Is LSU pitcher Nate Ackenhausen the key to the Tigers run in the CWS? A look at the left-hander's brilliant performance against Vols

Nate Ackenhausen recently fended off the Tennessee Volunteers in an elimination game of the 2023 College World Series.

In the game, Ackenhausen was able to brilliantly throw six dominant shutout innings while allowing just four hits with zero walks and seven strikeouts in the game. He threw 93 pitches with 58 of them going for strikes and lowered his season ERA to 2.86 thus far.

Amid all the hype around Paul Skenes, can Nate Ackenhausen be the X-factor for the LSU Tigers in the College World Series?

How has Nate Ackenhausen been such a great secret for the LSU Tigers this year?

Nate Ackenhausen has been a phenomenal pitcher for the LSU Tigers and is a great southpaw option for the program. His season numbers suggest he is 2-0 with a 2.86 ERA and 31 strikeouts. It has been a while since his last appearance on the mound. He had not pitched since June 5 against the Oregon State Beavers.

However, the Tigers called up him to be the starting pitcher for yesterday's game against the Vols and he did disappoint. That was the first time he was stretched out to more than 40 pitches since May 24. This performance was able to save the rest of the bullpen for the potential two games against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons . They only needed to use Ackenhausen and Riley Cooper to navigate the 27 outs.

The team navigated the majority of the season with just Paul Skenes and Ty Floyd as their two main starting pitchers and rotating through a collective cast of spot starters for the third spot. However, with Ackenhausen showing the ability to dominate in this role, he could carve a spot for himself here.

With Skenes expected to make the jump to the minor leagues after this season, Tigers will need a quality starting pitcher. This performance is definitely going to turn some heads as he has shown to take the workload in stride.

No matter what happens for the remainder of the College World Series, LSU might no longer feel the need to recruit for one of their starting pitching spots.