BATON ROUGE, La. – Western Michigan and #1 LSU were even at 1-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth, but the top-ranked Tigers pushed across five runs to take a lead they did not relinquish in a 9-2 win over the Broncos on Sunday afternoon.
 
FINAL SCORE: #1 LSU 9, Western Michigan 2
LOCATION: Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field (Baton Rouge, La.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (0-3) | #1 LSU (3-0)   
W: Ty Floyd (1-0) | L: Luke Thelen (0-1)
 
Western Michigan put two runners on base with two outs in the top of the second, but were turned away. In the bottom of the frame, LSU pushed across the first run of the afternoon.
 
The Tigers loaded the bases in the third, but Ethan Houghtaling worked his way out of the jam to keep it 1-0. In a no-decision, Houghtaling gave up one run on three hits in four innings for WMU.
 
Gavin Doyle was hit by a pitch to begin the fourth inning for the Broncos. After a one-out double by Dylan Nevar, WMU had runners at second and third for Greg Budig, who brought in Doyle with a ground ball.
 
The contest remained tied at 1-1 until a pair of home runs helped LSU tally five runs in the bottom of the fifth to regain the lead, 6-1. The Tigers added one in the sixth and two more in the seventh to make it 9-1.
 
The Broncos got a ninth-inning home run for the second straight day, as Ben Campos delivered a pinch-hit solo shot in his first at-bat of the young season.
 
Western Michigan continues non-conference play next weekend with a three-game series at Northern Kentucky. First pitch for the series opener against the Norse is set for 2 pm on Friday afternoon.