HOOVER, Ala. — Left-hander Nate Ackenhausen is used to being the secret weapon on a team full of stars, and this season at LSU, amid all the injuries to the Tigers’ bullpen, he’s been a more steady option.
Ackenhausen put that steady hand on display Wednesday at the Southeastern Conference tournament, when he came on in relief in the top of the sixth inning of the Tigers’ 10-3 win against South Carolina to open the double-elimination round.
He retired 11 of the 15 batters he faced, allowing no runs on one hit while striking out six and walking three. Wednesday also marked Ackenhausen’s longest outing of the season — 3⅔ innings.
“I think out of all the games he’s pitched in, we’ve only lost one time,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “So he’s a key part of the staff, and I was really proud of him and how he executed today.”
This season, Ackenhausen has been one of the team’s most reliable relievers in high-leverage situations. Of the 11 batters he has faced with two outs and runners in scoring position, he has struck out three, walked one and allowed one hit.
The southpaw is used to a role that can sometimes be overlooked — the trusted reliever who’s on the mound to face just a few batters, or work a full inning.
“I’ve kind of always been raised like that,” Ackenhausen said in March. “It’s kind of going back to that powerhouse high school thing. I wasn’t a big-time name and there were some big time dudes, but I had phenomenal numbers. I was always looked past, but I feel like being in the SEC, you’re at the top stage. I feel like I have a point to prove.”
Ackenhausen went to Owasso High School in Oklahoma, just outside Tulsa. Larry Turner has been there for 40 years, as a player, assistant and head coach, playing a role in every state title in school history.
Some of the school’s more recent alumni include former St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma, former Texas Rangers pitcher Brian Flynn and current New York Mets pitcher Dylan Bundy.
Ackenhausen’s high school career ended with the COVID-19 season. Turner believes that team would’ve added a championship to the school’s collection.
“He was a starting pitcher for us and he also played first base and swung the bat, so he was an everyday player,” Turner said in March. “For the most part, we’ve had a bunch of homegrown talent. It’s not like a bunch of kids are always moving in to play. It’s just one of those things where things just got rolling and every team is the next team up.”
With only offers from mid-major schools, Ackenhausen wanted to prove he could play in a bigger conference, so he spent his next two years at Eastern Oklahoma State Community College in the town of Wilburton, Oklahoma, 93 miles southeast of Tulsa.
“The town has two stoplights. Nothing you can do but go to school and play baseball,” former EOCC coach Matt Parker said. “… the thing that held him back was the body wasn’t quite right, so he needed to redistribute that weight and trim some things up in certain areas.”
Parker is now an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. During his time at EOCC, he said Ackenhausen was on a team with elite pitchers who made him better.
Those included right-hander Christian McGowan, a seventh-round selection by the Phillies in 2021; former Mississippi State left-hander Andrew Walling, who signed with the Phillies as a free agent; and right-hander David Sandlin, one of Oklahoma’s star pitchers in the College World Series last year who was drafted in the 11th round by the Kansas City Royals.
Ackenhausen worked his first year out of the bullpen at EOCC, then started 10 games the second year, posting a 1.84 ERA through 58⅔ innings, striking out 89 and walking 14.
Ackenhausen lost 20 pounds — and a lot of that was because Parker had scheduled running days for pitchers.
“A lot of people think it’s more for the arm, getting lactic acid out,” Parker said, “but I look at it more as lasting longer in the game.”
As Ackenhausen got into better shape, so did his ability. He always had a fastball with a funky complexity — high velocity with late movement — that Parker still hasn’t figured out.
But it’s that fastball, paired with the slider that comes out of the same arm slot, which makes his pitches deceiving. Turner said he found Ackenhausen could force a lot of ground balls.
“It’s also what’s called a heavy ball,” Parker said. “No one really squared up to it really well. Some guys have the velocity or whatever, but they get hit hard. That heavy ball just stays in the yard.”
Ackenhausen chose LSU because it was his shot at playing where he could once again surround himself with the best talent.
Plus, Texas was on the schedule.
On Feb. 28, Ackenhausen shut out the Longhorns over 3⅓ innings, giving up one hit and striking out four. He had secretly hoped that his breakout moment would be against a team every Oklahoman hopes to beat.
“Growing up in Oklahoma, I’ve never been a Texas fan, so I was waiting for my opportunity,” Ackenhausen said afterward. “I had it all built up and ready to go.”
He seems to have built himself up, too, as LSU enters a postseason run.
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