The electrifying defensive plays made on Monday will continue to captivate viewers of LSU baseball for a while, but dominant pitching in the Baton Rouge Regional tournament will resonate in LSU postseason history forever.
LSU (51-10) fell upon the back of sophomore Jared Poche’ as it defeated UNC-Wilmington (41-18) 2-0 in the regional championship game at Alex Box Stadium.
“I knew today that Jared Poche’ was going to go out there and be a man,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “And he was. He pitched a tremendous ballgame, and he deserves all the accolades that come his way.”
Following a complete-game, shutout performance from freshman Alex Lange — the Baton Rouge Regional tournament’s Most Outstanding Player — Poche’ delivered a performance on the mound worthy of its own standing ovation.
“It was a pretty indescribable feeling,” Poche’ said. “Walking off the field with all of those fans cheering, I couldn’t help but have a little grin.”
Poche’ posted a new career-high eight strikeouts in his 8.2 innings on the mound, giving up six hits and one walk in the 11th shutout by an LSU pitcher in an NCAA tournament game. LSU sophomore Parker Bugg, who replaced Poche’ in the ninth inning, said Poche’ was nearly unhittable once he settled into the game.
“I felt like I had something to prove,” Poche’ said. “Be gritty, and prove that I am better than the guy at the plate.”
Poche’ found the zone early in the game, throwing strikes quickly one after another. He used a variety of different pitches, one of which was very problematic to UNCW.
UNCW Head Coach Mark Scalf said Poche’s curveball gave his team major problems in the championship game. Poche’ said his curveball is his best pitch, and he had effective command over it throughout the game.
During the fourth inning, Poche’ hung one of his signature curveballs too low in the strike-zone, and it was blasted into deep right-center field. Junior Andrew Stevenson followed the pitch by making one of the best defensive plays of his career on his birthday.
Stevenson left center field and sprinted toward the right-center field gap, where he made a diving catch deep on the warning track to save a run from scoring against the Tigers. He popped up quickly to get the ball back into the infield, eventually resulting in a double play in the fourth inning.
“It just one of those things,” said LSU sophomore Jake Fraley. “[Stevenson] does what he always does. I honestly can say I believe he will catch every ball that is hit at him or in the gaps.”
For the second game in a row, spectacular defensive plays were made to defer hitters from getting on base. But the bottom of the LSU lineup didn’t seem to be fazed by great defense.
Junior Chris Chinea, LSU’s six-hole hitter, went 2-for-3 today with one RBI. He trailed Fraley, who hit three singles in three at-bats.
“Top to bottom our lineup is very solid,” Fraley said. “At any point in time, any one of us can get the job done.”
LSU will get a short break before UL-Lafayette travels to Baton Rouge later this week to compete in the Super Regional at Alex Box Stadium. The teams will play a best-of-three series, sending the victor to Omaha for the College World Series.
You can reach Christian Boutwell on Twitter @CBoutwel_TDR.