After 7-hour weather delay, LSU routs Kentucky baseball to open NCAA super regionals 2023
BATON ROUGE, La. — All afternoon and into the night Saturday, uncertainty hung over the opening game of Kentucky's NCAA super regional against LSU. Whether they actually would play was in doubt, as weather pushed back the start time three times — from 3 p.m. ET to 8:06 p.m., then to 9:06 p.m.
Finally, at 10:06 p.m., UK centerfielder Jackson Gray stepped into the batter's box as LSU superstar pitcher Paul Skenes toed the rubber.
Mercifully, the pregame drama was over.
The game itself was devoid of it.
The Wildcats dropped a lopsided 14-0 game that ended after midnight eastern at Alex Box Stadium, putting the visitors in a 1-0 hole in the best-of-three series and requiring a victory Sunday evening to force a winner-take-all matchup Monday to make the College World Series.
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"Give LSU a lot of credit," Kentucky coach Nick Mingione said. "They did a lot of things good: They pitched at a high level, they defended at high level and obviously they swung the bats at a high level.
"And we didn't. That's the reason why the outcome was the way it was."
The Wildcats had no answers at the plate for Skenes, while the Tigers shelled UK's hurlers.
While Lee struggled immensely — he went four innings, giving up five home runs before he was lifted with no outs in the bottom of the fifth — his counterpart shined. Skenes, one of the nation's top hurlers who might be the first pitcher selected in this year's MLB draft, went 7 2/3 innings and allowed no runs on four hits (only one of the extra-base variety). He notched nine strikeouts (of 27 batters faced) and issued just one walk.
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It was a far cry from his previous outing against Kentucky (40-20), which came almost two months ago. Though the Tigers (47-15) won that game via run-rule, 16-6 in eight innings at home April 13, the Wildcats had more success against him than any opponent this year; his five runs (four earned) remain a season high.
The Wildcats didn’t come close to matching that performance Saturday. UK never threatened to score Saturday, only advancing past second base one time.
Conversely, the Tigers’ offense went to town against the Wildcats’ pitching. LSU finished with 15 hits and six homers, tagging Lee’s replacement, Christian Howe, in the bottom of the sixth: a mammoth blast from Tommy White that cleared the nearly 40-foot-high video board in left field and sailed out of the park.
Game 2 is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch, with the tilt airing nationally on ESPN2.
What Kentucky, LSU coaches had to say about seven-hour weather delay
When the first delay came Saturday afternoon, there was nary a dark cloud in the sky. But the start time was put on hold because of the chance of thunderstorms in the area. That was the same reason cited for the further delays that came after the teams returned to the stadium Saturday night.
During the postseason NCAA make the call on whether to delay a game due to weather.
"I appreciate being communicated to in the fashion we were by the people from the NCAA," LSU coach Jay Johnson said. "I appreciate having the opportunity to listen to an expert with the (National) Weather (Service). And I'm very comfortable with how the process played out."
Mingione said he had no issues with the way the delays were communicated to him. And he vowed they didn't affect the contest's outcome.
"Weather is going to be what it is and we're going to trust whoever makes the calls and we're going to live with this," he said. "We're not going to point any fingers or make any excuses."
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: LSU baseball blows out Kentucky to begin NCAA super regionals 2023
