Maybe Paul Skenes will still get  another chance to pitch in the College World Series.

Also, perhaps the Tigers biggest offensive star will eventually get a chance to … wait, sorry — welcome to the party Dylan Crews.

Crews, the likely No. 1 pick in the upcoming Major League draft managed to steal the headlines in the end of LSU’s 5-0 must-win against Tennessee Tuesday.

But that’s not where or how  the Tigers stayed alive in Omaha.

Far lesser known players already had things under control.

It was just padding when Crews broke out of a lackluster CWS with a 2-run homer in the top of the ninth to give LSU more than enough cushion.

Good for him.

The heavy lifting, however, the real stars of the night, came from some guys who likely won’t see Major League money.

In fact, the Tigers are alive and still kicking because of a pair of hefty lefties who looked to be on loan from an Omaha beer belly softball league.

Meet Nate Ackenhausen and his chubby buddy, Riley Cooper.

But it’s one of the CWS grand traditions.

And if you’re in the desperate straits that LSU was in, with scant room for error and no room for a loss, it’s a tried and true formula.

A relative unknown (or three) has to  step up.

Backs against the wall facing elimination? Who you going to call on?

Better check the LSU  roster. The deep part.

And maybe you have to change tactics, play out of character.

Forget what you got you to Omaha. Dance with whatever will keep you playing.

LSU needed some unrecognizable offense before Crews capped things with the familiar home run.

But make no mistake about it.

The star of this game was  Ackenhausen, who drew the short straw to take the mound for what was advertised as one of those Johnny Wholestaff pitching situations, aka, Hope & Prayer.

Head coach Jay  Johnson had said he had nine available pitchers to piece things together.

He needed only two, leaving him a lot more options when the Tigers try to do it again Wednesday night against No. 1 seed Wake Forest.

Tuesday Johnson found an unexpected Ace for a Night in Ackenhausen, who’s last baseball start was in junior college for Eastern Oklahoma State. LSU likely was hoping for, at most, three or maybe four innings from Ackenhausen, hoping he could just keep it close before dipping into the shaky bullpen.

Instead … wow … where did that come from?

LSU got the best six-plus innings of Ackenhausen’s life as he blanked the Vols on four hits before turning it over to Cooper to complete only the the second shut out in the Tigers’ long CWS history.

Cooper was known as an “inning eater” for the Tigers, a nice way of saying he’s fairly reliable, but he ate up the final three.

The Tigers might have set a CWS record for total tonnage on the mound at Charles Schwab Field with the portly  combination.

But it will go down as one of LSU’s best pitching performances ever in Omaha.

Casual fans couldn’t have picked out either of them if they sat down at the dinner table or bought jelloshots at Rocco’s across the street from the festitivities.

The offense wasn’t exactly traditional LSU either.

Nice of Crews to take the pressure off late. His homer was the only one at Charles Schwab Field in the last two day’s four games as the trade winds turned in.

The long ball has often been about the only way LSU could score this season.

But LSU played small ball to scatch out the runs that counted.

It got really nutty when the Tigers, who bunt only with severe risk to players and fans alike, got the key offensive play with a perfect … bunt. Milking the gag, it came, of course, from the cleanup hitter, Gavin Dugas (after the athletic Jordan Thompson twice popped out trying the strange tactic). But Dugas’ drag bunt, which scored Tre’ Morgan from second after while throw, seemed to deflate Tennessee and turn all the momentum the Tigers’ way.

Maybe the Nebraska trade winds will shift in the coming days and LSU can get back to their Gorilla bashing ways.

But it was encouraging to see them able to go to Plan B for a change.

There’s lots of work still to be done. It’s still a decided longshot with the Tigers needed two more victories in the next two nights in rematches with Wake Forest.

But patch something together tonight against the Demon Deacons and it would surprise no one if they have Skenes available for a second game on Thursday.