(Photo Credit: @LSUbaseball on X)
By Hunt Palmer
As promised, the intensity level ratcheted up on Friday for LSU.
Back-to-back jacks, a go-ahead three run blast, a winning run cut down at the plate and the tying run down on strikes to end it. Friday just about had it all.
LSU outlasted Kansas State 8-5 in 10 innings at Riders Field.
After Daniel Dickinson clubbed a three-run homer to break a 2-2 tie in the seventh, Mavrick Rizy gave up back-to-back singles in the bottom half. Those weren’t as crushing to LSU as the next three at bats. Rizy walked Micah Dean to load the bases, and DJ Primeaux came on to hit the next two hitters on consecutive pitches to force in two runs and make the score 5-4 Tigers.
Seth Dardar’s line shot was snared by Steven Milam at shortstop for the first out, but Nick English greeted Tiger right hander Connor Benge with a flare single to right to knot the score at five.
It remained that way when Dickinson and Milam turned a dandy of a double play to escape the bases loaded threat and send the game to the eighth.
LSU threatened to take the lead in the ninth when Derek Curiel walked and Jared Jones singled to open the inning. Daniel Dickinson’s long fly ball to center moved the runners to second and third with one out.
Ashton Larson pinch hit against slider specialist Blake Dean, but he looked at strike three, a slider on the outside corner. Luis Hernandez grounded out to choke off the Tiger opportunity.
The bottom half provided exhilarating theatrics.
Freshman fireballer Casan Evans took over and gave up a one-out single to Dee Kennedy. Dardar followed with a gapper to left center. Pearson corralled it on a hop a few steps shy of the track and hit Milam with the relay throw. Milam fired a seed to Hernandez at the plate, and the Tiger backstop applied the tag a step before a racing Kennedy could win the game.
Then English appeared to have won it, but Dickinson made a diving stop of a well-struck ground ball and sent things to extras where LSU would plate three runs.
Milam beat the shift with a single to left, and then Jake Brown’s ground ball was mishandled by second baseman Shintaro Inoue to put runners at the corners.
Pearson produced the latest in a career full of clutch at bats by singling to center with two strikes to plate Milam. Mikey Ryan failed to execute a bunt and struck out, and Jones followed with swinging strikeout. The shift bit Kansas State for the second time in the inning when Dickinson dribbled a ground ball through the vacated right side to plate two more with two outs to make it 8-5.
Evans worked around an infield single and a one-out walk to get a pair of strikeouts and cement the victory.
Kade Anderson set the tone with 10 strikeouts in 5.1 innings, but for the third consecutive week the end of his outing tapered off. The last two men he faced hit home runs to end his day at 92 pitches. Anderson’s stuff is electric. He had the breaking ball going and missed a ton of bats with it. The fastball command wasn’t what he’d like, but he worked around it. He only gave up three hits.
The biggest development in the game was Dickinson continuing to rake behind Jones.
His three-run blast in the seventh came after the second intentional walk of the game to Jones. The two-run single in the tenth was great, but those extra base swings are going to make teams think twice before putting Jones on. They probably still will, but at least Dickinson is swinging with confidence and making teams pay.
The free bases from the relief staff were concerning. Six free bases in 4.2 innings is too many. The Primeaux hit by pitches to force in runs were unacceptable.
Rizy got hit a little bit, but I’d prefer that to issuing walks and hitting guys. Still, Rizy worked from behind nearly his entire outing.
LSU has tried the “steal and stop” 1st and 3rd play a couple of times in the last week. Neither has worked. I don’t love it. That’s a high school play. Good college teams are going to snuff it out. Kansas State did in the 10th to cut down Curiel at the plate easily.
Dickinson and Milam made absurdly good plays on the double play and the diving play to keep Kansas State off the board. Then Kansas State’s error opened the door for LSU to win it. Infield defense is vital in college baseball. LSU’s has been excellent thus far.
THE SCORECARD: The two homers Anderson allowed were his first extra base hits allowed on the season.
Anderson threw 92 pitches, just 56 for strikes.
Two LSU relievers threw more balls than strikes. Rizy threw 15 balls to 12 strikes. Benge threw 13 balls and 12 strikes.
Dickinson finished 2-for-4 with a homer and six driven in. He was also hit by a pitch.
Jones was 2-for-4 with a walk.
Milam was 2-for-5 with a run.
Brown was 2-for-5 with a run.
Chris Stanfield reached twice and scored twice from the nine hole.
LSU was 4-for-14 (.286) with runners in scoring position. Kansas State was 1-for-11 (.091)
Kansas State was 0-for-8 with two out.
THE QUOTES: Jay Johnson on the game…
“The story of the game is the defense in the ninth inning. The relay from Josh to Steven to the plate. And then Danny’s diving play. We don’t get to extra innings and have the opportunity to score three runs with (Pearson’s) RBI and (Dickinson’s) two RBIs if we don’t play defense. There’s a lot of good athletes on the team, and it’s manifested itself into good defense.”
Johnson on playing close games…
“Something that’s important for us, is it’s a mandate to be comfortable in one-run game. And this team should be comfortable in one run games because we can score in a lot of different ways, we strike people out on the mound, and we’re playing really good defense. So, I just want them to play with all the confidence in the world.”
WHAT’S NEXT: LSU plays Nebraska on Saturday at 4:00. The Tigers are likely to send Anthony Eyanson to the mound for his third start.
The Tigers used most of their best bullpen options on Saturday. After Eyanson, Kade Woods, Cooper Wiliams, Jaden Noot, Dalton Beck, Jacob Meyers, Grant Fontenot, and Chandler Dorsey are certainly available. Zac Cowan, Conner Ware, Evans, Rizy and Benge probably are not.
Johnson said on Monday than William Schimdt may be ready “later in the weekend”. He threw 60 pitches in a start against Nicholls on Monday.
The Huskers will send right hander Ty Horn to the mound. He’s allowed five earned runs in 10 innings this year against Vanderbilt and Louisiana-Lafayette.
