NEW ORLEANS – LSU’s 2010 season nearly got off to an inauspicious beginning.
Hosting Centenary in front of a record crowd at Alex Box Stadium, the Tigers had to come from behind once and broke a 4-4 tie in the eighth to pick up the season-opening victory.
And then the defending national champions rolled all the way to No. 1 in one poll and No. 2 in another.
After winning the three-game weekend series by a combined 34-12, LSU moved up to the top spot on Monday in the Collegiate Baseball poll while coming in at No. 2 in Baseball America’s poll. Virginia is No. 1 in that one.
LSU is one of five teams ranked in the Collegiate Baseball poll – Florida (3-0) is No. 9, South Carolina (3-0) is No. 23, Ole Miss (2-1) comes in at No. 28 and Arkansas (2-1) holds down the No. 30 spot.
“We’re very pleased to receive this type of recognition, and I think being ranked No. 1 is certainly an inspiration to our players,” LSU Head Coach Paul Mainieri said. “We definitely aspire to play at a level that allows to receive a top ranking.”
Matt Gaudet led the Tigers at the plate, batting .600 with a double, two home runs, six RBI and three runs scored. Both home runs came in Saturday’s 25-8 win, giving him his first multi-home run game in his LSU career. On Sunday, with LSU holding a precarious 1-0 lead in the seventh, Gaudet batted in a run to push the lead to 2-0.
Gaudet, however, wasn’t alone in having a big Saturday. Blake Dean tied his single-game high of six RBI in the game
Saturday’s win gave Mainieri his 1,000th-career victory. On Friday, LSU opened its season in front of 9,914 fans, a school record.
LSU’s next game comes Wednesday when the Tigers host McNeese State at 4 p.m.
