LSU fueled by strong performance from freshman pitcher Cole Henry
If you asked coach Paul Mainieri six weeks ago who would be pitching in the winner’s bracket of a regional, his answer would’ve been clear and without hesitation.
On Saturday night, the country found out why as freshman Cole Henry delivered a five inning, one hit gem that propelled LSU to an 8-4 win over Southern Miss to put the Tigers in the driver’s seat of the Baton Rouge regional.
“I thought Cole Henry clearly showed why, in my opinion he’s going to be one of the best pitcher’s in the entire country,” Mainieri said. “This kid hasn’t pitched in an entire month and went out there tonight and pitched like a seasoned veteran and dominated the game for five innings.”
The early innings were a pitching duel between the freshman Henry and Southern Miss ace Walker Powell, who came into the weekend with a 2.68 ERA. The plan coming into the game was for Henry to go no longer than five innings as he was still gaining endurance after missing over a month with arm soreness.
Henry came out throwing rockets at the Southern Miss hitters, never touching below 94 mph on his fastball, reaching as high as 97, which recorded his first of six strikeouts for the game. The question very quickly became which pitcher would blink first and freshman Cade Beloso made sure it wasn’t Henry.
Beloso took an inside fastball to deep right field in the second inning, nearly hitting the infamous “Intimidator” as it cratered down to Earth. The solo homer was the only run the Tiger offense could muster in the first five innings as double plays in both the first and third innings limited the potential damage LSU could’ve done.
LSU was able to consistently attack Powell, putting runners in scoring position for the third time in four innings with Zach Watson at the plate. But for the third time in four innings, the threat ended with an inning-ending double play that kept the score at a 1-0 Tiger lead.
The Tigers ran Powell out of the game in the sixth inning in route to a three run inning to blow the game open. A leadoff double from Brandt Broussard would end Powell’s day allowing seven hits and two runs.
Henry on the other hand continued to dominate, despite having trouble with his command in the second inning where he walked two batters. The freshman allowed just one hit over four innings while striking out five batters, blowing them away with 95 and 96 mph fastballs.
“I think towards the end of my outing I was able to locate my curveball,” Henry said. “Over the week I really worked on it and it’s back.”
The pinnacle moment for the freshman came in the fifth inning, after allowing a two out double followed by a walk that left Mainieri in a bind. The 13th year head coach trotted out to the mound to have a talk with his pitcher, who made his case to stay in the game for one final out.
“I don’t think he was going to take me out, he just asked how I was feeling,” Henry said. “I’m not coming out of that game, never. Even if he wanted to I wouldn’t have let him take me out. He walked out there and calmed me down and said we need this next out and I did that.”
“I didn’t want to take him out of the game,” Mainieri confirmed. “I went out there to tell him that I believed in him and that he just needed to focus and let’s get this last hitter out. This kid has a bright future and I thought he just pitched fantastic.”
Henry delivered with an inning-ending popfly to second baseman Brandt Broussard, walking off to a standing ovation from the electric Alex Box crowds and into the fired up arms of his teammates in the dugout.
Relief pitcher Zack Hess said getting Henry back in the rotation has been a huge boost for the staff overall and that he’s proving to be LSU’s ace in every outing.
“He goes out there after not pitching for a month in a game and pitches like the best pitcher in the SEC,” Hess said. “I think the character of this team has stayed true all season and I think what you’re seeing now is guys starting to fulfill their potential.”
Sure the game was subsequently tied before LSU gathered its footing to make for another classic finish at the Box, but it was Henry’s performance that juiced the crowds and teammates alike. Henry was in the dugout watching as Southern Miss loaded the bases and ultimately hit the game tying grand slam, but that didn’t deter the freshman one bit knowing the culture of this team.
“I don’t think we ever wavered and I think everybody on the whole team knows we’re not going to go down without a fight,” Henry said. “We had trust in our hitters and me as a starter, I have 100% belief that the person is going to be able to get it done after me.”