NEW ORLEANS — The last time freshman pitcher Aaron Nola stood on the pitcher’s mound in Tulane’s Turchin Stadium, he was on the wrong end of a loss in the Louisiana state semifinals.
The Catholic High School alumnus erased that defeat from his mind Tuesday night as he tossed eight scoreless innings and led No. 13 LSU (11-2) to a 5-0 victory against Tulane (10-3). The game marked Nola’s second career win in as many starts, as he struck out a season-high six batters.
“Once I got in the groove with the first-pitch strikes, I was on,” Nola said. “Getting that first-pitch strike really settles you down and relaxes you.”
Nola threw just 78 pitches in his eight innings of work, 62 for strikes. He threw first-pitch strikes to 20 of the 27 batters he faced. At one point, Nola faced nine consecutive batters without throwing a ball, allowing just one hit during the streak.
“It was just complete domination,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “He threw nothing but strikes. It seemed like he was 0-and-2 on every batter. … It was masterful.”
Only one baserunner — junior third baseman Garrett Cannizaro — advanced past first base against Nola, reaching third on a one-out single by senior catcher Jeremy Schaffer in the first inning. Nola worked out of the threat thanks to a leaping catch by sophomore second baseman JaCoby Jones, who doubled up Schaffer at first.
Mainieri called that play the “key of the game.”
“That’s why I made that change,” Mainieri said referring to Jones’ move back to second base after starting in center field to open the season.