LSU Baseball fought tooth and nail to come out victorious against the struggling Mississippi State Bulldogs in a tightly-contested, pitcher-dominant matchup by a final score of 2-1.
Following a weather delay that lasted just over two and a half hours, the Tigers and Bulldogs eventually faced off under the lights of Alex Box Stadium.
Thousands of the purple and gold faithful who persevered in the inclement weather remained captivated, watching the left-field scoreboard as LSU Women’s Basketball emerged victorious against the NC State Wolfpack and advanced to the Elite Eight.
Coming into this matchup, Mississippi State senior left-handed starting pitcher Pico John recorded 10 strikeouts in a victory against the then No. 10-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.
Most notably, eight of these strikeouts were captured consecutively, spanning from the first out of the third inning to two outs secured in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Facing off against the top of the order in the bottom of the first inning, both Tigers’ first baseman Jared Jones and second baseman Daniel Dickinson fell victim by striking out swinging.
However, the Tigers would be the first team to get on the scoreboard.
Leading off the bottom of the second inning, DH Ethan Frey demolished a 1-1 pitch that was caught by a fan in the last row of the left field bleachers.
Behind Frey’s fifth home run of the season, the Tigers managed to pull ahead by a singular run.
However, Mississippi State SP Pico John gathered his bearings and struck out the next three batters all swinging to end the inning.
In the top of the third inning, Bulldog SS Dylan Cupp led off the inning with a double that landed in the left-center field gap.
Despite this potential threat, LSU Starting Pitcher Ethan Eyanson picked up a pair of swinging strikeouts and closed the door on this scoring opportunity.
On the other hand, the next inning proved to be a more difficult challenge for Eyanson.
Following a leadoff single off the bat of 3B Ace Reese, DH Noah Sullivan drew a walk on a full-count pitch.
With two baserunners on, 1B Hunter Hines blasted a single into left field and the Mississippi State Bulldogs had the bases loaded with no outs recorded in the inning.
Promptly, the Tigers called for a mound visit.
After this meeting, LF Reed Stallman approached the plate, and the Bulldogs scored their first run of the game on a passed ball by catcher Luis Hernandez.
Additionally, two baserunners remained in scoring position with no outs still in the inning.
Battling to make the count full, RF Reed Stallman would strike out swinging.
Managing to secure the second out of the inning, Eyanson seemed to gain much-needed confidence following up this at-bat with another swinging strikeout from RF Nolan Stevens.
With two base runners in scoring position and two outs in the inning, SS Dylan Cupp was the recipient of a controversial call.
Running out of the dugout, LSU Baseball Head Coach Jay Johnson was adamant and screaming at the home plate umpire. This resulted in a pitch clock violation being called, which abruptly ended the Bulldogs’ inning.
Flabbergasted by this development, Mississippi State Head Coach Chris Lemonis tried to plead his case to the home plate umpire, but his displeasure seemed to fall to no avail.
In the top of the fifth inning. Eyanson found himself in trouble once again due to having baserunners on the corners and only one out secured.
Navigating these murky waters, the UC San Diego transfer struck out back-to-back batters and brought the inning to a close.
Eyanson delivered an impressive performance, finishing with a stat line of 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 3 BB, and 12 strikeouts on 103 total pitches thrown.
With one out in the bottom of the fifth inning, catcher Luis Hernandez boasted a favorable count (2-0) and looked to bring the Tigers’ bats alive once again.
On the following pitch, Hernandez connected and launched a solo home run down the left field line, just sneaking inside the foul pole and allowing the Tigers to regain the lead once again.
Mississippi State starting pitcher Pico John finished the inning, and his commendable final state line would be 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 0 BB, and eight strikeouts with 93 total pitches thrown.
And the purple and gold wouldn’t look back.
Coming on in relief at the top of the sixth inning, freshman RHP Casan Evans looked to prevent an impending threat with baserunners on the corners and two outs in the inning.
Pinch hitter Gehrig Frei swung on the first pitch of the at-bat and grounded out to shortstop.
Mississippi State’s last significant opportunity to tie the ballgame occurred in the top of the eighth inning.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the inning, Evans would strikeout catcher Ross Highfill.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs would finish 2-14 with runners in scoring position (.143 average) and left an abysmal 12 runners on base.
Casan Evans’ final state line would be 4.0 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, and six strikeouts with 72 total pitches thrown.
By a final score of 2-1, the LSU Tigers squeaked by and notched yet another conference series win.
No. 8-ranked LSU Baseball is returning to its regularly scheduled programming after a challenging road stretch that included the Tigers’ first back-to-back losses of the season against the No. 7-ranked Texas Longhorns.
The LSU Tigers look to complete the three-game sweep against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
These teams will face off in the series finale tomorrow, Saturday, March 29. The first pitch will take place no earlier than 5 p.m. CST, as Head Coach Jay Johnson reported following tonight’s game (due to such a delayed start time).
