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LSU Baseball

Multi-faceted Tigers win regional

June 5, 2023
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The Baton Rouge Regional began some three days ago with coach Jay Johnson making a questionable pitching decision.

Johnson elected to go with Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year Paul Skenes against a 40-loss Tulane team in the first round of the tournament. Johnson was not worried about the pitching matchup on day two of the regional against a much better opponent.

Johnson wanted his dominant hurler on the mound to get his team off to a good start. That’s exactly what Skenes did – carrying the Tigers to the first of three consecutive victories to win their second regional title in the past three seasons.

Skenes put together a 12-strikeout, complete-game outing against the Green Wave in a 7-2 victory. Due to the rain delays Saturday and Sunday, Skenes would not have been on the mound for as much as five innings if Johnson had saved him.

Without Skenes, LSU was able to take two games from No. 2-seed Oregon State to win the regional. There was the nail-biter on Saturday where Johnson won his first real test as Tigers coach. Five home runs helped LSU edge the Beavers 6-5 in the winners’ bracket finals game at The Box.

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Oregon State had no chance against the Tigers in the championship round Monday. A worn-down Beavers pitching staff was ripped by LSU. The Tigers collected 19 hits, including four more homers, in a 13-7 victory.

So, it’s on to the super-regionals for LSU – its first at home in four years. The Tigers were shockingly swept in two games by Florida State and retiring coaching legend Mike Martin in 2019. Either Kentucky or Indiana will be LSU’s opponent later this week.

Neither Kentucky nor Indiana is a part of college baseball royalty – like Florida State. But, the Tigers have been defeated at The Box in super-regional series by teams like Stony Brook and Coastal Carolina. That Coastal Carolina team did go on to win the 2016 national crown.

Johnson’s club showed that it could win in different ways in the Baton Rouge Regional. Skenes did not need many runs to knock off Tulane. Johnson used a version of small ball in the 7-2 victory. There were no home runs. In fact, only two of the seven runs came home on hits.

Infield outs produced two runs and fly balls drove in two more runs. A fifth run came across on a bases-loaded walk. Four players – Dylan Crews, Cade Beloso, Jordan Thompson and Hayden Travinski – did have multi-hit games against the Green Wave.

In the all-important showdown with Oregon State on Sunday, a three-hour rain delay complicated Johnson’s pitching plans. Ty Floyd, who gave up one run in the first three innings, was finished after the delay. So, Johnson called on his next best available pitcher -- Thatcher Hurd.

Hurd got off to a poor start as he allowed two runs in the top of the fourth. When LSU rallied from a three-run deficit to go on top 5-3, Hurd was touched for a game-tying two-run homer. Hurd ended up being good enough – yielding four runs and seven hits with three walks and 12 strikeouts in five innings.

LSU’s offense was all about the long ball in this game – two-run homer by Crews, back-to-back homers by Travinski and Beloso and solo homer by Josh Pearson. With the score tied in the eighth, Brayden Jobert slammed a home run for the game-winning margin.

On Monday, the Beavers could not get the Tigers out. Every starter except for Tommy White had at least two hits. Travinski and Beloso hit back-to-back homers again after Oregon State pulled within two runs at 4-2. Solo homers by Crews and Gavin Dugas put LSU back on top 8-4.

Monday’s matchup with the Beavers turned into a bullpen game. Johnson used four relivers to cover the nine innings. Riley Cooper gave up two runs before being lifted with two outs in the fourth. Nate Ackenhausen allowed two runs while getting five outs.

Freshmen Griffin Herring and Gavin Guidry handled the rest of the game. Herring was charged with two runs and three hits in three innings. Guidry, who saved the 6-5 victory over Oregon State, got the last two outs after giving up an inside-the-park home run.

Johnson passed his first June challenge at The Box. The Tigers went 3-0 while winning the regional. It was not smooth sailing, but Johnson’s team did what was necessary to claim three victories. No matter the opponent in the super-regionals, LSU will again be favored to reach Omaha for the first time in six years.

LSU Baseball Eyes on Omaha Tee
LSU Baseball Eyes on Omaha Tee

from: Alumni Hall

Tags: Baseball
 
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