By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
OMAHA, Neb. – The score after three innings in Monday’s College World Series winners bracket game:
LSU 5, UCLA 3, Mother Nature 1.
The threat of lightning strikes that stopped play, followed by torrential rainstorms, finally forced NCAA officials to schedule the game restart at 10:03 this morning.
If LSU loses to UCLA, it will have to play Arkansas again in an elimination game at 6 p.m. tonight. Razorbacks’ pitcher Gage Wood threw a 19-strikeout no-hitter in a 3-0 win earlier Monday to eliminate Murray State.
The No. 6 national seed Tigers were about to head back to the field in the top of the fourth after scoring their fifth run on catcher Luis Hernandez’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the third when play was stopped.
Both starting pitchers – LSU’s Anthony Eyanson and UCLA’s Landon Stump – got shelled in the first inning. But Eyanson was still in the game when it was stopped while Stump was pulled after issuing consecutive walks to Tigers’ designated hitter Ethan Frey and shortstop Steven Milam to open the bottom of the third.
No. 15 national seed UCLA took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first, and the ball left the LSU infield just twice.
Eyanson gave up an infield single to UCLA left fielder Dean West, a one-out single to Mulivai Lai, an RBI double to third baseman Roman Martin, an infield single to right fielder AJ Salgado, and an RBI ground out by center fielder Peyton Dugger.
LSU answered in the bottom of the first. The Tigers ripped four straight one-out hits off Stump. Frey and shortstop Milam singled, followed by right fielder Jake Brown’s RBI single.
LSU first baseman Jared Jones, who struck out five times in the Tigers’ 4-1 CWS opening win vs. Arkansas on Saturday, belted Stump’s 1-0 pitch just over the right field fence for a three-run homer and a 4-3 LSU lead.
As in the case this season with Eyanson, he settled after his shaky start. He retired the next six of seven batters, throwing just 11 pitches in the second inning and 10 in the third.
His pitch count was 42 pitches, setting him up for likely at least seven innings, which fit perfectly until LSU head coach Jay Johnson’s plans of using a minimal number of relievers to have plenty of arms available for the rest of the tourney.
Now, while Eyanson’s relatively low pitch count will allow Johnson to bring him back sooner if the Tigers keep winning, Johnson has to re-arrange his pitching plan for today’s resumption.
He has everybody on his staff available, except for Kade Anderson (who threw seven innings) against Arkansas and Eyanson. Even relievers Chase Shores and Casan Evans, who threw 10 and 13 pitches respectively against the Razorbacks, are good-to-go.
Johnson’s dilemma is deciding what quality pitchers he can save vs. taking care of UCLA and advancing to Wednesday when LSU would need only one win to move on to the best two-of-three games in the championship finals starting Saturday.
Monday’s contest is LSU’s 19th game affected by weather this season. The Tigers are 14-3 in such games when resumed and had one canceled vs. Grambling.
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com