Nate Ackenhausen, in 1st LSU start, leads win vs. Vols at MCWS - ESPN

OMAHA, Neb. — Nate Ackenhausen pitched six innings in his first start for LSU and combined with Riley Cooper for the Tigers' nation-leading 11th shutout of the season in a 5-0 victory over Tennessee in the Men's College World Series on Tuesday night.

LSU (50-16) beat its Southeastern Conference rival for the fourth time in five meetings and will play No. 1 national seed Wake Forest on Wednesday night. The Tigers would have to beat the Demon Deacons in that game and again Thursday to reach the MCWS finals.

Tennessee (44-22) was eliminated after it failed to score for the first time in 133 games since a 6-0 loss to Virginia in the 2021 MCWS.

Ackenhausen came into the game having logged just 22⅓ innings over 15 relief appearances. He had not gone more than 3⅔ innings since he was a starter for Eastern Oklahoma State last year.

LSU's third starter has been fluid most of the season, and coach Jay Johnson told ESPN before the game that he played a hunch and went with Ackenhausen over Riley Cooper because the Tigers were 13-2 in games in which he appeared.

The 6-foot-2, 240-pound left-hander ended up outdueling Drew Beam, a projected high pick in the 2024 draft who was coming off strong starts in regionals and super regionals.

More important, Ackenhausen's extended outing allowed Johnson to keep his bullpen fresh for Wake Forest.

The Tigers scored single runs in the first and sixth innings and another in the eighth when Tennessee relievers hit three batters and Tre' Morgan came home on a wild pitch. Dylan Crews' two-run homer in the ninth put the game away.

Beam, who left with two outs in the sixth, allowed six hits, walked two and struck out nine.

Ackenhausen had allowed four hits, walked none and struck out seven when he left