Led by sophomore right-hander Kevin Gausman, the third-ranked Tigers were able to defeat Vanderbilt by a score of 2-1 Friday night at Alex Box Stadium. Gausman struck out 11 Commodores in notching LSU's first complete game of the season.
The Tigers scored both of their runs in the second inning, getting RBI's from Ty Ross and Tyler Hanover.
Though he suffered the loss, Vanderbilt starter TJ Pecoraro (0-4) also had and impressive outing, allowing only two runs on five hits in eight innings of work. The Commodores scored their only run in the top of the third inning on a single by Mike Yastrzemski.
With the win, the Tigers (39-11, 17-8 SEC) clinched at least a share of the SEC Western Division title and a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament. Vanderbilt is now 24-25 overall, 11-14 in the SEC.
Game 2 of this series is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on Saturday.
Follow this series at SB Nation Houston.