LSU baseball advanced to the College World Series by sweeping the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Tigers took on the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday night to begin their championship run in Omaha. LSU took advantage of some early pitching errors and held on late to move into the winner’s bracket by taking down Arkansas 4-1.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
LSU was the visiting team in this matchup and moved to defense fast. Josh Pearson was the leadoff hitter for the Tigers, and he grounded out, Ethan Frey flew out, and Jared Jones swung and missed for the three-up-three-down start to the game.
Kade Anderson was the starting pitcher for the Bayou Bengals, and he had a strong start, not giving up a hit until the fourth inning. Anderson also didn’t record his first strikeout until the second when he faced Cam Kozeal.
The top of the second inning, though, was when the first runs of the game were scored. Starting left-handed pitcher Zach Root continued his strong start by punching out Steven Milam, but it was downhill from there for the junior out of Fort Myers, Florida. Root walked Luis Hernandez and Duriel, then Daniel Dickinson laid down a bunt near the third base line that loaded the bases.
Chris Stanfield drove in the first run with a base hit into left field, and Michael Braswell was hit by a pitch that scored another run for the Tigers. LSU would then go up 3-0 as Pearson hit into a groundout fielder’s choice that scored Dickinson. Root’s day was done after that, and he was replaced by Gabe Gaeckle. Gaeckle sent it to the middle of the second by forcing Frey into a groundout to third.
LSU’s offense began to cool off after that, recording just two hits over the next four innings. Those two hits were from Hernandez in the third and Milam in the fifth. In that span, Gaeckle struck out six Tiger batters to keep the Razorbacks within striking range. Anderson, however, stayed strong through the first five innings. Things altered a little at the bottom of the sixth when Reese Robinett hit a solo home run over the right field wall to cut LSU’s lead down to two. Anderson responded by striking out two more batters and took the game to the next inning.
Gaeckle was on the mound until the eighth. He struck out Jones, but Milam responded with a double into right field. Logan Maxwell had trouble fielding the ball on the play. Hernandez made contact on the next at-bat, but the issue was that the baseball didn’t leave the batter’s box, and he was the second out. Arkansas skipper Dave Van Horn then made his second pitching change of the night, switching out Gaeckle for Cole Gibler, who gave up an RBI single to the first batter he faced, Curiel. Milam scored on the play after Gibler cut off the throw from the outfield. That run gave the Tigers the three-run advantage.
Coach Jay Johnson kept Anderson in one batter too long as he allowed a leadoff single to Kozeal to begin the bottom of the eighth. Johnson then made the change to Chase Shores.
It wasn’t the prettiest start for Shores as his first pitch was a wild one that led to Kozeal advancing to second. The redshirt sophomore then locked in, striking out back-to-back Razorback batters and forcing Justin Thomas Jr to fly out into center field to end the inning.
The Tigers couldn’t generate any offense in the ninth with Stanfield and Braswell both striking out to open the frame. Pearson walked, and Coach Van Horn decided to make another change on the mound, this time to Christian Foutch. Coach Johnson, before the at-bat, called up Jake Brown to pinch-hit for Frey. Brown was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second. Jones couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity to extend LSU’s lead as he swung and missed for out number three.
In their final chance at a comeback, Arkansas had to face Casan Evans, who was the closing pitcher for the Tigers. Charles Davalan got the early knock on Evans, but he soon settled in, striking out the SEC Player of the Year, Wehiwa Aloy, and then forcing Maxwell and Ryder Helbrick into groundouts. Those final outs secured LSU the 4-1 win that elevated them into the winner’s bracket.
BIG NUMBER: 3
The Tigers previously played the Razorbacks three times in the regular season. In that series, LSU won two of those games, and on Saturday, the Bayou Bengals earned their third of the season against Dave Van Horn’s group. Also, the three-run second inning for LSU was the difference in the game.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kade Anderson
The first of two ace pitchers for LSU gave the Tigers a strong performance on the mound. In seven innings, Anderson struck out seven batters, allowed three hits, walked two batters, and one hit as LSU beat Arkansas 4-1 on Saturday.
UP NEXT: The LSU Tigers will face the UCLA Bruins, the other winner in their bracket. First pitch from Charles Schwab Field is set for 6:00 p.m. on Monday, June 16th, and the action can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles.