Tight end Cole Kmet helps Notre Dame baseball team finish off No. 9 LSU, 10-5

Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet was part of a fizzled trick play six weeks ago when the Irish football team topped LSU 21-17 in the Citrus Bowl.

His collegiate baseball debut against the same school Saturday was hardly a gimmick and was much more memorable.

The freshman left-handed pitcher hurled the final four innings of 10-5 Irish upset of former ND coach Paul Mainieri and his ninth-ranked Tigers (1-1) in Baton Rouge, La.

Kmet earned the save, yielding one hit and two walks, while striking out three and not allowing a run. He fanned LSU clean-up hitter Zach Watson to end the game.

“Cole was outstanding," Irish coach Mik Aoki said. "He’s a kid who is just a winner. He goes out there, competes, and I thought he was making pitches when he needed to.

"He fell behind a couple of times but came back. That was a huge pick-me-up from Cole.”

Nick Podkul and Niko Kavadas drove in three runs each for the Irish (1-1). Eric Gigenbach added a two-run homer. The final game of the three-game series is set for Sunday at noon EST.