LSU baseball got the pitching lift it needed vs. South Carolina in the SEC tournament

LSU baseball got the pitching lift it needed vs. South Carolina in the SEC tournament
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HOOVER, Ala. — Thatcher Hurd held his glove up to his face, showing the name “Paul Skenes,” sewn in black thread, for all to see on the SEC Network broadcast of Wednesday morning’s game.

The right-hander got the start for LSU’s first game of the double-elimination portion of the Southeastern Conference tournament — and at one point, he retired 12 straight batters before giving up a home run to left field on a 1-2 count to South Carolina’s Ethan Petry.

In some ways, Hurd’s performance in the Tigers’ 10-3 win was long time coming for one of the top pitching prospects out of the transfer portal last summer — aside from Skenes, his new teammate.

Hurd’s outing not only kept LSU ahead of the Gamecocks; it showed signs that he could be the dependable starter Jay Johnson believed he would be at the beginning of the season.

The Tigers (43-13) will play the winner of No. 2 Arkansas (39-15) and No. 10 Texas A&M (33-23) at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.

On paper, Hurd’s outing isn’t as dominant as it looked inning-by-inning – he finished working 5 ⅓, giving up three earned runs on four hits while striking out four and walking two, but the runs scored were the third and fourth time through the Gamecocks’ order.

Freshman Ethan Petry’s home run to left field in the fifth inning was the first hit Hurd gave up and it plated the first run for South Carolina (39-18). Hurd gave up a pair of singles in the sixth, then walked Jonathan French to load the bases. Petry drained 11 pitches from Hurd before he finally drew the second walk of the game off of him to plate the second run. Right-hander Sam Dutton came on in relief, walking Talmadge LeCroy to score an inherited runner before left-hander Nate Ackenhausen retired the side to limit the damage.

Hurd finished throwing 100 pitches, a season high. His 5 ⅓ innings was his longest in SEC play, coming six days after his five-inning, two-run relief outing at Georgia, where he kept the Tigers alive through a 12-inning contest.

LSU’s lineup looked different, too. Dylan Crews continued to bat in the leadoff spot, a trend that started against Georgia the previous weekend, but Josh Pearson batted second. Tommy White batted third and Tre’ Morgan batted cleanup, while making his first start at first base in SEC play since March 31 against Tennessee. Morgan has played the majority of the season at left field.

That allowed the Tigers to play Brayden Jobert at left field, batting eighth. Jobert ended the day going 2 for 3, walking once and collecting two RBIs.

Jobert’s two-run home run in the bottom of the second hit the “Hoover Met” scoreboard at right field – giving LSU a 2-0 lead. The Tigers extended that later with a four-run inning in the bottom of the fifth, when Jobert returned, lining the leadoff single to right field. Gavin Dugas followed up with his own to get starting right-hander Eli Jones out of the game.

The Gamecocks sent Nick Proctor to the mound, but he’d give up a single to Dylan Crews, then walk Josh Pearson and Tommy White to plate two runs, 4-1. With no outs on the board, Tre’ Morgan and Hayden Travinski’s sac flies compiled a 6-1 lead with two outs.

Cade Beloso kept the run alive with a single and Jordan Thompson loaded the bases when he was hit by a pitch, but South Carolina yanked Proctor, bringing in left-hander Jackson Phipps to get Jobert to fly out.

After the Gamecocks manufactured runs in the sixth, LSU led 6-3, but extended that lead in the bottom of the frame. Crews drew the leadoff walk and Josh Pearson singled through the right side, White’s flyout advanced Crews to third, which set up Morgan’s RBI single. Pearson advanced to third, then scored on Hayden Travinski’s RBI single to make it 8-3.

Meanwhile, Ackenhausen continued to shut out the Gamecocks. He gave up a bunt single to Dylan Brewer, and struck out three while walking one to strand both runners in the seventh. 

The Tigers kept adding runs of insurance in the seventh when Jobert and Dugas drew walks. Crews and White added RBI singles to make it 10-3.

The Gamecocks batted 5 for 31 overall and 1 for 10 with runners on base.  

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About Mary Weyand 15916 Articles
Mary founded Scoop Tour with an aim to bring relevant and unaltered news to the general public with a specific view point for each story catered by the team. She is a proficient journalist who holds a reputable portfolio with proficiency in content analysis and research. With ample knowledge about the Automobile industry, she also contributes her knowledge for the Automobile section of the website.

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