Tigers start the 2022 season strong with a win over Maine

Pinstripes, punchouts, and a packed house at Alex Box Stadium. Ah, baseball season is back in the Bayou.

The No. 8 LSU Tigers did NOT disappoint against the Maine Black Bears as the Tigers won 13-1. There were a lot of questions going into the season about how the lineup would look and how the pitching staff would look. The Tigers have plenty of great talent, so it was up to new head coach Jay Johnson to figure out where each piece fit in.

It all started with the opening day first pitch from former Tigers head coach and Hall of Famer, Paul Mainieri. After that, it became the Money show. By that, I mean the Blake Money show.

AP Photo/Matthew Hinton

The 6-foot-7-inch, 235-pound Sophomore came out throwing darts. He pitched 7 innings and gave up two hits, one walk, and 10 strikeouts. It was the first time since Jake Tompkins in 2003 that an opening day starter recorded 10 or more strikeouts.

I know what you’re thinking, “We’ve seen all the posts and the preseason hype around the golden spike award watch lists and preseason All-American hitters. How’d they do?” We’ll get to those guys, but they weren’t the ones that really stole the show on Friday Night.

That title goes to Brayden Jobert.

A man that wasn’t even in the starting lineup made the biggest impact in the batter’s box. Jobert played at Delgado Community College in New Orleans, Louisiana, last year where he earned JUCO All-American honors. There he d batted .386 with 15 doubles, 16 homers, 71 RBI, a .813 slugging percentage, and a .469 on-base percentage.

Who had the first hit of the 2022 season? Who scored the first run of the 2022 season? The answer to both of those questions is Brayden Jobert. He hit a single during his first at-bat and during his second at-bat, he hit a homerun to Right Field. He finished the night 2-for-2 with two RBI, a single, a sac-fly, and a homer. That one run in the fourth inning was all the Tigers needed, but they didn’t stop there. The bats got HOT and the Tigers ended with 13 runs on 12 hits.

Story continues

Winning Pitcher: Blake Money (1-0)

LSU will play Maine again tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. at “The Box”.