Little Rock scored five runs in the second inning to take a 5-1 lead, but LSU stormed back to win 10-6. The Tigers received special performances from Casan Evans, Ethan Frey, Luis Hernandez, and Anthony Eyanson earned the save as the Tigers are headed to their 17th Super Regional appearance.
Casan Evans delivers a legendary performance: Zac Cowan made his first start of the season, but was pulled in the second inning. He allowed five runs and LSU was down 5-1.
Enter freshman right-hander Casan Evans who gave LSU exactly what they needed and then some. He kept Little Rock off the scoreboard, so LSU could come from behind. The hot hitting Trojans were no match for Evans who at one point struck out nine hitters in a row.
He walked the bases loaded in the seventh inning but got out of the inning with a strikeout.
Evans finished with 12 strikeouts in six innings and allowed just one run. His previous season high for strikeouts was six. It was his first appearance on the mound since May 16th, and he was ready for the moment.
Magic Moment: LSU got back into this game in the fourth inning when Ethan Frey hit a bases loaded clearing double to bring the Tigers within a run. It was an uplifting moment, because in the third inning, LSU failed to score when they loaded the bases.
Frey was a perfect 4-for-4 with two doubles, a home run and he drove in four runs.
What if I told you in February that Frey would be LSU’s best hitter in June. It would be hard to believe as the junior from Rosepine had to battle for at-bats early in the season, but he has found a home as the Tigers designated hitter.
And in a win or go home situation, Coach Jay Johnson moved Frey to the two-hole in the lineup and dropped the struggling Jared Jones down in the line-up. The move paid off as Frey came through when LSU needed him the most.
Anthony Eyanson: Last year, Johnson turned to Gage Jump in the regional championship game against North Carolina after he started the regional opener. Jump unfortunately gave up two runs and the Tigers lost to the Tar Heels.
This time the strategy worked as Eyanson came into the game in the eighth inning with two runners on base in a two-run game. He allowed one run to score and then recorded the final five outs for his second save.
New lineup produces: After scoring four runs on Sunday, Johnson shuffled the line-u, batting Frey second, Steven Milam third, Daniel Dickinson in the clean-up spot. Jared Jones hit sixth, Chris Stanfield was moved up to seventh and Luis Hernandez was put in the eight hole. Hernandez provided the Tigers with some thunder at the bottom of the order with two home runs and three runs driven in. Jones came through with a big two-run homer in the ninth inning for some much-needed insurance runs.
Up Next: LSU will get to exhale after nearly seeing their season come to an end and they’ll also get to charge the batteries again and then welcome a good West Virginia team to the Box for the Super Regionals.
The Mountaineers have been road warriors, they are 27-and-7 away from their home ballpark. West Virginia won the Clemon Regional, needing only three games to do it.
West Virginia had a strong argument to host a regional. They won the Big 12 regular season title but lost their last four in the regular season and were swept by Kansas, who finished in second place.
More on the Mountaineers in future articles here at wwl.com.
But thank goodness there’s more LSU baseball to consume in June.
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