LSU baseball needed to win Tuesday night.
Jay Johnson knew it. It’s why the LSU coach turned to his best reliever — senior right-hander Zac Cowan — to start the game, and why the next arm was fifth-year senior right-hander Grant Fontenot, who entered the contest with a 2.92 ERA.
LSU (23-15) had developed a habit of getting off to bad starts in midweek games. Reversing that trend against Northwestern State, the top team in the Southland Conference standings, was critical on Tuesday.
“Zac is probably the best pitcher on the staff,” Johnson said, “just in terms of performance over the last five to six weeks. You know what you’re going to get, more importantly than anything else.
“So I wanted to get off to a good start.”
The Demons nearly came back, but the Tigers’ good start on the mound was just enough for them to earn the win, taking down Northwestern State 4-2 at Alex Box Stadium.
Northwestern State (23-14) had a chance to take the lead in the eighth inning, loading the bases after a one-out walk from junior left-hander Santiago Garcia. The free pass prompted Johnson to turn to redshirt sophomore right-hander Deven Sheerin, an aggressive move to try to ensure an LSU victory.
Sheerin then did exactly what he needed to do. The top LSU reliever got a strikeout and a pop-out to end the inning and keep LSU’s 4-2 lead intact. He then tossed a scoreless ninth inning to close out the game.
Sheerin threw 25 pitches on Tuesday, just two days after throwing 36 pitches on Sunday against Ole Miss.
“That’s something coach Johnson really stressed to me over the offseason, was being able to recover and becoming a pro in my recovery,” Sheerin said. “And I think (pitching tonight is) just the will to want to be out there to compete.”
Tuesday’s game was a must-win affair for the Tigers for multiple reasons. LSU entered the contest with four straight losses. It had also already suffered six nonconference losses to mid-major teams.
In the RPI, a schedule-based metric that the NCAA tournament committee uses to help determine the field, LSU was the No. 72 team before Tuesday. A loss to Northwestern State would’ve added a defeat against the No. 99 Demons.
And with No. 12 Texas A&M coming to Baton Rouge over the weekend, the last thing LSU could afford was another loss to a mid-major foe.
“We have 19 games guaranteed left,” junior Jake Brown said. “And our main focus is capitalizing on every single one of them.”
For the most part, LSU got the start it wanted from its pitching staff. Cowan and Fontenot combined to allow one earned run in four innings, but the Tigers’ slow start at the plate meant the game was tied 1-1 after the fourth.
Northwestern State broke the tie in the fifth inning after a groundout to junior Steven Milam at shortstop drove in a run. But the lead was brief, as Brown blasted a three-run home run to give LSU a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the inning.
The homer was his 16th of the year.
“I took two breaking balls early in the count, so I got to realize what it looked like and separate the ball(s) from the strike,” Brown said. “So the last pitch he left one hanging up right there, so I was able to put a good swing on it.”
LSU resumes Southeastern Conference play on Friday against the Aggies. First pitch from Alex Box Stadium is set for 6 p.m., and the game will be available to watch on ESPN.
