LSU baseball picked up right where it left off, and that was raking at the plate in another dominating win over West Virginia, this time 12-5 as the Tigers punched a ticket to Omaha for the 20th time in program history.
First pitch was pushed back nearly 3 hours due thunderstorms in the area. When the game did start just before 8 p.m. LSU wasted no time jumping all over the Mountaineers with six runs in the first two innings. They also closed things out with another six-run barrage in the 7th inning to truly put the game out of reach.
Magic Moment: West Virginia seized momentum and battled back with four runs after falling behind 6-0. In the top of the 7th -- LSU was the visitor in this game -- Daniel Dickinson hit a pop-up behind second baseman Gavin Kelly. For the second time in the game the ball fell to the turf between multiple fielders in shallow center.
Relief pitcher Chase Meyer walked Tanner Reaves, then plunked Luis Hernandez to load the bases with nobody out. After a pitching change, Chris Stanfield hit a ball the other way through the infield for a two-run single and an 8-4 Tigers lead.
LSU also scored on a throwing error by WVU shortstop Brodie Kresser.
The Mountaineers committed three errors on Sunday night for a total of 13 errors in the NCAA Tournament. WVU’s struggles defensively was a storyline going into the series.
Stevan Milam added to the rally with an RBI double, driving in 4 RBIs on the night. Jake Brown capped off the seventh two-run bomb over the center field wall that traveled 417 feet.
5-run 2nd: After scoring a run in the first inning LSU added another five in the second, all with two outs.Chris Stanfield walked, Derek Curiel walked, Ethan Frey walked, you may be sensing a trend.
That set up another Milam postseason moment. Monster lined a double down the right field line, scoring all three runners. Jake Brown singled home Milam. Brown scored when Jared Jones hit a mile-high pop-up behind Kelly, who couldn’t get underneath it and the ball fell in shallow center field for an RBI single. It's the second consecutive day Milam delivered with the bases loaded after a grand slam in the opening game.
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The runs were scored off West Virginia starter Jack Kartsonas, who was under the weather earlier in the week, according to WVU coach Steve Sabins. The heat and humidity left Karstonas with less than his best stuff.
Eyanson’s night: Anthony Eyanson started strong with three scoreless innings and four consecutive strikeouts to start the game. He ran his scoreless inning streak to 18.1 innings.
Things came a bit unglued in the 4th with a pair of Mountaineer home runs, including one to Ben Lumsden, just his second of the season.
It was Eyanson’s 32nd career start and only the second time he’d given up multiple home runs in a ball game. Eyanson had allowed just four home runs all season heading into Sunday's game.
West Virginia pushed across another run in the 5th with Eyanson's pitch count ballooning to 99. He plunked the first batter he faced in the 6th, and that was his night.
Cooper Williams: It was a b-time performance from freshman left-hander Cooper Williams. He entered the game in the bottom of the sixth after Eyanson hit the lead-off man. Williams got a ground out, pop out and a strikeout to end the inning and preserve a two-run lead.
Williams also pitched a perfect seventh inning and got the first two outs in the eighth before allowing a solo home run, marking the end of his night.
Williams' ERA on the season is 1.83 in 19.2 innings pitched and he’s certainly a guy Johnson will count on in Omaha.
Up Next: LSU will play Arkansas in the opening round of the College World Series. It will be a huge matchup as they will be the best two teams in Omaha and because of how the tournament played out, they ended up facing each other in the opening round. The Tigers took two of three from the Hogs when they met a month ago.
The rest of the field consists of UCLA, Oregon State, Louisville, Arizona, and Coastal Carolina, with the lone remaining spot going to the winner of Duke-Murray State on Monday.