LSU’s Cooper delivers brilliant effort to down Broncos

BATON ROUGE, La.- Junior left-hander Riley Cooper recorded 5.1 hitless innings Saturday in his second career LSU start, as the top-ranked Tigers posted a 5-3 win over Western Michigan at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

LSU improved to 2-0 on the year, while Western Michigan dropped to 0-2.

The team ends the series at 12:30 pm. CT Sunday in a game that will be broadcast on affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network and streamed on SEC Network+.

Cooper (1-0) did not allow a hit in 5.1 scoreless innings, and yielded two walks and seven strikeouts while throwing 71 pitches.

“Riley can throw four pitches for strikes,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson, “and when you’re a hitter, that’s a lot to deal with. I don’t think he really took a good swing at him all day, and that’s a credit to his location, movement and speed change.

LSU second baseman Gavin Dugas led off the bottom of the first inning with the Tigers’ first homer of the season, and designated hitter Jared Jones later provided an RBI single to increase the lead to 2-0.

“Gavin is a great player when he’s healthy,” Johnson said, “and it’s great when he’s healthy and sees the ball well. He plays well, his teammates love him, and it’s great that he can see well.”

The Tigers scored for two more runs in the fourth, as rightfielder Paxton Kling smashed a run-scoring triple, and he scored on third baseman Ben Nippolt’s groundout to second base.

WMU narrowed the gap to 4-2 in the sixth as third baseman Gavin Doyle delivered a run-scoring single and first baseman Cade Sullivan contributed an RBI groundout.

LSU left-hander Nate Ackenhausen entered the game in the sixth in relief of Bryce Collins, and he pitched the final 3.1 innings to earn the save. Ackenhausen limited the Broncos to one run on one hit in 3.1 innings with one walk and two strikeouts.

“Nate’s performance was no surprise to us,” Johnson said. “He’s poised, like Riley, and he’s throwing every pitch where he wants to. He’s throwing strikes that are hard to catch, and I’m really proud of his performance today.”

The Tigers added insurance in the eighth when left fielder Brayden Jobert led off the inning with a double, and Josh Stevenson, running for Jobert, then scored on pinch hitter Josh Pearson’s RBI groundout.

Sullivan belted a solo homer in the ninth for the Broncos to account for the final margin