The LSU baseball team is one win away from Omaha after defeating West Virginia 16-9 in Saturday’s Super Regional opening game.

LSU showed up and showed out in front of the home crowd in a hot and packed Alex Box Stadium. The Tigers tallied 16 runs on only eight hits thanks to West Virginia’s eight walks and five hit-by-pitches.

There were lots to take away from the Tigers’ dominant victory moving into Sunday’s game.

LSU SET UP WELL FOR THE REST OF WEEKEND

LSU got a good start out of sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson in game one of the Baton Rouge Super Regional. Anderson gave up only one run through five innings, which allowed the LSU bats to give him some breathing room after a seven run fifth inning.

Anderson’s outing would go south shortly after LSU’s seven-run fifth inning, though. The fifth inning was an extensive one, which caused Anderson to sit for a while without throwing a pitch. The heat also played a key part in the pitching struggles for both teams.

“An outing like today where I gave up a lot of runs, my guys had my back. I think that’s the definition of a true team, when you need to pick someone else up when someone else isn’t doing too good. I believe in our guys, and just proud of them,” Anderson said.

LSU would later finish the game out with DJ Primeaux, William Schmidt, and Mavrick Rizy, who all kept their pitch counts low.

A key takeaway with LSU’s win is that even though Anderson’s outing was the statistically worst of his season, he allowed LSU to save their best arms for the rest of this weekends games.

LSU will still have Casan Evans, Zac Cowan, Chase Shores, Jaden Noot, Cooper Williams, and Connor Ware available for the rest of the weekend, which is great news for the Tigers.

LSU GOT THE BIG TIME HITS

Another key takeaway from LSU’s 16-9 win is that Jay Johnson’s squad got the hits when it mattered most.

After its struggles of stranding runners in scoring positions much of the season, LSU was able to get the timely hits in the 16-9 win over WVU. The Tigers got quality at-bats from hitters one through nine to run pitch counts up and get the hits needed.

The Tigers are seeming to find some consistency in all spots of the lineup at the right time, both at the top and bottom. For LSU to be a championship caliber team, it will have to continue to score runners when it gets the chances.

“I think those free bases helped. And then we set the table with two hit-by pitches. Both those were two strikes. That was really important. And Derek executed his plan very, very well. Then the next inning we really got going. The free bases are part of that. It’s like turnovers in football; you want to capitalize on them, and we certainly did today,” head coach Jay Johnson said.

JAY KNOWS BEST

LSU coach Jay Johnson completely changed the lineup for game one of the Baton Rouge Super Regional. Johnson moved Josh Pearson to the leadoff spot and Derek Curiel moved all the way down to the seventh hitter.

The move was obviously a smart one after LSU was able to get production from both the top and bottom of the lineup. Senior outfielder Josh Pearson has not seen much playing time as of late, but he made every at-bat count as he went 2-5 with a grand slam and a total of four RBI on the day to go with it.

Curiel did not blink in the seven hole, as he reached base safely in every plate appearance. Curiel went 3-3 on the day, including a momentum swinging three-run homer in the fourth inning. He totaled five RBI on the day.

Coach Johnson praised the ability for his players to do what is expected, even with all of the constant changes in the lineup. “I think it speaks to good players, mental strength, attitude, team over me, understanding their job and what’s required of them and have been trained for it. And there’s a lot that goes into it. There’s a reason we don’t skip a day of skill work,” said Johnson.

Many people did not know what to expect out of such a huge change to the lineup. With WVU throwing their ace left-hander, Johnson moved his lineup to where he felt they could get to him the quickest – which happened just the way he wanted it to.

What’s Next?

LSU will be the visiting team for Sunday’s game against West Virginia. The pitching matchup is expected to be Anthony Eyanson of LSU and Jack Kartsonas of West Virginia. The first pitch is set for 5 p.m. and the game is on ESPN2.