LSU mercy-rules Samford in opening game off Jared Jones’ strong performance at the plate

Jared Jones flipped his bat confidently before he rounded the bases in the bottom of the fifth inning Friday night.

Jones thought he’d hit a home run earlier in the bottom of the second inning of LSU’s 11-1 win against Sanford, having hit a line drive that clipped the metal railing in left field and bounced back. The hit was ruled as in the field of play, and the call was confirmed after an extensive review. Jones had to settle for a single.

So this time he went to the opposite field, and he made sure it cleared the fence, scoring Tommy White and extending LSU’s lead by two more runs.

Jones hit another homer later as LSU opened its nonconference series with a seven-inning mercy-rule win at Alex Box Stadium.

The fifth-inning homer seemed to have a domino effect on LSU’s lineup. The Tigers (13-1) came alive in the sixth inning, scoring six runs on five hits. Two of those were from Jones’ towering fly over the left corner of the scoreboard to complete his 3 for 4 performance from the plate, driving in four runs.

No. 1 pitcher Paul Skenes continued to dominate from the mound, tallying double-digit strikeouts for the fourth time this season. He retired the first six batters in order, then gave up a pair of singles in the third, when one runner scored on a wild pitch. Skenes steadied himself, retiring the next two batters. He issued his first walk in two weeks and hit his first batter in the sixth inning, but he retired the side on a strikeout to complete his 12-strikeout performance.

Skenes (4-0) gave up one earned run on two hits in six innings and 94 pitches.

LSU capitalized on a fielding error in the first inning to score its first run. After Skenes’ wild pitch, the Bulldogs (6-7) had tied it 1-1. The Tigers scored runs on a pair of sac flies through the third and fourth innings before the runs started to pile up.

Dylan Crews went 2 for 4 and Paxton Kling went 2 for 2 from the plate. White drove in two runs on his double in the sixth inning.

LSU takes on the Bulldogs again at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Alex Box Stadium.