After a shaky start to the season, Zack Hess beat his career high with 13 strikeouts in just five innings, breaking the record he set against Texas last week.
He struck out half of the batters he faced, helping LSU beat Toledo 8-1.
“Obviously Zack Hess has had two phenomenal outings in a row now,” Head Coach Paul Mainieri said. “Boy, is that an uplift to our team when we get a start like that on a Friday night. He was obviously in total control out there.”
“Ever since Notre Dame we’ve been cognizant of making sure that I get all the way through my pitches and getting the extension out front,” Hess said. “I thought we’ve done a pretty good job the last two weeks, making those corrections, and I think that’s a big reason why we’ve had some success recently.”
To add on to Hess’ dominant pitching, catcher Hunter Feduccia stepped up to the plate with bases loaded, hitting a grand slam in the seventh inning to further the Tigers’ lead.
“I’m glad it happened,” Feduccia said. “It was a fastball inside, and actually the pitch before that was in the same spot. I was kind of mad that I didn’t hit that one, but the next pitch was right there. I was ready for it.”
“He’s one of the best players we have,” Mainieri said. “You can see what a game changer he is throwing runners out stealing and what a difference he has made with that. His hitting is going to keep getting better.”
The Tigers will be back at The Box playing Sacred Heart at 6 p.m.