New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - Rabalais: Aces dealt donuts, but Aaron Nola’s were sweeter

It was National Doughnut Day on Friday, no more fitting a spot in the workweek to watch LSU’s Aaron Nola and Oklahoma’s Jonathan Gray deal empty round ovals at each other in Game 1 of the Baton Rouge Super Regional.

The Willow Run factory outside Detroit used to roll out B-24 bombers every 55 minutes during World War II. Watching Nola, the Tigers’ willowy right-hander, and Gray, the Sooners’ beefy hurler who went third in Thursday’s draft to the Colorado Rockies, chainsaw their way through the lineup inning after inning at Alex Box Stadium had that same assembly-line feel.

Nola and Gray mixed tough fastballs with wicked sliders, keeping batters from both teams teetering in their boxes.

Mmmmm, doughnuts. In boxes.

Sorry. I digress.

Gray was the more overpowering of the dynamic duo. The mesmerizing choreography of the LSU grounds crew strutting their, ahem, stuff out near second base after the fifth inning was as close as anyone in LSU colors got to second through the first seven frames.

“Best I’ve seen since Ben McDonald,” former LSU coach Skip Bertman said as he visited the press box in the seventh hunting for a pitch count.

Ben McDonald? Gray looked like the best athlete to touch down on LSU’s campus since Dennis Quaid played Gavin Grey in “Everybody’s All-American.”

It was a titanic struggle, like watching a heavyweight bout with baseball gloves instead of boxing gloves.

“It was everything everyone expected it to be,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. “As good a pitching matchup as you’ll see in college baseball.”

Read more: Rabalais: Aces dealt donuts, but Aaron Nola

One hell of a match up last night. I don't know if any of you guys watch pro ball but Nola pitches exactly like James Shields. Eades, you're up mister second round draft pick... let's finish this thing today.

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