March 20
March 20, 2007Vergie Petersen
March 23, 2007
LSU held its second major scrimmage of the spring on Friday as head coach Les Miles put the Tigers through a 100-plus play workout at the Charles McClendon Practice Facility. Friday’s scrimmage had the first and second units each getting 45 snaps from scrimmage. The third unit got the remainder of the snaps. The Tigers also spent time working on all phases of special teams, including punting and punt returns and field-goal kicking.
“Both quarterbacks (Matt Flynn and Ryan Perrilloux) were sharp and threw the ball well. The defense has been ahead of the offense for most of the spring, but the offense showed improvement. We ran the ball better than we have in the past. I expect the defense to watch film and make the corrections they need to for us to have a strong finish to the spring.”
The Tigers will workout three times this week and conclude spring practice at noon on Saturday in the spring game, which has renamed by Miles at the Super Tiger Bowl.
Friday’s scrimmage was once again situational, which had the team focusing on first-and-10 situations as well as third-and-short and third-and-long opportunities. The Tigers also spent time working in the red zone and goal-line situations. Each unit also had a shot with the two-minute drill.
“This scrimmage was a lengthy one because we wanted to get all the situations in that we could,” Miles said. “This scrimmage was important because we probably won’t have as many situations in the spring game.”
Flynn and Perrilloux and running back Charles Scott highlighted the scrimmage offensively. Scott led all rushers with 67 yards. Alley Broussard added 37 yards rushing, followed by Richard Murphy with 31 yards and Keiland Williams with 29 yards.
In the passing game, Flynn connected with Early Doucet touchdown passes of 37 and 7 yards, while Perrilloux tossed a 3-yard scoring pass to tight end J.D. Lott. Doucet led all receivers with six receptions for 66 yards, while Ricky Dixon had four catches. Brandon LaFell added a 5-yard touchdown reception.
Defensively, the Tigers were once again paced by the play of defensive end Tyson Jackson as well as the performance from a pair of safeties in Curtis Taylor and Craig Steltz, who had an interception against the No. 1 offense in the two-minute drill.
FORMER GREAT JOHN WOOD DIES
John Wood, a consensus 1972 All-Southeastern Conference player and Defensive MVP of the 1972 LSU football team, died Sunday. He was 56.
A private memorial ceremony is scheduled in Monroe later this month.
Wood was a three-year, defensive lineman letterman for the Tigers from 1970-72. In his three seasons, LSU went 27-8-1, finished those seasons in the top 10 in one or more polls and went to three straight bowl games. He shared team MVP honors with quarterback Bert Jones in 1972, when LSU allowed only 12 touchdowns in a 9-2-1 season.
He came to LSU from Lake Charles. After being drafted in the third round of the NFL draft — the 70th overall pick — by the Denver Broncos, Wood made Baton Rouge his home. Wood is survived by his mother Alma Wood of Lake Charles, a son John Wood III from Prairieville and a daughter Summer Wood-Patterson of Stuggart, Germany, and three grandchildren, John Wood IV, Alexa Marie Wood and Bryce Patterson.
LADY TIGERS ADVANCE IN NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
Third-seeded LSU forced 25 turnovers and held No. 14-seeded UNC Asheville to 27-percent shooting, as the Lady Tigers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, 77-39, with a victory late Saturday. LSU will take on West Virginia on Monday and if it advances will play in the Sweet 16 on Saturday in Fresno, California. The Lady Tigers are trying to make their fourth straight trip to the Women’s Final Four.
LSU (27-7) improved to 10-2 in NCAA first-round games — including nine-straight — and 29-16 in tournament history, while UNC Asheville (21-12) lost in its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
LSU defeated West Virginia on Nov. 12, 64-25, in the season opener at the Basketball Travelers Classic held in Baton Rouge. West Virginia shot only 20.2 percent and committed 24 turnovers in the contest. However, the Mountaineers upset No. 6-seeded Xavier, 65-52, on Saturday.
LSU acting head coach Bob Starkey, an assistant coach at LSU for 18 years, earned his first win as a head coach. He is a native of Charleston, W.Va., and began his coaching career in 1985 at West Virginia State.
