Verdugo, Tigers shine bright

• By CARL DUBOIS
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Apr 3, 2008 - Page: 1C - UPDATED: 12:25 a.m.

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The LSU Tigers had to wait an extra hour to play because of rain. The wait probably seemed longer for starting pitcher Ryan Verdugo, who was coming off a loss four days earlier.

They all took advantage Wednesday night when the weather improved. LSU defeated Centenary 6-0 after Verdugo pitched sharply into the sixth inning.

The shutout was the Tigers’ first of the season.

Micah Gibbs was 2-for-2 with a walk and an RBI. Leon Landry tripled in a run and scored twice. Five other starters had a hit each.

The game didn’t start until 7:30 p.m. because of late-afternoon rain. LSU (18-10) scored a run in each of the first two innings and was never threatened.

“I was really happy that the kids, throughout the long rain delay, really kept their focus and were ready to play,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. “Sometimes when these kinds of things happen, they lose their concentration. I thought we came out and actually were pretty focused in the game.”

Verdugo (5-2) probably had something to do with that. He retired the first nine batters he faced, holding Centenary without a hit until giving up back-to-back singles with two outs in the fifth inning.

He looked more confident than in a 7-1 loss Saturday at Florida.

“I just went out and got ahead of guys,” Verdugo said about Wednesday’s game. “That was the main focus — go out there and fill the strike zone up.”

Gibbs wasn’t behind the plate Saturday, but he caught Verdugo this time.

“We wanted to let him get ahead in the count,” Gibbs said. “I know he was trying to spot up a little more on Saturday, but we were just trying to get him around the plate this time, and he did that.

“He got some balls in play, and our defense took care of it.”

Verdugo had a lot of 1-0 counts in the loss to Florida.