LSU Athletics
By Hunt Palmer
It was a low leverage spot.
LSU trailed 10-4 on the road at Vanderbilt in the conference opener, and Jay Johnson called on Zac Cowan. As a junior, the right-hander pitched in the highest leverage spots LSU found itself in. He saved six games, five against SEC opponents. He drew the starting assignment in the regional elimination game against Little Rock and the bracket final versus Arkansas in the College World Series.
“He was exceptional last year,” Johnson said Saturday. “It’s the reason we have a national championship. Zac Cowan is a top five reason that actually happened.”
In his first four innings of 2026, Cowan allowed six earned runs on 12 hits. Milwaukee, Nicholls, McNeese and Northeastern battered him like a pinata. So, with the Commodores in complete control, Johnson wasn’t going to burn his trusted early season relievers.
Cowan got the call.
He stifled Vanderbilt for 3.1 shutout frames with five punchouts and no walks. Something clicked, and it’s continued. In his three SEC outings including Saturday’s sparkling effort against Kentucky, Cowan has pitched 9.1 scoreless innings allowing two hits and one walk with 13 strikeouts.
The 2025 version of the Tiger stopper is back.
“That three weeks in a row that he’s come in, and I think he pitched better (Saturday) than he has at any point here,” Johnson said. “And that saying a lot. I’m proud of him for that.”
Cowan needed six pitches to strike out the first two hitters he saw. After retiring the side in order in the seventh, Cowan faced a little bit of hot water in the eighth as a walk and a single put two Wildcats aboard. He struck out the next two he faced.
Kentucky prides itself on its ability to make contact. Electric starter William Schmidt only struck out three in his 5.1 innings. Cowan had no such issues, striking out seven of the 13 he faced.
“That’s the stuff he’s got,” Schimdt said. “When he’s on, he’s on. He’s really hard to hit.”
The resilience Cowan has shown can be an example to an entire roster that has had its share of issues over the last month. The Tiger offense and defense have slumped at times while LSU has dropped three straight series.
Johnson told his team to look at Cowan.
“It would have been real easy to say, ‘hey, I got my national championship, it’s not my year,” the coach said. “Things aren’t going my way.’ He went the opposite direction. so, I told the team after the game, if you’re young player struggling and looking how to get to the other side of it, that’s the blueprint.”
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