Dominant pitching and a key homer led the LSU Tigers to a crucial 7-0 shutout over the Kentucky Wildcats.
It was a must-win scenario for the LSU Tigers on Saturday if they wanted to avoid dropping the first three SEC series. They answered the call with a 7-0 win over the Kentucky Wildcats.
The Tigers improve to 18-10 on the year and 3-5 in conference play. A win in Sunday's rubber match would give them their first series win in three tries. That would be a huge boost to the team's confidence.
When the pitchers pitch as they did on Saturday, nothing else matters. William Schmidt got the second spot in the rotation, with Cooper Moore dealing with an injury.
Schmidt went 5.1 scoreless innings with six hits, two walks and three strikeouts. It wasn't the prettiest outing of his career, but he got the job done. His season ERA is down to 2.55, delivering on the promise of development from last year.
Zac Cowan could have gotten the start on Sunday, but Johnson looked to him to hold on to the lead on Saturday. It ended up with one of the most dominant outings of his LSU career.
Cowan went 3.2 innings of work with just one hit and one walk allowed, striking out seven batters along the way. He started the season off with a rough out-of-conference stretch, but he's locked in since SEC play began. He's now pitched 8.1 innings of scoreless ball against conference opponents.
Freshman slugger Mason Braun hit his second home run of the year. He also hit a double and ended the day with four RBI. Omar Serna also went 2-for-4, bringing his season average up to .297.
This was about as stress-free as wins get in the SEC. The Tigers will be in a good spot heading into the final game of the series. They used just the two pitchers on Saturday.
They don't have a specific starter already named for Sunday, but they will have a ton of arms at their disposal to get the job done. The teams take the field at noon.