The LSU Tiger baseball bats were stymied by Mississippi State pitcher Christian MacLeod on Friday night as the Bulldogs took game one of the three game series with a 6-1 win at Alex Box Stadium.

LSU was held to a season-low four hits in the game as MacLeod threw six innings of three hit baseball.

No Tiger batter was able to collect more than one hit in the game as Bulldog pitching held LSU in check at the plate for the majority of the game.

The contest was scoreless through the first four innings and LSU pitcher Jaden Hill and MacLeod combined to keep everyone guessing.

“I thought overall it was a well-played game by both teams,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “Both starting pitchers were really good; I thought Jaden competed hard and did a lot of great things, and the relief pitching on both sides was good as well.

In the fifth inning Brayland Skinner broke the game open with a two-run homer to right field.

LSU answered when left-fielder Gavin Dugas roped a RBI double to right field that scored Cade Doughty from second. 

However LSU was able to muster just one more hit in the ballgame as Mississippi State started to pull away with runs in the seventh and eighth innings.

“MacLeod’s got unbelievable numbers, and you can see why. He’s a crafty guy who mixes all three pitches well and keeps hitters off balance. When the wind is blowing in the way it was tonight, it’s hard for your hitters to be confident, because even if you crush a ball you know it’s not going to go anywhere in the wind. But that’s no excuse, we’ve got to hit better, so we’ll turn the page and come out ready for tomorrow.”

Game two of the series will start at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday night at Alex Box Stadium.

Game 2

LSU – Jr. RH Landon Marceaux (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 23.0 IP, 3 BB, 32 SO)

MSU  – So. RH Will Bednar (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 IP, 0 BB, 14 SO)