USC goes down in a washout

LSU completes the three-game sweep with a rain-delayed beating on the Bayou

By KRYSTEN OLIPHANT - Special to The State

BATON ROUGE, La. — The rain never seemed to let up Sunday, and neither did LSU.

LSU pounded three home runs, and South Carolina was swept for the second time this season in a rain-delayed 6-3 loss to the Tigers on Sunday.

The sweep was the Tigers’ first since 2006 at Auburn and first at home since 2003 against Tennessee. The Gamecocks were swept at Georgia.

“We didn’t have a great weekend, but credit LSU,” USC coach Ray Tanner said. “They outplayed us.”

The Tigers (28-16-1, 8-11-1 SEC) and the 9th-ranked Gamecocks (31-14, 11-10) endured two rain delays, the first for 50-minutes in the sixth inning and the second lasted for more than an hour in the eighth.

Tanner said the rain had nothing to do with South Carolina’s loss.

“You look yourself in the mirror, and that’s who you blame,” he said. “I’m not going to take anything away from LSU.”

As in the first two games of the series, USC struck first with a run in the first. With two outs, senior right fielder Harley Lail grounded into a fielder’s choice, but shortstop Reese Havens scored from third before Lail was called out at first.

LSU answered in the top of the second inning when Derek Helenihi hit his second home run of the season off the first pitch from sophomore Blake Cooper.

D.J. LeMahieu hit a two-run shot in the fourth.

Before the first interruption, senior Phil Disher hit his 38th career home run, a solo shot off the scoreboard in right, tying him with Eric Stanton at No. 10 on USC’s all-time list.

Lail then walked and reached third on a single by sophomore catcher Kyle Enders before he scored on a fielder’s choice.

Jared Mitchell added an insurance run for the Tigers in the eighth inning with his third home run of the season, and sophomore Paul Bertuccini struck out USC’s final three batters to record his second save of the season.

LSU coach Paul Mainieiri said the weekend was the first time the Tigers have put together every phase of their game.

“Today was more methodical,” he said. “We got a lead and then hung onto it there at the end. (There was) tremendous clutch pitching and three home runs, so we did it with some power.”

The Gamecocks had a chance to score in the top of the eighth with a runner on first, but Enders was called out for interfering with a throw to second on a steal attempt, and Parker Bangs struck out swinging.

Tanner said he was most disappointed with Saturday’s game when LSU came back from a seven-run deficit to win 11-10 in 11 innings.

“Yesterday we played poor defense, and that’s uncharacteristic of us,” he said. “We should have, arguably, won that game.”

Junior Andrew Crisp was kept out of Sunday’s game because of a sore back. Cooper (5-4) took the loss, giving up five runs on seven hits in five innings.