The Tigers claimed the Frisco Classic title this weekend, going 3-0 in Texas.
LSU beat Kansas State in extra innings, overcame a five run deficit against Nebraska and topped Sam Houston for a weekend sweep.
Here’s what we learned from the team following a demanding weekend:
High-pressure wins
Over the entire weekend though this LSU team learned a lot about itself.
“I think this weekend was a good step in the right direction of them playing in a manner that they can look back and go like ‘that’s what we need to do,’” head coach Jay Johnson said.
LSU played five games in seven days, starting last Monday in a rescheduled Nicholls game that LSU won 13-3.
In the game, true freshman and Baton Rouge Native William Schmidt got his first career start and finished with three K’s, and just five hits in 4.2 innings.
Wednesday brought LSU’s first road game as the Tigers travelled to Arlington, Texas to face No. 18 Dallas Baptist.
The Tigers started Connor Ware, who pitched four innings, faced 13 batters and had six strikeouts, and only one run allowed in the 7-3 victory.
In the Kansas State game it took a Hail Mary throw from the warning track to the plate to prevent what in all reality should have been a walk off win for the Wildcats. Then LSU had a three-run 10th, having been scoreless since the seventh.
The killer for LSU was that they pitched five different arms in the game. Kade Anderson started the game and got the Tigers through five and a third with the score tied at 2-2.
Following that, Mavrick Rizy, DJ Primeaux, Connor Benge and Casan Evans all entered the game for the Tigers, burning valuable arms for the rest of the weekend in Frisco.
During the Nebraska game it took three innings for LSU to find their footing and even still had to overcome a 5-0 deficit, and didn’t have the lead until there were two outs in the sixth.
Saturday night’s game against Nebraska, LSU’s bullpen was limited and knew that Anthony Eyanson would need to go as far as he could because the bullpen was so depleted.
After a less than ideal first and second inning, Eyanson dialed it in, allowing only one run through the rest of his four innings.
Eyanson’s poise allowed the Tigers to deal a six-run inning to the Huskers and take the lead for the first time in the game.
“I think the main story is probably Anthony settling in and getting a zero in the fourth, fifth and sixth,” Johnson said.
The Tigers would go on to win the matchup 11-6 in front of a crowd of over 11,000.
In the Tigers series final on Sunday against Sam Houston State, they dominated offensively in the second inning. They had a 7-0 lead following a Steven Milam home run and a three run homer by Ethan Frey.
Johnson has built an adaptable roster that performs comfortably in high-stakes situations. They will have to prove that further down the line.
Defined continuity
There may still be changes, to be clear, but Johnson feels as though he has a very good read on who and when to change the lineup to get favorable matchups.
With great play from Luis Hernandez behind the plate and Derek Curiel, Jared Jones and Daniel Dickinson dominating the start of the order, this team is standing on some solid ground going into their last few non-conference games.
In fact, after intentionally walking Jones, and getting punished multiple times by Dickinson, teams through the weekend stopped walking Jones for the fear of what Dickinson could do.
Not only was the offense deadly, timely and precise, the pitching was relentless and tough.
The staff had a long week, with almost every arm on the roster spending time on the bump, but they weathered the storm and are certainly looking forward to some rest.
Defense shows up
The focus of this team is often on the power of Jones and Dickinson or the pitching of Anderson and Evans.
In the past week the roster has proven that the less-acknowledged defensive play can define games. And the Tigers have it down.
With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth, Kansas State had a runner on and a chance to upset. They doubled to left center, putting the Tigers’ weekend at risk.
LSU then executed a perfect rally off a throw from Josh Pearson. Hernandez tagged the runner out at home, advancing to extra innings. LSU won 8-5 in 10 frames.
Pearson was named tournament MVP. Apart from his defensive command, he also had four hits and three doubles in a single game against Nebraska.
Quick and efficient rallies were proven earlier in the week against Nicholls. After a full dive from Pearson, he quickly recovered and got the ball to the cutoff. Milam then rocketed a ball to third for the out.
These were both big-time plays that demanded execution out of multiple players. This is without mentioning yet another Chris Stanfield layout in centerfield, an athletic snag by Jones or Henandez throwing out runners.
A trip to Texas forced LSU to show up in every capacity, often when against the ropes. The adaptability of this roster is continually proven as the team nears SEC play.
