By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – No. 8-ranked LSU got its desired outcome with an SEC baseball series sweep over Mississippi State.
But every night of the Thursday-Friday-Saturday games had its unexpected twists and turns, but the Tigers survived to improve to 26-3 and 7-2 in the SEC after the first three weekends of league play.
Two clutch home runs each in the first two games, combined with a pair of four-inning scoreless relief performances, helped LSU win the Thursday night opener 8-6 and the Friday night rematch 2-1.
In the 17-8 runaway victory in the Saturday series finale, the Tigers pounded 19 hits, with 14 singles.
“We talk about winning different types of games,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said after Game 2. “Last (Thursday) night when it was 8-6, I literally grabbed (pitching coach) Nate Yeskie, gave him a hug and said, `Man, I don’t care if it’s 8-6 or 2-1 and we’re going to win 2-1 tomorrow.”
LSU’s surprising series opener challenge was Tigers’ starting pitcher Kade Anderson imploding for the first time this season.
The sophomore lefty, who entered the series 5-0 with a 2.65 ERA and a 56 to 8 strikeout to walks ratio, was rocked for five runs on six hits.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs built a 6-2 advantage through 4 ½ innings before LSU erased the lead with two swings of the bat on a three-run homer by second baseman Daniel Dickinson and a two-run homer by shortstop Steven Milam.
“We just kept scratching and clawing,” Dickinson said. “We know at some point in the game, it’s going to come.”
The Tigers added an insurance run in the eighth but it needed junior reliever Zac Cowan to shut out MSU in the final four innings. He allowed one hit, issued no walks and struck out seven of the 15 batters he faced
“It’s just about going pitch-by-pitch and executing each time I’m out there,” Cowan said.
The start of Friday’s and Saturday’s games were delayed 3 hours and 6 minutes and 3 hours and 36 minutes waiting for severe thunderstorms to pass.
It certainly tested the patience of LSU starting pitchers Anthony Eyanson (Game 2) and Chase Shores (Game 3) respectively.
Eyanson’s five-inning stint was longer than any Tigers’ starting hurler during the series. He struck out 12, allowed five hits and a run, and was credited with a win after leaving the game with a one-run lead provided by solo homers from designated hitter Ethan Frey and catcher Luis Hernandez.
Then, as Cowan did on Thursday, Tigers’ freshman reliever Zac Evans delivered a four-inning shutout to polish off the Bulldogs.
“We turned it over to Zac, and he just did what he does every time out,” Johnson said. “The guy is a strike machine, and his fastball, slider and change are elite. He tunnels the ball really well, so every pitch looks the same coming out of his hand.”
LSU’s final game explosion at the plate allowed the Tigers to hit. 337 in three games. It’s the best hitting performance to date this year in an SEC series by Johnson’s squad.
Dickinson hit a torrid. 385 against the Bulldogs with a homer, a double and a team-high six RBI. Catcher Luis Hernandez hit .364 with two homers and three RBI.
Here’s a game-by-game recap:
Game 1 — LSU 8, Mississippi State 6: For the first time this season, the Tigers ran into some unexpected tubulance with starter Anderson on the mound in Thursday’s series opener.
MSU battered Anderson for six hits (including two homers) and five runs in 4.1 innings. The Tigers trailed 6-2 heading into the bottom of the fifth when the game flipped dramatically.
After LSU opened its at-bat drawing two straight walks, Dickinson parked a 3-2 fastball in the left field stands for a three-run homer to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 6-5.
Designated hitter Josh Pearson singled and Milam hammered the first pitch he saw for what turned out to be a two-run game-winning homer.
“We were off to a little slow start,” Dickinson said. “The second and third time through the lineup, you get more comfortable as the game goes on.”
LSU reliever Cowan blanked the Bulldogs in the final four innings. He allowed one hit and struck out seven of the 13 batters he faced.
“I’m trusting myself, the people behind me and trusting the coaches as well,” said Cowan, who lowered his ERA to 1.02 while getting his third save in 10 appearances. “The people around me have helped me develop confidence.”
Game 2 — LSU 2, Mississippi State 1: LSU’s Anthony Eyanson hadn’t been great in his two SEC games as the Tigers’ starting pitcher. Two no-decisions in 7.2 innings, allowing 14 hits and six runs.
But in Friday night’s Game 2 vs. the Bulldogs, he delivered in a big way despite the first pitch being delayed just more than 2½ hours because of thunderstorms.
Eyanson held his own against MSU ace Pico Kohn, allowing one run on five hit in five innings while striking out 12 and walking three.
“I just executed the pitches when I really needed to,” said Eyanson, a junior transfer from UC San Diego.
The Tigers got solo homers from designated hitter Ethan Frey to lead off the second inning and Hernandez in the fifth.
LSU reliever Evans, earning his fifth save of the season, shut out the Bulldogs on two hits in the last four innings.
“Gigantic step forward for Anthony this week, and we put some things in place on Monday that I think really helped,” Johnson said. “He went out there and he executed. And I was really proud of how he navigated traffic. His fastball was electric tonight.”
Game 3 — LSU 17, Mississippi State 8: In the series finale that started 3 hours and 36 minutes late on Saturday night, the Tigers took no chances in putting the game in the hands of their remaining relievers.
LSU rang up an eight-run first inning featuring 8 hits by 11 batters en route to a 19-hit performance that helped the Tigers sweep the series.
“That first inning was maybe one of the best offensive innings I’ve ever seen in my entire career,” Johnson said. “Considering the circumstance with the rain delay, the readiness of the team, the ability to get eight runs on the board right away was really impressive.”
All of LSU’s starting position players scored at least one run and had at least three hits. Four Tigers had three hits each and two more had two hits apiece.
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com