GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Before this season, LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson said he wanted his team to be able to win any type of game.
The No. 5 Tigers are 15-0 in games in which they scored double-figure runs. All but one of those were blowouts. In eight other wins, LSU scored an average of 7.5 runs and won by two or more in seven of those.
LSU has also won a pair one-run games, including the lowest scoring game of the season late Friday night with a 2-1 victory over Mississippi State in front of about 5,000 by game’s end after midnight at Alex Box Stadium. The start of the game was delayed from 6:30 p.m. to 9:06 p.m. because of rain and lightning.
The Tigers (25-3, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) used yet another way to win the series opener on Thursday, coming from behind to beat State, 8-6, after trailing 6-2 in the fifth. So LSU can sweep its second series in the SEC on Saturday in a 6 p.m. game that was moved in the wee hours Saturday from a 2 p.m. start because of expected bad weather.
Sophomore right-hander Chase Shores (4-1, 4.88 ERA) will start for the Tigers after a rough, four-inning outing last week at Texas. State will go with senior right-hander Karson Ligon (2-3, 4.76 ERA).
“That’s a great win,” Johnson said of the rare pitching-duel victory so far this season. “Considering the pitcher, the opponent, the difficulty of game. That was a good one.”
Catcher Luis Hernandez hit the game-winning home run down the left field line with one out in the fifth for the 2-1 lead off State right-handed starter and ace Pico Kohn. Hernandez’ fourth home run was just the fourth hit off Kohn, who allowed the two runs on five hits in five innings with no walks and eight strikeouts to drop to 4-1 on the season.
“You hang a win on a starting pitcher of that caliber, that’s a big win for our team,” Johnson said.
Ethan Frey led off the LSU second inning with his fifth home run of the season for a 1-0 lead off Kohn.
LSU starter Anthony Eyanson (4-0) struck out 12 in five innings and allowed no earned runs around five hits and three walks for the victory. State (16-11, 1-7 SEC) scored an unearned run in the fourth to tie it 1-1 on a passed ball by Hernandez.
“Yeah, you have to win different type of games,” Johnson said. “It’s funny, we had the comeback win on Thursday night. It was 8-6. And after I literally grabbed coach Nate Yeskie (pitching coach) and gave him a hug and said, ‘I don’t care if it’s 8-6 or 2-1. And we’re going to win 2-1 tomorrow.’ And we did. So, that was pretty cool.”
The reason the score at 2-1 through the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth was LSU freshman sensation pitcher Casan Evans, who performed middle relief, set-up for the closer and went ahead and closed to for his team-high fifth save of the season. He threw a career-high 72 pitches.
Evans struck out six in four innings around three walks and two hits, but allowed no runs despite repeatedly getting himself in trouble. He retired the side in the sixth with the tying run on third, struck out Ross Highfill with the bases loaded to end the eighth, and got a line out to deep center by cleanup hitter Noah Sullivan with the tying run on first in the ninth to end the game.
“He’s one of the best pitchers in the country,” Johnson said. “The situations that we’ve put him in – closing out Dallas Baptist, Kansas State – two very good teams – and a very high-leverage situation against Missouri and now this.”
After Eyanson walked Hunter Hines to start the sixth, Evans came on to retire Sawyer Reeves on a grounder to shortstop and struck out Nolan Stevens. Dylan Cupp followed with a single to put runners on the corners. But Evans got a grounder from Gehrig Frei for a force out at second to end the inning.
After a three-up, three-down seventh inning with two strikeouts, Evans walked Noah Sullivan to start the inning before striking out Hines and Michael O’Brien. Stevens singled, and Cupp walked to load the bases, but Evans fanned Highfill for his sixth strikeout to keep his team up 2-1.
In the ninth, Evans got lead-off hitter Gatlin Sanders and Bryce Chance on a fly out and ground out before walking Ace Reese. Then he got Sullivan out – barely – on a liner to the warning track in center field to end the game.
“He really navigated the lineup well,” Johnson said. “He pitched smart. He showed his poise. He showed his talent. And he showed his competitiveness. That was impressive. He has a whole lot of ability with the right makeup and pitch-ability.”
Eyanson and Evans struck out 18 in all.
“I thought his fastball was electric,” Johnson said of Eyanson. “That was the best fastball he’s throwin. I don’t know what the radar gun said (96 at times), but it’s how they were coming out of his hand – very, very crisp. I thought had them in between a lot.”
LSU committed no errors for the second straight game.
“I praised the team for no errors,” Johnson said. “But then I realized they didn’t have to catch the ball very much (nine outs) with the strikeouts.”
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