LSU freshman pitcher Austin Bain found himself in an interesting spot Saturday night.
After a nine-strikeout performance in 6 2/3 innings of shutout relief against Alabama a week prior, LSU coach Paul Mainieri thrust Bain into the starting rotation in place of struggling freshman starter Jake Godfrey for LSU’s weekend series with Auburn.
The task was large for the right-hander from Geismar, Louisiana, who pitched only 15 1/3 innings prior to his appearance against the Crimson Tide.
“Pitching in the [Southeastern Conference] is a battle against whoever you are facing,” Bain said.
But Mainieri had him slated for the Sunday start with undefeated freshman Alex Lange in his usual spot on the mound on Saturday.
Mainieri, though, is cautious with his young hurlers and said he didn’t feel good about giving Lange the ball after he felt tightness in his arm on Wednesday.
Bain became the next man up, again.
“We prepared just in case that had to happen,” Bain said. “So, I was ready for either day.”
Bain may have been unfazed by the changing circumstances, but there was no possible preparation for his adversary on the hill, Auburn’s ace Keegan Thompson. On Saturday, Thompson was nearly perfect.
“All of [Thompson’s] pitches, he was locating them very well,” Bain said. “He didn’t mess up much. When he did, he got away with it.”
Thompson, a former Freshman All-American and SEC Pitcher of the Week, relinquished only one run on six hits against the SEC’s No. 1 offense as he recorded a complete game in Auburn’s 6-1 victory against LSU.
Thompson didn’t wow with strikeouts, fanning only three batters, but kept his pitches down in the zone as LSU grounded out 15 times in 33 at-bats. Mainieri, though, said he was impressed by the sophomore righty.
“That’s as good of a pitching performance as I’ve seen in my nine years as the coach of LSU,” Mainieri said.
It may seem like Mainieri tossed Bain into the fire against a formidable foe, but the final score is only slightly indicative of his performance.
With command on his changeup, Bain was effective through the 5 1/3 innings of work, striking out seven with four of them coming against the leadoff hitter of the inning. But there were two pitches he left up in the zone that clouded his performance, and both were to a steady hitter at a critical moment.
“I feel like I was controlling my offspeed and locating that very well,” Bain said. “I was trying to pitch off my fastball, and I left it up a few times and paid for that.”
With speedy nine-hole hitter Melvin Gray at first base in the third inning, Bain served a 0-1 fastball to Auburn center fielder Anfernee Grier, who smoked the ball into left-center field for an RBI double.
After a crucial two-out walk to Gray in the fifth inning, Grier came up to bat again. The team leader in batting average drove a 1-2 pitch into right field for a RBI triple, a ball that got by sliding LSU right fielder Mark Laird.
“[Grier] just hit the right pitches in the right counts and looked for fastballs,” Bain said. “He got both of them when I left them up in the zone.”
While he gave up four runs on the night — the final two scoring once sophomore Alden Cartwright came on in relief — Bain seems to have gained the respect of his teammates, showing his composure and capability on a night Mainieri said wasn’t for LSU.
“He gave us a chance to win,” said junior shortstop Alex Bregman. “That’s all you can ask for from the kid. I really liked how he was so aggressive and pitched with conviction. He executed a lot of good pitches. They have a good team, and he battled.”
You can reach James Bewers on Twitter @JamesBewers_TDR.