Amidst a chilly Saturday night in Alex Box Stadium on the back end of a double header, Tiger fans were warmed up by the blazing flames of Jaden Hill’s remarkable performance in his return to pitching for the LSU Baseball team.
With the perfect mix of high velocity fastballs and tricky changeups, the 6’6” right-handed pitcher from Ashdown, AR, was dominant on the mound in his two innings of work in the third game of the series, although the Tigers took the loss with a score of 7-2.
In the sixth inning, Hill faced four batters and proceeded to walk one and struck out three on a steady diet of high heaters and filthy breaking balls. In the seventh inning, he quickly sat down the three Hoosier hitters due up in order, showcasing more of the stuff that made coach Paul Mainieri tab him the “wild card” of the staff.
Hill couldn’t hide his excitement post-game about being back on the mound.
“It was exciting, very exciting,” Hill said with a big grin. “It’s been a long time.”
Hill’s first pitch was fastball that clocked in at 96 mph. His second and third pitches bumped up to 97 and 98 mph, and he sat in the 96-98 mph range for the duration of his appearance. The sophomore could do no wrong with his scintillating velocity, and Hill didn’t even realize it.
“I don’t find out until I come back over [to the dugout],” Hill explained when asked about if he knew about his high velocity, specifically during the preseason.
“I try not to look at the board, they always tell me once I come back. I’ll feel like I’ll blow it, you know, if I turn around and look.”
Mainieri was extremely proud of Hill’s outing, citing the energy he brought when he stepped on the rubber tonight.
“I just felt we were kind of in a desperate situation there. We needed a little bit of a spark, and I thought he gave us a spark,” Mainieri said. “He held us right there and gave us a chance, we just couldn’t muster the offense to overcome.”
Hill missed the majority of last year’s season with a sprained UCL in his elbow, but showed no signs of limitation or fatigue tonight. With a set offseason workout routine with the training staff, Hill has no fears of reoccurring injuries.
“I’m in a great spot right now,” Hill said with assurance. “I’m very confident, and I’m feeling great about my body, and you know, if I thought about [reinjury], then maybe it would happen. So we take a chance going out there everyday, you take a chance when you go to sleep at night, so I just go out there and have fun.”
It can’t get much more fun than blowing guys away with 98 mph fastballs. With Hill’s energy, enthusiasm, and fiery passion for the game, it certainly seems like he’s going to be having a lot of “fun” this season.
