In this season of college baseball, it seemed that the most anticipated pitching duel was to be found between LSU’s Paul Skenes and Tennessee’s Chase Dollander.
That duel finally took place in game one of LSU’s series against Tennessee. Even fans knew how intense this matchup would be. The paid attendance for Thursday night’s game was 13,068, the most in LSU baseball program history.
Ultimately, it was Skenes and the Tigers that walked away unharmed. LSU took the game 5-2.
“The best,” head coach Jay Johnson said following Skenes’ performance. “Yeah, he’s the best pitcher there is. I’m just really glad he’s here.”
As expected, the Air Force transfer took the mound Thursday night, hoping to be a factor in his team’s success in what was arguably LSU’s biggest game thus far. Skenes did just that.
He shut down the Volunteers’ offense, sitting down batters just as quickly as they walked up to the plate.
Tennessee was unable to match their opponent’s momentum at the plate. It wouldn’t be until the fifth inning that the Volunteers were able to plate a run. LSU responded accordingly with two runs of their own, also in the fifth inning.
Skenes threw more pitches against Tennessee in game one than in any other game he’s played in so far at LSU. Reaching this pitch count isn’t uncommon for him, though. In fact, he told pitching coach Wes Johnson that he felt good enough to keep playing.
“I’m always gonna think I can go more,” Skenes said. “I’m always gonna think I can throw 200 pitches. Obviously, I can’t, but you know, it’s not my job to, you know, make these decisions, but I’m just glad we pulled it out.”
The junior was retired after a stellar outing. After seven full innings, Skenes allowed five hits and only one run. He walked one and struck out 12 in the 26 batters that he faced. He totaled 107 pitches on the night. 72 of those were strikes.
Left-handed pitcher Nate Ackenhausen was chosen to relieve Skenes on the mound. His outing was short lived after a rocky start. Ackenhausen allowed one hit and one run, one facing two batters.
Junior Garrett Edwards was called in to close out the game on the mound. He put together a solid finish, facing eight batters and striking out two. Edwards allowed two hits and no runs.
LSU’s offense was incredibly strong in game one of the series. The Tigers worked hard at the plate, slowly but surely breaking down Tennessee’s first game starter. Dollander was retired after pitching 4.2 innings. He totalled 89 pitches.
Second baseman Gavin Dugas was the first to plate a run for LSU. His two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning seemed to be just another factor that aided the ongoing momentum and energy exuding from the crowd. Dugas brought in Jordan Thompson, who led the inning off with a double down the left field line.
Thompson’s plate performance in this game played a huge role in LSU’s ultimate success. The junior collected two hits, three RBI and one run. Both hits were doubles.
“I was just prepared for it,” Thompson said. “I mean, these are the types of situations that we practice all the time throughout the week and stuff like that. So, to be able to come through for my team right there, I mean, that was a huge blessing.”
LSU ultimately totaled seven hits, just one less than its opponents.
The Tigers will look to continue this train of success in game two of the series, on Friday, once again in Alex Box Stadium. The first pitch is set to take place at 6:00 p.m. CT.
