Southern University pounded out 11 hits in the game against No. 18 nationally ranked LSU Tigers Monday night to post a 12-7 win. The Jaguars improved to 12-13 on the year.
Southern outfielder Tyeler Hawkins paced the Jaguars’ offense by going 3-for-6 at the plate with three runs batted in and three runs scored. His three-run home run in the second inning got Southern on the board for the games first runs. It also gave the team the lead for good as LSU would plate two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, Southern holding on to a 3-2 lead.
The score remained 3-2 until the top of the fifth inning when Southern blew the game wide open, plating five runs. The big blow in the inning came on a bases loaded double by Ryan Ollison to left center scoring three runs. Donny Sandifer kept the inning going when he belted a two-run home run to left field to make it an 8-2 ball game.
LSU would score three runs in the bottom of the fifth with Southern clinging to an 8-5 lead.
Southern University put the game out of reach with one run in the sixth inning and three more in the ninth. LSU tried to get back in the game witj a run in the six and eighth innings, but it was not enough as the Jaguars upset the No. 18 ranked team in the nation 12-7.
It was a good night for Southern at the plate. They made good contact and came through with runners in scoring position. That tipped the scale in their favor. The hitters came through in clutch situations, and that’s a tribute to the team’s maturity.
For the game, Ollison was 1-for-4, 3 runs batted in, and a run scored. Sandifer went 1-for-3 with a home run and 2 runs driven in, Kameron Byrd was 2-for-4 and one run and both KJ White and Jalon Mack collected 2 hits for the day.
Southern right-hander Antoine Harris (W, 1-2) earned the victory with 4.0 innings of relief. Southern reliever Jerry Burkett (S, 3) collected the save with 2.0 solid innings of relief work.
Southern University’s last big win against LSU was during the 2019 season when the Jags stunned No. 8 ranked LSU by the score of 7-2.