Jay Johnson details why he did not pull Nate Ackenhausen in fifth inning

Normally a relief pitcher, LSU junior pitcher Nate Ackenhausen pitched his way into Tiger lore on Tuesday evening at the College World Series. In an elimination game against Tennessee, LSU head coach Jay Johnson turned to Ackenhausen for a spot start and the junior college transfer did not disappoint.

Even after facing a leverage moment in the fifth inning as his pitch count rose above the 60 that Johnson had set out before the game, Ackenhausen stayed in and navigated the peril. Johnson came out for a mound visit, but said he wasn’t really thinking of pulling his pitcher.

“I just wanted to check on him, in terms of the fatigue level and then the heartbeat level. You can see he doesn’t get too wound up or rattled over anything. And just felt like he could make a pitch to — I believe [Hunter] Ensley was up at that time — and he did, he get him off the end of the barrel for a fly ball to right field. Just trust, trust level. And felt like he had enough in the tank,” Johnson said after the game.

Ackenhausen came back out and completed the sixth inning for a performance full of career highs: six innings pitched, 93 pitches thrown, seven strikeouts, four hits and zero earned runs. LSU took a 5-0 win to stay alive and eliminate Tennessee from the CWS.

Johnson gushed about the performance and what it meant after LSU had won.

“He had obviously been throwing well and then another big thing was then he went out and got another full inning after that. And that really shortened the game which, you know, when you’re in this side of the bracket, you need that,” Johnson said. “And if you’re going to have a chance to do something, you’re going to need a performance like Nate gave us tonight. I’m really proud of him.”

Johnson explained why Ackenhausen got the nod to start

Johnson detailed why he opted for Ackenhausen as the starter in a win or go home game.

“Trust in the competitor,” Johnson said. “This is a big deal, if you haven’t been here before. I think our team’s handled it great, honestly. And I knew he would handle it well. I knew he would throw strikes. 

“Saw some things in the matchup that I liked. Saw some things in previous games here just throughout the tournament that I liked that I thought he could be effective. The thought really was three innings, 60 pitches, my initial target was 12 hitters. And he obviously accomplished a lot more than that.”