What LSU pitcher Zac Cowan said about College World Series performance against Arkansas
Zac Cowan earned the starting spot for LSU baseball on Wednesday with a trip to the College World Series finals on the line. When LSU needed it the most, the right-handed pitcher turned in a stellar outing, and LSU beat Arkansas 6-5.
Through 5.1 innings, Cowan totaled six strikeouts and gave up one run on a solo homer. Of his 84 pitches, 53 went for strikes as he kept a powerful Razorback lineup out of sync. He said he "stuck with the same mindset" from the regular season while "trusting [pitching] coach [Nate] Yeskie."
"Defense made some great plays behind me tonight, and that kind of was the same case I the other game against Arkansas earlier in the year," Cowan said. "Nothing really changed for me. It's just attacking, sticking with the same mindset and trying to compete."
The appearance was Cowan's first in Omaha after allowing a combined eight runs in his last two outings. He returned to midseason form, a time in which his ERA was the SEC's lowest, and powered his team to the College World Series finals.
"It means the world when I have the trust from the coaching staff like I do and the defense behind me," Cowan said. "The second half or last half of the season didn't go as planned but I mean, it's just going out there competing every time I'm out there."
Head coach Jay Johnson said, "This guy was the best reliever in college baseball this year." He recruited Cowan after the latter played two seasons at Wofford and turned the righty into a pivotal part of LSU's success.
"Going into the portal last year, I had no idea I'd end up here, but I mean, I couldn't be more thankful for this guy to be my head coach and for the guys to be around me that I have around me," Cowan said. "I kind of found out last night that I was going to get the ball today."
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