(Photo Credit: @LSUbaseball on X)
By Hunt Palmer
THE STORY
Jay Johnson lives on the phone and flies all over the country every June for nights like Friday.
His prized 2024 transfer portal additions shined on Friday night, carrying LSU to a 7-0 win over No. 4 seed Little Rock to advance to the winners’ bracket of the Baton Rouge Regional.
Anthony Eyanson, a UC-San Diego transfer, got the start and manhandled the Trojan lineup over 7.2 shutout innings. He scattered five hits and struck out seven with just one walk.
He did everything LSU asked by smothering any Little Rock hope and saving all of LSU’s top end relievers for the rest of the weekend.
Daniel Dickinson, a Utah Valley product, belted a pair of homers into the left field seats. His solo shot in the fifth made it 3-0, and his two-run blast in the sixth made it 6-0.
Of course, high school recruiting pays off, too.
Freshman phenom Derek Curiel ripped free from the shackles of an 11-game skid to collect a pair of hits. He led off the first with a single and scored on Jake Brown’s two-out RBI hit. Then he smoked a sizzling double off the right field wall to drive in a flying Chris Stanfield from first in front of Dickinson’s second homer.
Little Rock starter Jackson Wells worked an admirable five innings of three-run ball, but the Tigers drove his pitch count up to 103 and faced him out of the game. LSU then doubled the lead in the sixth when he exited.
The Tiger offense was pretty solid. Luis Hernandez left the bases loaded in the first, and Ethan Frey’s towering blast in the third got hung up in the rare hurting May breeze. It cpould have been better. But there were enough created chances, a couple of early clutch two-out RBI singles by Brown and Jared Jones as well as the Dickinson long balls.
LSU finished the game with 11 hits, six for extra bases and were only retired in order twice in eight at bats.
DJ Primeaux relieved Eyanson for the final out of the eighth, and Mavrick Rizy set down the side in order in the ninth with a pair of strikeouts.
THE SCORECARD
Anthony Eyanson’s line: 7.2IP, 5H, 0R, 1BB, 7K, 98 pitches, 68 strikes.
Jackson Wells’s line: 5IP, 7H, 3R, 3ER, 3BB, 3K, 103 pitches, 61 strikes
Daniel Dickinson: 2-for-5, 2HR, 3RBI
Derek Curiel: 2-for-4, 2B, BB, 2R, RBI
Chris Stanfield: 1-for-2, BB, 2R
LSU played errorless baseball for the seventh time in nine games.
LSU outhit Little Rock 11-to-5
Litte Rock only had three at bats with runners in scoring position all night. The Trojans went 0-for-3.
LSU only walked one hitter and hit one hitter. That combined with errorless baseball makes it tough on inferior opponents.
THE QUOTES
LSU head coach Jay Johnson on the offense in the game…
“I thought it was a really good offensive game….Somebody told me their pitcher lead the country in ERA two years ago, ahead of Skenes. He threw strikes and has different ways to get people out and is a competitor…I thought we were good tonight. Really good baserunning, Derek (Curiel) and Chris (Stanfield) advancing on a ball in the dirt. Two out RBI hits which we call “goldens”, two out hits are golden with runners in scoring position, in the first two innings Jake (Brown) and Jared (Jones). Danny hit a mistake for a homer. Derek blitzes a ball, put a great swing on that double Chris scored on….I just thought it was constant pressure…That’s what I believe this team is when it’s at its very best.”
Little Rock head coach Chris Curry on the rain delay decisions…
“I think Nicole, who’s our site rep, did a great job of feeding data to Jay and I about what the weather issues were. They were adamant for both teams that they did not want to start the game and burn the arms, either ours or LSU’s. And we appreciate that. It’s really easy to Monday morning quarterback the person who is calling the shots on the weather. Trust me, we go through it at home. You just have to gather all the information. Nobody controls the weather. You just do the best you can.”
Little Rock third baseman Ty Rhoades on what he did during the rain delay…
“I just watched YouTube videos on my phone.”
LSU starting pitcher Anthony Eyanson on what he did during the rain delay…
“Just eat some Uncrustables and lay down.”
WHAT’S NEXT
LSU will take on No. 2 seed Dallas Baptist at 8:00 Saturday night. No. 3 seed Rhode Island and No. 4 seed Little Rock will play an elimination game at 2:00.
All indications are that Kade Anderson will take the ball for the Tigers who have a full complement of relievers to deploy. Dallas Baptist is in great shape from a pitching perspective. LSU will likely see former Tiger Micah Bucknam and fireballer James Ellwanger.