Against UNC-Ashville, RaShonta LeBlanc and Quianna Chaney each scored 15 points. Sylvia Fowles, who was at times triple teamed, finished with eight points and 10 rebounds. Erica White added 10 points and seven assists.
SOFTBALL TEAM SWEEPS FLORIDA
The 10th-ranked LSU softball team made its hits count, including the game-winning home run by Leslie Klein, as the Tigers completed the series sweep of 19th-ranked Florida, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon at Tiger Park.
With the win, LSU improved to 28-4 on the season and 5-1 in Southeastern Conference play. It marks the third consecutive year the Tigers have swept the season series from the Gators, who dropped to 20-14 on the year and 2-6 in league action. LSU has now won 10 straight over Florida and 14 of the last 15.
Klein broke up Stacey Nelson’s no-hitter in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run down the left-field line that ended the 1-1 tie for good and proved to be the game winner. It marked the 27th career home run for the senior two-time All-American from Sunrise, Fla., who moved into a tie for second in career home runs in Tiger softball history.
LSU had gotten on the board in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly by Killian Roessner that scored Dee Dee Henderson, who had reached on a walk, stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice by Klein. Henderson recorded the only other Tiger hit in the game, posting a leadoff single in the top of the sixth. With that hit, she tied the LSU record for hits in consecutive games at 15. The junior from Atlanta, Texas, is now tied with Klein and Stephanie Hill, who both recorded 15-game hitting streaks during the 2004 season.
Emily Turner earned the win for the Tigers in relief to improve to 10-3 on the season. She came on in the fourth with the score tied at one, two on and two outs and proceeded to record the final out on the first pitch she threw. The senior All-American from Chula Vista, Calif., allowed just one hit in three and a third innings with three strikeouts.
Dani Hofer started for LSU and went three and a third innings before being relieved by Turner. She allowed one run on only two hits with two walks and six strikeouts. For the weekend, Tiger pitchers allowed only two runs on eight hits with 26 strikeouts in 21 innings.
On Saturday, LSU won a doubleheader, 7-0 and 4-1. Turner got the complete-game shutout in the first contest after allowing two hits, a walk and striking out six. Hofer (11-1) got the complete-game win in the second game. She allowed three hits, a walk and struck out 11. Offensively, Vanessa Soto had two hits and two runs batted in during the first game, while Kristen Hobbs had a pair of RBIs in the second game of the series.
The Lady Tigers will travel to Shreveport for a 5:30 p.m. contest against Centenary on Wednesday and then return home this weekend to take on second-ranked Alabama. The doubleheader on Saturday starts at 1 p.m., while the single Sunday game starts at 1 p.m.
BASEBALL TEAM LOSES SERIES TO SOUTH CAROLINA
The Tigers dropped a 9-5 decision to No. 3 South Carolina in the rubber game of the series on Sunday in Columbia, S.C.
With the loss, LSU fell to 13-9 overall and 1-2 in the SEC. In the contest, Ryan Schimpf had three hits and an RBI and Steven Waguespack added two more RBIs. On the mound, four of the six Tiger pitchers allowed eight earned runs. Starter T.J. Forrest (1-1) got the loss after allowing two hits a run and a walk in five innings. When he exited the game, the Tigers were down 2-0, but the Gamecocks scored five runs in the seventh and added two more in the eighth. LSU scored all five of its runs in the eighth inning.
On Saturday, the Tigers posted a 6-5 victory as Jared Bradford (4-1) allowed only three runs, six hits and struck out six through 8.1 innings. Louis Coleman pitched the final 2/3 of an inning and allowed a run on two hits. Offensively for the Tigers, Sean Ochinko had two hits (including a home run) and two RBIs and Chris McGhee added two runs batted in. The victory ended a six-game South Carolina winning streak.
On Friday, LSU was shut out for the first time this season, 5-0. The Tigers managed only three hits in the game. Charlie Furbush (3-2) five runs (three earned), six hits and struck out 10 in the game, which was 1-0 until a four-run seventh by USC.
LSU will play host to Southeastern Louisiana at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and then open its home SEC schedule on Friday with a 6:30 p.m. contest against Kentucky. The Tigers and Wildcats will also play on Saturday (4 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m.).
