LSU holds off San Diego State for first NCAA win

COVALLIS, ORE -- The LSU Tigers got off on the right foot Friday afternoon, taking down the San Diego State Aztecs 6-4 in the first game of the NCAA Regional Tournament.
With the win, the Tigers were scheduled to face the winner of the Oregon State/Northwestern State winner on Saturday. The regional tournament concludes today with the championship game scheduled for 8 p.m (CST).
LSU got the bats going when needed. The Tigers scored the first three runs of the game in the bottom half of the second inning.
Nick Coomes led things off with a single to right field and was followed by Beau Jordan’s single to left field, putting runners at first and second with no outs.
Jake Slaughter was hit by the pitch, loading the bases. Hal Huges grounded out to first base but gave Coomes a chance to plate the first run of the game and advanced Jordan and Slaughter.
Brandt Broussard grounded out to shortstop, allowing Jordan to score and putting Slaughter at third base with two outs. Slaughter would come home for the final run of the at bat on a wild pitch.
San Diego State got its bats going in the bottom of the third inning, tying the game up with three runs of its own. Up until that point, Tiger starting pitcher Nick Bush was cruising on the mound, allowing only one hit and only three total base runners.
Bush would be relieved in the top of the fifth by freshman hurler Devin Fontenot. Bush completed his outing by throwing five complete innings, giving up three runs on three hits, striking out two and walking two.
With the game tied at 3-3 going into the fourth inning, the Aztecs turned to its relief ace, left-hander Jacob Erickson. To avoid falling into the losers’ bracket, the Tigers had to hit the kind of pitcher that had tied them in knots all season.
Erickson rarely gave LSU a fastball to punish, instead controlling the Tigers’ bats by living on the outer corners with soft stuff. He entered in the fourth and kept LSU off balance for two innings.
Eventually, the Tigers were able to get to Erickson, scoring three more