Freshman Nadeau Claims 12-0 Victory Over Vanderbilt in Elite Competition
Vanderbilt freshman pitcher Wyatt Nadeau struck out 10 in seven innings in an 11-3 win over LSU in Game 2 of their series.
Things had gone badly enough for Vanderbilt baseball's pitching early in the season that it needed to win its SEC opener March 13 over LSU by a score of 13-12. With multiple pitchers on the shelf, including usual Saturday starter Austin Nye, the Commodores (12-7, 2-0 SEC) turned to freshman Wyatt Nadeau in his second career start hoping to win the series against the Tigers. Nadeau exceeded all expectations March 14, giving up three runs in seven innings with two walks and 10 strikeouts in Vanderbilt's 11-3 win over LSU (12-7, 0-2) at Hawkins Field.
"They've got a really good lineup," Nadeau said. "I trust my stuff. I've got confidence in me, and I just felt like I attacked and the results speak for themselves.
" Things went well for Nadeau from the jump as he struck out LSU's top of the order of Steven Milam, Jake Brown and Derek Curiel. He was perfect through his first three innings, but struggled to get through the top of the lineup a second time, giving up a run off a double, two walks and a throwing error in the fourth. He got through the lineup a third time.
Brown has just 11 strikeouts this season, and Nadeau got two of them. Coach Tim Corbin noticed another thing: that Nadeau held his velocity throughout the outing, hitting 97 mph with his fastball on his final pitch of the seventh inning. "He was more efficient early, he had the eight-pitch second inning," Corbin said.