LSU rallied back with a 10-6 win over Little Rock on Monday night after a stunning loss to the Trojans on Sunday. The Tigers’ win makes them hosts of a super regional versus West Virginia.
The game was won on the back of Casan Evans, Ethan Frey and Luis Hernandez.
LSU’s night started when Frey launched a towering solo home run in the top of the first inning to get off to an early 1-0 lead.
“Frey is one of the best hitters in the country right now, and I wanted to get him up as much as we possibly could,” head coach Jay Johnson said. “I wanted them to feel pressure immediately in the game with him stepping in the batter’s box.”
Little Rock plated five runs in the second inning, and for the second night in a row, LSU lost an early lead in that frame.
Evans replaced Zac Cowan in the inning and got out of the jam. Evans then forced the Trojans to put zeros on the scoreboard for five innings and struck out nine consecutive batters during that stretch.
The Tigers took advantage of the zeros and made a comeback.
“When he comes in and minimizes the damage and competes out there from the start, especially as a freshman, it’s huge to give our offense a chance,” Frey said about Evans.
It started in the fourth inning when the Tigers loaded the bases with two outs for the second consecutive inning, and Frey lined a double to clear the bases.
Hernandez joined in on the scoring in the sixth with a solo home run. In the seventh, Frey ripped a leadoff double, and Milam was able to plate him on a groundout for the lead. Hernandez came up again at the top of the eighth inning and launched another solo home run to extend the lead to two.
Evans ended his shutout night with career highs in pitches thrown and strikeouts. His final stat line was 12 strikeouts, one run allowed and four hits during a 109-pitch outing through 6.0 innings of work.
Evans was replaced with one out in the eighth by Anthony Eyanson, who shut out the Trojans on Friday night. Eyanson inherited two runners from Evans and allowed one to cross home in the bottom of the eighth.
LSU extended its lead by putting three runs in the top of the ninth inning.
Jared Jones hit a two-run home run for his 20th of the season to extend the Tigers’ lead to three, then Hernandez drove in Stanfield from second on a single to bring it to a four-run lead. Eyanson came out for the bottom of the inning and sat down all three batters he faced.
“Tonight is one of the best wins in my entire career because of what they had to do to earn it,” Johnson said. “We won tonight because of character.”
Frey ended the game 4-4 with two doubles, a home run, four RBI and two walks. Hernandez went 3-5 with two home runs and three RBI.
LSU will face West Virginia at Alex Box Stadium next weekend for a super regional matchup. It will be a three-game series that will either be played Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday. The NCAA will announce the super regional format and schedules on Tuesday, June 3, at 9 a.m. CT.
