EUGENE. Ore. (AP) — Alek Jacob struck out nine and gave up four hits in a complete game shutout to help No. 2 regional seed Gonzaga beat third-seeded LSU 3-0 in a Eugene Regional opener on Friday night.
Jacob escaped a jam in the fourth inning after giving up a lead-off triple to Dylan Crews and loading the bases, but he got stronger as the game progressed, retiring the last 13 batters he faced. Jacob entered the game with a 1.46 ERA and 47 strikeouts in his last five starts — a run that started with his no-hitter against Pepperdine on April 16.
The performance was an expected hurdle for the Tigers, with Paul Mainieri explaining the difficulties of preparing for Jakob's deceptive, while far from overpowering style.
"He topped out at like 85 mph, the cureveball was really slow," Mainieri said. " ... You try to school your hitters on what they're going to face, but until you get into that batters box it's really hard to mimic what you're going to face."
The Bulldogs (34-17) advanced to face No. 14 overall seed and regional host Oregon on Sunday. The Ducks beat Gonzaga 10-3 in Eugene on May 18, the only time the teams faced each other during the season.
LSU starter Landon Marceaux battled through 5 and 2/3 innings but was pulled shortly after topping 100 pitches and working out of multiple jams with timely double plays. The right-hander allowed 7 hits, 3 walks and 3 earned runs with three strikeouts.
"[Marceaux] pitched his heart out," Mainieri said, "as he always does."
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The Tigers (34-23) had their first opening game loss in an NCAA regional in 36 years and will face No. 4 seed Central Connecticut Saturday in a loser-out game. It could be the last game for LSU coach Paul Mainieri, who announced last week he would retire after a combined 39 seasons at St. Thomas, Air Force, Notre Dame and LSU. Mainieri’s 1,501 career wins are most by an active coach and seventh all-time.
The result also creates a technical challenge for LSU as it faces an elimination game on Saturday with a quick turnaround heading into the 3 p.m. (central) first pitch. The Tigers are set for an 8 a.m. COVID test and 10 a.m. batting practice before the game against the Blue Devils, who faced Oregon earlier in the day on Friday.
"We've got a tough task tomorrow," he said. "We don't want to sit around and feel sorry for ourselves."
AUDACY/WWL RADIO SPORTS PRODUCER JEFF NOWAK CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT
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