On Saturday, February 21, the LSU-Shreveport Pilots finally completed the first home weekend of the season that was not interrupted by inclement weather. A 15-0 and 22-0 victory over Xavier capped off a dominant weekend where LSUS outscored the Gold Rush 55-0.
In game one, Brock Lucas got the ball and his success from the weekend prior carried over. Five innings of one hit baseball and six strikeouts was the story. Lucas has now given up just three base runners, only one of those being a hit, in his last eleven innings pitched. He has made five appearances this season. In his first three starts, he had given up five earned runs on seven hits over ten innings, which had his ERA (earned run average) at 4.50. After these last two starts, his ERA has dwindled to 2.14.
Neffendorf believes moving Lucas out of the series opening role into the second or third game of the weekend has made him more comfortable. Lucas has never been a guy who has pitched a lot. That could be the reason for his early season struggles. Neffendorf stated that he thinks Lucas has “broken through” and maybe settled into the season. Comfortability very well could have been a part of it too. “From a facial expression and just body presence, yes, he looked a lot more comfortable. The best part of it all, Lucas did not know he was starting this second game until the day of his start.
As for the offense in game two, the headliner was Carlos Sanchez, as he went 4-4 with five RBIs. Makana Olaso recorded three hits. Bula White and Brett Justice each recorded two hits, as White knocked in two with a home run. In game three, Sanchez, Spencer Sullivan, Brett Justice, and Rodrigo Bravo all had multiple hits. The highlight, however, was the 17 walks issued by Xavier pitching. In the second inning, eight straight Pilots reached base with a walk. Just another dominant weekend for LSUS Pilot baseball.
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