After a 9-4 win Tuesday night against the University of Louisiana-Monroe, closer Brandon Nall explained why he came to LSU.
With his back to right field, he turned his right shoulder slightly and looked straight at the “Intimidator” billboard past the fence.
His answer was clear.
“Up there is the reason why. They’re the best school; definitely in the 90s they were the best,” said Nall, referring to the 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000 national championships.
Nall turned to a higher power when choosing between Georgia, Clemson and LSU.
“I came here because of the history, and also I felt this is where God wanted me to be at; that’s the number one reason,” Nall said. “I prayed about it a lot, and [God] opened the doors. I knew this was the right place.”
Nall, a junior transfer from Wallace State Community College, hopes to continue his dominance as a sidearm closer. Last year he recorded an 8-6 record with a 2.70 ERA. In 2001 he was 9-6 with a 1.15 ERA.
He learned the motion from his coach, Mackey Sasser, at Wallace St.
“The coach likes to [teach pitchers to throw sidearm],” Nall said. “I was the third guy he had done it with. It was successful with the two guys before, and it’s turned out good for me. I’m still learning new stuff everyday.”
This season Nall is 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA in five innings pitched. However, the three runs, two earned, that he has given up came in the 10th inning of the 9-6 Friday night defeat against Kansas. He has two saves this season.
The most intriguing characteristic Nall possesses is not only his ability to achieve astounding movement on his pitches, but also his velocity, which is much higher than most sidearmers.
Nall is consistently clocked in the upper 80s but has reached a peak of 91 and 92 miles per hour.
“I just take what I did overhand and try to keep the same armspeed because that’s what pitching is,” Nall said. “I just try to make my arm go fast, and it comes down hard. The velocity and movement, it’s really effective.”
Pitching coach Brady Wiederhold said a tendency of sidearm pitchers is to lose control of the strike zone and throw a lot of balls.
“A lot of times sidearmers have trouble with command,” Wiederhold said. “It’s hard to have consistency in the strike zone. He’s getting better at it. It’s a very big advantage for us, as long as he’s able to stay in the strike zone and keep his composure.”
Head coach Smoke Laval said with the combination of an awkward delivery, high velocity and movement, he hopes Nall will be tough on the Southeastern Conference and other opponents LSU will face.
“Hopefully he’s a big-time weapon,” Laval said. “He’s definitely our go-to guy. He throws hard from down under. It’s just a different look all together.”
The idea of sidearm has since been passed on to Jordan Faircloth, a sophomore reliever. Nall said Laval decided to help Faircloth learn the motion.
“Coming in here in the fall, I didn’t see him having a spot [on the staff], but he just dropped down sidearm over the break,” Nall said of Faircloth. “That got him a spot, and he’s done great for us. He can locate really well, and I think he can really help us.”