7-17 in the SEC with Friday's loss.
The series continues Saturday at 3 p.m. CT. The contest will be televised by Fox Sports Net (Cable Ch. 38 in Baton Rouge) and carried by the LSU Sports Radio Network (WDGL 98.1 FM). Additionally, live video and audio may be accessed in the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net.
Every player in the Tigers' lineup collected at least one hit on the night. Outfielder Jared Mitchell had one of his best games of the season, amassing four hits, including his fifth homer on the year. The sophomore, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, scored a career-high four runs. Mitchell has homered in four of his last seven games.
"Mitchell has been playing well for a long time now," LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. "His confidence is growing now that he is back full-time with baseball. He's a good player and a great athlete. I was glad to see him have a big night."
Fellow outfielder Leon Landry enjoyed a three-hit night with a double and a stolen base. Matt Clark and Ryan Schimpf each blasted second-inning dingers.
Louis Coleman (4-0) was credited with the victory after hurling 3.1 scoreless innings in relief. The junior right-hander surrendered only two hits and struck out three. Chad Crosswhite (2-5) was charged with the loss as the junior worked 1.2 innings, giving up nine earned runs on 11 hits.
"Last year, Crosswhite was really tough on us," Mainieri added. "Tonight, we came out and really put a lot of pressure on early and things worked out. We got a lot of clutch hits. Everybody got big hits, and it was a great team effort."
The Tigers jumped on the Bulldogs in the first inning, scoring four runs on six hits to take an early 4-0 lead. With the bases loaded, Derek Helenihi knocked in two with a single to left-center field, and he scored on Clark's double to right-center. After a base hit by D.J. LeMahieu, Landry ripped a two-bagger of his own to score Clark.
LSU erupted for seven more runs as the Tigers launched three home runs in the second. Mitchell and Clark each connected on two-run dingers, and Schimpf hammered a three-run shot to give LSU a commanding 11-0 advantage.
The Bulldogs fought back with a three-run third to cut the deficit to 11-3. Ryan Powers notched an RBI double, and Nick Hardy launched a two-run dinger.
The teams exchanged runs in the bottom of the third and top of the fourth as LSU maintained a comfortable 12-4 advantage.
After the Bulldogs scored two runs in the fifth, LSU struck back with a run in the bottom of the frame. Blake Dean lined a double into the gap in right field to score Mitchell from first base, and the Tigers took a 13-6 lead.
Freshman Anthony Ranaudo struck out the side in the ninth to close out the game.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/5/209834