LSU hurler delivers historic 17-K performance at College World Series
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For a starting pitcher to make it through eight innings, they need to record 24 outs. That¡¯s no easy feat considering opposing batters will see the pitcher's arsenal a minimum of three times, some even four.
On Saturday night, in Game 1 of the Men¡¯s College World Series Championship Series, LSU's Ty Floyd didn¡¯t just go eight innings, he fanned a whopping 17 batters while doing it.
Think about that for a second -- of the 24 outs that Floyd recorded, 17 were strikeouts.
The 17-K performance is a school record for LSU at the MCWS and ties Ed Bane for the all-time MCWS strikeout mark for an outing in nine innings or under. Bane completed the feat in 1972 while playing at Arizona State.
Currently ranked as MLB¡¯s No. 87 Draft prospect per MLB Pipeline, the right-handed hurler finished with a dominant eight innings pitched, allowing three runs on five hits with one walk. When Floyd exited the contest, the game was all locked up at three, but a long ball from LSU slugger Cade Beloso in the 10th secured a 4-3 win for the Tigers.
¡°I mean that was unbelievable what Ty Floyd just did, that¡¯s going to be talked about for years to come,¡± Beloso said on ESPN postgame. ¡°Ty Floyd is unbelievable. One of the greatest humans in the world, and he happens to be damn good at baseball too.¡±
Floyd¡¯s pitch arsenal features a fastball, curveball, slider and changeup, with the heater being his highest-ranked pitch. The ball was jumping out of Floyd¡¯s hand all night, as he sat around 95-96 mph with the fastball; of the 17 batters that whiffed, 13 were on the gas.
The 21-year-old also struck out double-digit batters in his start on Monday against Wake Forest, the tournament's top seed. In five innings of work, he got the Demon Deacon hitters to fan 10 times, allowing two runs on two hits and four walks.
As a part of an LSU pitching staff that had the most strikeouts in the SEC this season, Floyd ranks second on the team -- behind No. 2 Draft prospect Paul Skenes -- with 120 K¡¯s on the season.
The Tigers have one win between them and a National Championship, and Floyd has certainly done his part to help them get there.