The way Emerson Hancock’s been pitching, you knew it would take a special effort to out-duel the Georgia sophomore.
Friday night, LSU’s Zack Hess proved he was up to the task, as he and Devin Fontenot combined to blank the Bulldogs 1-0.
“I thought both pitchers were great. Zack Hess was locked, that was as good as I’ve seen him—that was his sixth start, I believe. Hats off to him. He threw the ball really well.”
Although Hess was certainly impressive in scattering eight hits with nine strikeouts, he did his best work when it mattered the most, stranding runners in scoring position in both the seventh and the eighth before giving way to Fontenot, who retired the No. 5 Bulldogs (19-3, 3-1) in order to close out the game.
“We had eight hits, but just couldn’t string them together,” shortstop Cam Shepherd said. “He did a good job changing speeds; we just couldn’t get that one hit we needed.”
Hancock deserved a better fate.
The sophomore didn’t have his control to start the game, issuing walks in each of the first two innings, but recovered to toss a career-best eight, allowing just two hits and two walks to go along with four strikeouts.
“He kind of struggled early, but then settled in,” Stricklin said. “That’s the sign of a really good pitcher when you can find a way, and he battled and competed and then he found a way to lock in. The last three or four innings were the best innings he threw.”
Hess found themselves locked in a 0-0 score before the Tigers scored in the seventh to grab a 1-0 lead.
A leadoff double by Antoine Duplantis got the inning started—snapping a string of 13 straight set down by Hancock—before moving over third on a ground-out by Chris Reid.
With the infield in, Daniel Cabrera lofted a short fly ball that Randon Jernigan appeared to misjudge, resulting in a throw up the first-base line that allowed Duplantis to slide in with the game’s first run.
“The first couple of innings, I really couldn’t throw anything for a strike,” Hancock said. “I thought I settled in a little bit. When guys are making plays behind you, you find a way to settle in. They bailed me out, inning after inning. It was awesome all night long.”
Georgia would have a chance in the inning’s bottom half.
A one-out single by Mason Meadow was followed by a ringing double off the right-field wall by Chaney Rogers. But that was as far as they got.
Hess responded by striking out pinch-hitter C.J. Smith before getting Tucker Maxwell on a groundout to third, ending the inning.
After Hancock set No. 10 LSU (17-5, 4-0) down in the eighth, the Tigers dodged another bullet.
This time, Cam Shepherd led off with a single, then was bunted to second by Riley King, before Aaron Schunk flied out to center bringing up Talley. The senior worked the count to 2-1 before chopping a ball up the middle, that bounced off the glove of Tiger second baseman Hal Hughes. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the ball would roll right to shortstop Josh Smith, who picked it up and fired a strike to catcher Brock Mathis, who made the easy tag to get out of the inning.
“That was the right call. With two outs, a high-hopper up the middle. He (Shepherd) got a good jump. (Hughes) made an all-out dive to keep it on the infield. He did his job, and somehow the ball rolls right to Josh Smith, who comes up and throws a dart to home plate,” Stricklin said. “He did everything right there. Unfortunately, Smith throws it right on the money. If the ball is a little bit offline, we probably score. But with two outs, we’ve got to send him right there.”
NOTES: The Bulldogs were without first baseman Patrick Sullivan, who missed his second straight game due to what’s believed to be a concussion. . . . Sophomore C.J. Smith (2-0, 2.81) will get the start for Georgia in Saturday’s game (2 p.m.) game. He will face freshman righty Cole Henry (1-0, 3.57) of LSU. . . A reminder that today between 10:30-12:30, Georgia will hold its inaugural Foley Fest in the outfield parking lot, featuring live music, interactive games, and more. The event is free.
