Box Bombers: LSU Smack Six Home Runs, Trounce Kentucky in Super Regional Opener
BATON ROUGE, La. — The clock nearly struck midnight at Alex Box Stadium on Saturday as Kentucky and LSU played game one of its Super Regional. Figuratively, midnight had already come and gone for the Wildcats.
After a seven-hour near-rainless weather delay caused doubts of a game even being played, the No. 12-seeded Cats were quintessentially outclassed by the No. 5-seeded Tigers in a 14-0 demolition that witnessed six home runs for LSU.
Slugging third baseman Tommy White and first baseman Tre' Morgan each delivered a pair of homers and accounted for seven hits and six RBIs. Shortstop Jordan Thompson drove in three runs, as he and superstar center fielder Dylan Crews each collected two hits.
LSU starter Paul Skenes, the potential No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming MLB draft, was as masterful as ever, hurling 7.2 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and a walk while fanning nine across 101 pitches.
UK was out-hit 15-4 and didn't record a knock with a runner on base. The Tigers, meanwhile, managed six two-out hits and recorded seven two-out RBIs. Head coach Nick Mingione kept it simple:
"Give LSU a lot of credit," he said "(They) did everything at a high level. We didn't."
Kentucky starter Zack Lee entered the game having allowed nine home runs on the year, but proceeded to serve up five gopher balls to the Tigers in 4.0 innings. He was tagged for six earned on nine hits, striking out six.
"Great performance by our team," LSU head coach Jay Johnson said. "As usual, it started with Paul. Pounding the strike zone with all his pitches, executing at a high level, thought the at-bats tonight were really good."
Skenes wasted no time after the lengthy delay, pumping a 102-mph fastball to open the game and a one-two-three top of the first, collecting three outs in 15 pitches.
The Tigers connected for some hard-hit balls in the bottom half against Lee. Crews reached on an infield single, but the Cats wiped away the lead runner by turning an around-the-horn double play on a grounder off the bat of White.
Morgan, who was in a 1-2 count, torqued an up-and-away fastball for an opposite-field solo home run that left The Box in a hurry. It was all the run support Skenes needed, but it wasn't all he received.
Crews reached on a swinging bunt with two outs in the bottom of the third, sparking the big three-run rally that quickly put the Cats in a big hole. White cranked the first pitch of his second at-bat over the left-field bleachers for a mammoth two-run shot, his 21st of the season. Morgan followed, again finding a two-strike cookie, depositing a hanging breaking ball over the wall in right to make it 4-0.
Second baseman Gavin Dugas got in on the fun in the fourth, as Lee missed his spot and left a heater over the heart of the plate, which was promptly crushed over the pitch clock in left-center field for a solo homer.
Skenes continued to throw like his life depended on it, needing just 25 pitches to get through the second, third and fourth, allowing only one hit in the process. The triple-digit fastball mixed with the big-league level slider kept the Bat Cats off balance all night.
"He threw more off-speed pitches than he threw fastballs. And he threw 102 miles per hour. Let that sink in," Mingione said of Skenes. "He made the adjustment (from the April matchup), and we didn't."
"A lot of the time you just have to feel them out and understand what their game plan is offensively, because it changes from week to week," Skenes said. "We got a good feel for that early in the game, went out there and executed pretty well."
The doors were blown off in the fifth via a six-run frame. Left fielder Josh Pearson thwacked the fifth homer of the night, a solo shot that flew halfway up the right-field bleachers. Two batters later, Morgan notched his third hit, scoring Crews on a sharp single. That was the end of the road for Lee, though Mingione was still complimentary of his starter:
"We talk all the time that we will not whine, complain, or make excuses," Mingione said. "(Lee) won't do that. I won't do that. You don't get to this spot by allowing your players or yourself to make excuses... Kentucky Wildcats do not do that."
In came redshirt freshman right-hander Christian Howe, who had pitched just 6.0 innings on the year before Saturday. Two hit batsmen and a wild pitch brought home two runs before shortstop Jordan Thompson slung a two-run single into left field to make it 11-0. He then added another with an RBI-single in the eighth before Crews capped the scoring off with a sacrifice fly.
UK is now 0-3 all-time in Super Regional games. It must win the final two games of the series against the Tigers to punch its first-ever ticket to the College World Series.
"Obviously a lot at stake tomorrow, but we've been here before," Mingione said.
Game two of the three-game series is set for Sunday, June 11. First pitch will — weather permitting — be at 6:06 p.m. EST.
How Division-III roots are pushing Jackson Gray to the finish line in a special season HERE.
Roommates, Kentuckians, Brothers: More on Darren Williams and Mason Moore HERE.
The King of Work: More on catcher Devin Burkes and his MVP honors HERE.
Game recap of Kentucky's Regional-clinching win can be found HERE.
How getting hit in batting practice helps Kentucky HERE.
How hard conversations molded RHP Austin Strickland HERE.
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