Unpacking LSU baseball's opening sweep of Western Michigan: Gavin Dugas rakes, Riley Cooper shines

BATON ROUGE - So far, so good.

No. 1 LSU baseball kicked off the 2023 season with a three-game sweep over Western Michigan, winning 10-0 on Friday, 5-3 on Saturday and 9-2 on Sunday.

The Tigers (3-0) showed off their dominance on the mound, surrendering just four extra-base hits to Western Michigan (0-3). LSU starters Paul Skenes, Riley Cooper and Chase Shores combined to allow just one earned run and five hits in 14⅔ innings pitched.

Here are five takeaways from the Tigers' series sweep:

Gavin Dugas' eye procedure worked

Despite not starting on Opening Day, Dugas had a big weekend. The fifth-year senior went 6-for-8 at the plate and hit the Tigers' first home run of the season, a towering shot over the left field stands on Saturday. He then hit a second one on Sunday.

The performance was particularly impressive, considering Dugas underwent surgery on his left eye over the winter. However, he did play well in the final two weeks of scrimmages heading into this weekend.

"To be honest, it's just awesome to be out in the field," Dugas said. "And I could care less about what I do."

Paul Skenes is as advertised, Riley Cooper steps up

Skenes was dominant in his opening start for the Tigers on Friday, blowing away Broncos hitters with a fastball that consistently set in the upper-90s and a slider that consistently kept them off-balance. He finished the day striking out 12 hitters and surrendering just three hits in six innings pitched.

The next day, Cooper was just as dominant. The left-handed pitcher and surprise starter didn't surrender a hit in 5⅓ innings pitched, also striking out seven batters.

Not too shabby.

Brady Neal is the No. 1 catcher

LSU entered the season with a deep room of catchers. The Tigers added three highly touted freshmen while bringing back veterans Alex Milazzo and Hayden Travinski.

But only one of those five, freshman Brady Neal, started all three games for the Tigers against Western Michigan. The former top MLB Draft prospect played well, going 3-for-5 at the plate with a triple. He also did a good job of managing LSU's array of arms behind the plate.

"He's been really comfortable behind the plate," junior pitcher Ty Floyd said. "It's pretty hard to go from catching a guy (Skenes) throwing 98 mph sinkers and stuff to catching a guy that throws 90 mph the next day."

He didn't finish any of the games, as Milazzo finished off all three games. But Neal earning the lion's share of innings as the starter is still notable.

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Ty Floyd, Christian Little impress while Thatcher Hurd stays on the bench

Vanderbilt transfer Christian Little and Floyd came into this season as strong contenders to be weekend starters.

But neither started a game this weekend, instead shining in relief on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Little struck out three batters and didn't give up a run in two innings pitched while Floyd recorded four strikeouts in three innings.

"I felt really good," Floyd said. "I had command of all of my pitches and stuff and I was able to locate those pitches where I wanted to."

However, UCLA transfer Thatcher Hurd, who was also a strong contender for a rotation spot, did not pitch over the weekend. Coach Jay Johnson said after the game on Sunday that he will start against Southern on Tuesday (2 p.m., SEC Network+).

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser and the USA TODAY Sports South Region. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU baseball: Five takeaways as Tigers sweep Western Michigan