Hoover, Ala. — A sea of purple and gold filled the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium as the fresh Tigers took to the field for the first time in the SEC Tournament against the Texas A&M Aggies. This was one of the most electric games so far in Hoover, ending in a 4-3 LSU victory.
LSU ace pitcher Kade Anderson had no problem dealing out the strikes to the Aggies, reminding them there would be some trouble in the Met on Friday night.
“It took our best to win tonight and that is Kade Anderson, best pitcher in the country,” head coach Jay Johnson said. “I’ll even say that he ties for first place with Anthony Eyanson. They are such great players and even better beings.”
In the hitter’s box, the Tigers delivered blows against Aggie starting pitcher Myles Patton, plating two runs in the first inning.
But that was only the beginning. In the bottom of the third, with a 0-2 count, junior designated hitter Ethan Frey took one swing of the bat that sent the ball all the way out of the park for his 12th home run of the season. He sent himself and Dickinson back to the dugout, making the new score 4-0 to end the third.
Though LSU was striking hot and fast, the Aggies had no problem striking in the fourth inning to put them on the board after a single from Jace LaViolette, despite his fractured hand suffered the day prior, sent one home, followed by a flyout to score the second run.
Through six innings,Anderson remained on the mound while delivering a solid performance with 12 strikeouts, one batter walked and three runs allowed. After throwing 84 pitches, he was replaced by usual starter Anthony Eyanson, who delivered a much-needed save and held strong in the seventh when Texas A&M had its most dangerous threat to score.
As for the Aggies, there was a stall in the hitters. They only scored runs on simple mistakes made by the Tigers, allowing them to get further around the diamond. However, they were held off enough to keep the score to only three runs through seven.
The Tigers’ offense had also dried up. LSU didn’t plate any runs after the third inning. New Aggie pitcher Clayton Freshcorn had five strikeouts and got all 10 batters he faced out, fighting tooth and nail to hold the Tigers off, as LSU was doing to the Texas A&M offense.
“Remaining aggressive, we had to remember that games aren’t won in the first three innings,” said Ethan Frey. “As long as we stayed confident it was going to continue going our way.”
The game turned into a pitcher’s duel between Eyanson and Freshcorn, with each team trying to stop the other from plating a run.
Another scoreless inning left the score 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth. It was way too close for comfort, but Eyanson took to the mound calm, cool and collected – ready to deliver.
The energy of the Met was beginning to become like the sound of Death Valley. The noise of cheers was deafening as fans stood on their feet for Eyanson. He delivered two strikeouts, and just one out stood in the way of LSU advancing to see another day in Hoover.
Eyanson then allowed a walk and single that advanced the tying runner to third base, making his margin for error razor thin.
As Terrance Kiel stepped up, he swung the bat, sending it right down to Steven Milam, who tagged out Ben Royo, putting an end to the game.
With a final score of 4-3, LSU walked away victorious and will now face Ole Miss in the semifinals of the tournament Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
