(Photo Credit: Michael Bacigalupi)
By Hunt Palmer
All seven of LSU’s championship teams have differed. But they’ve all had an ace.
Aces pitch on Fridays against other future millionaires. Aces pitch on regional Saturdays and lead off supers. Aces punch out 100 hitters and infuse confidence into a dugout and a stadium.
Kade Anderson is an ace.
Anderson’s transformation was rapid and significant. A freshman who posted a 27.00 ERA in SEC action last year became perhaps the most feared arm in the league in nine months’ time.
“When we lost last year in Chapel Hill, it was a very difficult loss for all of us,” said LSU head coach Jay Johnson. “The first thing I noticed, (Anderson) took that really hard. Like, he pitched in the game before that we won. Didn’t pitch in that game. Wasn’t able to. And he took that hard. And that was the first, like, I kind of like that. I knew he was a great kid and all that, but I kind of liked that. And then he really went to work physically on his body.”
Anderson added weight and developed a wipe out slider to go with his curveball. The velocity ticked up, and his endurance improved. That recipe produced, as of June 8, the nation’s strikeout leader for a team on Omaha’s doorstep.
Every journey is different.
Alex Lange was ready the day he set foot on campus. As a freshman, he went 13-0 and won three NCAA Tournament starts. It took Kevin Gausman a month. Aaron Nola needed to play second fiddle to him before becoming a star. Anthony Ranaudo wasn’t Anthony Ranaudo for a year. Paul Skenes had to transfer to unlock his greatness.
Anderson’s path took some early bumps but has now arrived.
The sophomore started 10 games at Alex Box Stadium this season. LSU went 10-0. His team won starts against Zach Root of Arkansas, Liam Doyle of Tennessee, Jared Spencer of Texas and Kyson Witherspoon of Oklahoma.
When those four pitch, their teams are 0-4 against Anderson and 43-14 against everyone else.
That’s an ace.
LSU won its most important game of the season Saturday. Anderson worked seven innings in the sweltering south Louisiana heat to help. After the win, Anderson was visibly frustrated that he’d allowed a season-high six earned runs. And he wasn’t ready to credit a pesky West Virginia lineup.
“I felt it wasn’t necessarily them,” Anderson said. “I wasn’t commanding the fastball and working off of that as well. Fell into a rhythm for a little bit, but they put up a couple good at-bats. I don’t think it was them; it was just me not making the pitches when I had to.”
Anderson did make pitches when he had to. An early manufactured run spotted West Virginia a 1-0 lead in the second. Before the Tiger bats erupted, Anderson hung two West Virginia zeros in the third and fourth innings and got maybe the biggest three outs in the game in the fifth after the Tigers had struck for three in the bottom of the fourth.
Steven Milam booted a routine ground ball to open the frame, but Anderson responded with a pair of punchouts and a fly ball to record the shutdown inning and get LSU back into the dugout where they would post seven more runs in the fifth to seize control.
Andy punches out ✌️ in a scoreless third
📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/tNKBqFFTH7
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) June 7, 2025
“He’s incredible,” West Virginia head coach Steve Sabins said. “He went seven innings and gave up six earned in his worst outing, as you said, of the year. So, he did a great job and kept them in the game and allowed for their bullpen to only use so many arms today.”
That’s an ace.
Anderson will watch from the dugout on Sunday while his team attempts to punch a ticket to the College World Series. His partner in crime Anthony Eyanson will take the ball. If the Tigers can win one of the next two, Root or Doyle await at Charles Schwab Field.
LSU will counter with Anderson, and that means LSU will have a great chance to inch closer to national title No. 8 because of its ace.
And maybe his mood will have improved by then.
“You just heard him. We won. He’s happy we won,” Johnson said postgame. “He’s ticked off because he gave up some hits and runs. Those are usually your highest performers that have that competitive level. He’s got all of it. There’s very few guys that have all of it. He’s got all of it.”
