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LSU eliminates Tennessee from CWS behind phenomenal performance from Nate Ackenhausen
By Ethan Stone
Published:
LSU baseball is moving on to the national semifinals of the College World Series after blanking Tennessee Tuesday, 5-0.
The Tigers will face off against Wake Forest starting Wednesday, needing 2 wins to advance to the Championship Series against one of Florida or TCU.
And the Tigers were able to beat out a strong Tennessee pitching staff behind an unlikely hero: Lefty bullpen arm Nate Ackenhausen, who made his first start of the season against the Vols in a huge, huge spot.
Ackenhausen shut down Tennessee following an LSU run at the top of the 1st. He threw 6 innings, allowing just 4 hits with zero allowed runs and 7 strikeouts. The Tigers got all they wanted and more from the reliever Tuesday.
Tennessee also refused to do itself any favors pretty much all night. The Vols left 9 men on base and failed to plate a single run with 5 in scoring position.
Some mistakes on defense came back to bite the Vols, too. An error by Tennessee 3B Zane Denton scored LSU’s 2nd run of the night:
The Tigers plate another
LSU – 2
TENN – 0
? ESPN pic.twitter.com/WVkFdfEYdk— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) June 21, 2023
A wild pitch from Tennessee’s Camden Sewell scored run No. 3 for the Tigers soon after.
Tennessee would threaten in the 8th inning but failed to bring in a run with bases loaded after a brutal at-bat from Hunter Ensley. LSU, in turn, added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the 9th off the bat of Dylan Crews.
Ballgame:
The missile knows where it is at all times. @__dc4__ | ESPN pic.twitter.com/yTgi8ShZS2
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) June 21, 2023
LSU will face off against Wake Forest Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Should the Tigers win Wednesday’s rematch, the pair will host a win-or-go-home game on Thursday for a trip to the championship series.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
