Coming off a five-game winning streak, the LSU Tigers baseball team packed their bags for Norman, Oklahoma, to take on the Sooners in a road SEC series. Kade Anderson started shaky but bounced back fast en route to a career performance as LSU improved to 28-3 and 8-2 in SEC play with the 2-0 win over Oklahoma.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Tigers couldn’t get anything going on offense through the first couple of innings. Derek Curiel and Jared Jones struck out early as Daniel Dickinson fouled out in left field. Jake Brown was the lone Tiger to get on base in the second as he walked while Steven Milam, Ethan Frey, and Luis Hernandez either flew out or grounded out.
Oklahoma threatened to score early. LSU starting pitcher Kade Anderson led off with a strikeout on Jason Walk. Easton Carmichael and Sam Christiansen hit back-to-back singles, and Jaxon Willits walked on a full count to load the bases. Anderson responded by ringing up Kyle Branch and Drew Dickerson to keep the game scoreless.
The second inning was less pressure-filled as he punched out his first two batters faced and then forced Dasan Harris into a groundout, racking up four K’s two innings into the game.
LSU put their first run on the board in the top of the sixth. With two outs, Curiel hit a slicing double into left field. Jones followed that up with an RBI single near the right-field line, scoring Curiel to put the Bayou Bengals ahead 1-0.
Anderson continued to retire Oklahoma batters, striking out four more over the next three innings. Before that, LSU added another run to the board at the top of the fifth. Hernandez doubled out in right center field and advanced to third on a groundout by Tanner Reaves. Chris Stanfield then hit a double down the right field line on an 0-2 count to extend LSU’s lead to two through five innings.
Kyson Witherspoon was Oklahoma’s starting pitcher on Friday and got through the first six innings before getting pulled for James Hitt. Witherspoon finished the game with four strikeouts, six hits, and two earned runs allowed on a pitch count of 100.
Before the pitching change, Hernandez hit a double into left field to put the Tigers in scoring position with no outs. Michael Braswell III pinch hit for Reaves and executed a sacrifice bunt to advance Hernandez to third base with one out on the board. A prime opportunity to score another run was missed with miscommunication as Hernandez was caught in no man’s land and was tagged out. The Sooners escaped the inning without a run allowed when Stanfield whiffed on an 0-2 count.
LSU’s bats went cold over the last couple of innings with Curiel, Jones, and Dickinson all getting rung up in the eighth, and no one else recording a hit in the ninth.
The Tigers held on for dear life to a two-run lead with Anderson still on the mound. Over the final three innings, LSU skipper Jay Johnson decided to keep the sophomore left-handed pitcher on the mound to go for a complete game.
Anderson did just that as he closed the seventh and eighth innings with strikeouts against Harris and Christiansen. Those last two gave Anderson 14 K’s on the night and broke his previous best of 13 strikeouts. In the ninth, all three Sooner batters made contact with the baseball, but Willits popped out, Branch flew out in right field, and Trey Gambill, who pinch hit for Dickerson, hit the ball right to Anderson. The ace made the play to first base and secured the 2-0 victory over Oklahoma. LSU improved to 28-3 and 8-2 in conference play with the win.
BIG NUMBER: 671
It had been 671 days since an LSU pitcher threw a complete game. Paul Skenes did it back on June 2, 2023, against Tulane, when he recorded 12 strikeouts. The Tigers beat the Greenwave that night 7-2.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kade Anderson
Anderson had his best performance on the mound on Friday, throwing a complete game after recording a career-high 14 strikeouts. The Madisonville native allowed no runs to help elevate the Bayou Bengals past the Sooners for the 2-0 win as he threw 135 pitches. Anderson’s previous best in strikeouts was back on March 6, 2024, when he threw 13 against Southeastern in five innings pitched.
UP NEXT: The LSU Tigers baseball team will return tomorrow for game two against the Oklahoma Sooners. First pitch from L. Dale Mitchell Park is set for 6:30, and the action can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles.
