Fireworks early, late

• By RANDY ROSETTA
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: May 10, 2008 - Page: 1C - UPDATED: 12:30 a.m.

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Time didn’t exactly stand still Friday night when LSU and Mississippi State began the final (maybe) nostalgic weekend of baseball at Alex Box Stadium.

In fact, there was a distinct feeling of old times as the venerable edifice neared the end of its 70-year tenure as one of college baseball’s most recognizable and intimidating venues.

Fireworks ended the night for a season-best crowd of 6,514 after the Tigers started night with an explosion that conjured up images of their glory years.

With the Box bubbling with emotion and optimism, LSU delivered its most productive offensive game of the 2008 Southeastern Conference season to keep a late-season charge surging forward with a 15-6 triumph.

LSU resembled its championship teams of old, battering four Bulldogs pitchers for 21 hits (most in an SEC game this year), three home runs in the second inning and 11 runs on the scoreboard before the near capacity crowd had completely settled in.

Sparked by the blistering start, the Tigers (33-16-1, 13-11-1) stretched their well-timed winning streak to a season-best 10 games (seven in the SEC) and stayed a step ahead of Ole Miss and Alabama for first place in the West Division standings with five league games remaining in the regular season.

“That looked like a team playing with a lot of confidence and reminds you of what teams used to play like in recent years here,” LSU left fielder Jared Mitchell said. “It’s a lot of fun to come out and play in front of a big crowd like this and play well.”

Mitchell was the catalyst for the Tigers’ torrid hitting with four hits, his fourth home run in his last six league starts, three runs batted in and four runs scored. DJ LeMahieu and Leon Landry contributed three hits apiece and four other starters logged two hits.

Most of that damage came in the opening stages as the Tigers wasted no time sapping the life out of the last place Bulldogs (20-30, 7-18).

LSU pounded State starter Chad Crosswhite (2-5) for four first-inning runs with Derek Helenehi tapping a two-run single to left, Matt Clark rifling a two-out double to right and Landry knocking home Clark with a flared double to left.

In the second, the Tigers batted around for a second consecutive at-bat, churning out seven runs to remove most doubt. Mitchell and Clark cranked out two-run home runs — Clark again striking with two outs — and Ryan Schimpf uncorked a three-run homer.

Seven of LSU’s first 11 runs and nine in all came with two outs.

“It was an awesome start for our guys,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. “We looked pretty good offensively in those first two innings.”