The importance of winning your first game in Omaha cannot be understated, and in front of a packed Charles Schwab Field Saturday night, LSU and Arkansas renewed their rivalry as both teams looked to set the tone for their run in Omaha and enter the winner’s bracket.
But on a night where the LSU offense wasn’t as explosive as they’ve been so far this postseason, the LSU pitching staff would hold the rope and bring the Tigers a victory behind their ace, Kade Anderson.
“You can push on him and he’ll push back in the right way,” Pitching Coach Nate Yeskie said of Anderson.
“And he’ll apply it to whatever he needs to do.”
“I thought he got stronger as the game went along, I thought he executed pitches at a really high level,” Head Coach Jay Johnson said.
“Which you have to do against that (Arkansas) offense.”
“Just taking it all in,” Anderson said of his outing. “It’s a really cool moment, but just excited to get the win and that’s all that matters.
Kade Anderson’s seven innings of one-run ball would give the Tigers a huge lift against an aggressive and talented Arkansas lineup, allowing the LSU offense to do just enough against Arkansas starter Zach Root.
“We knew we were gonna have to make him work,” Right Fielder Josh Pearson said of the gameplan against Root. “Just really made him throw a lot of pitches and we finally got to him.”
The Tigers would score three runs in the second to chase Root out of the game, and add an insurance run in the eighth to push LSU ahead by three.
“That was our plan going into it,” Michael Braswell III said.
“Just to not get outside of ourselves, don’t make it easy for him,”.
The LSU bullpen would follow Anderson’s lead, as Chase Shores and Casan Evans would close the door on the Razorbacks, giving the Tigers the all important game one win.
“I thought the bullpen was great, Chase coming in with a man on base, executing, getting two strikeouts right there,” Jay Johnson said. “And then Casan, great poise in the ninth especially after giving up the single to Davalan.”
“I thought it was great. It was just enough. And that’s okay. It’s here. We focus on how we play and how we win probably more than any team in the country. We don’t just sell out to that. But when you’re playing this opponent, this arena, just finding a way to get it done,” Johnson said. “I’m proud of the team, and they’ll have to reset and get ready to do it against another really good team.”
LSU now gets a day off before taking the field against UCLA on Monday, with Anthony Eyanson taking the bump for LSU against the Bruins.
