The eighth ranked LSU baseball team was down 6-2 in the fifth inning Thursday night but scored five runs in the fifth inning and went on to beat Mississippi State 8-6 to take game one of the series.
The Tigers were down by four runs, because starting pitcher Kade Anderson did not have it as he gave up five runs in 4.1 innings.
Anderson allowed three home runs.
But the game turned in the fifth inning.
Mississippi State relief pitcher Ryan McPherson walked the first two hitters, Derek Curiel and Jared Jones. And then Daniel Dickinson launched a three-run homer to make it a one run game.
Dane Burns relieved McPherson.
Josh Pearson stayed in to face the left-hander and got a base hit and then Stevan Milam homered to give LSU the lead 7-6.
“We know that everyday we can come out and bang, no day is never our day, and we just know at some point in the game it is going to come, whether it is in the first, the fifth or the ninth,” Dickinson said.
Connor Benge was the winning pitcher as he was in the game at the time the Tigers took the lead. Benge pitched two-thirds of an inning and gave up a run.
The other big story was junior right-handed pitcher Zac Cowan. The South Carolina native threw four scoreless innings and struck out seven for his third save of the season.
Cowan’s performance will intensify the debate among LSU fans that he should be a starting pitcher.
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But expect Coach Jay Johnson to keep Cowan in the pen, because of what happened on Thursday. If your starter struggles or you need someone to give three or four quality innings out of the bullpen, Cowan has shown he can get the job done. His ERA is now down to 1.07.
Johnson is not down on Anderson, who has been LSU’s best starting pitcher this season. Every pitcher is going to have a tough night, and Anderson had his on Thursday.
Johnson thought Anderson fastball was good, the slider was sharp, just a few mistakes, maybe a little fatigue pitching on one less day of rest. In the end, he gave LSU a chance to win, because as Dickinson said the Tigers offense will eventually wake up.
LSU will face Mississippi State’s ace tonight. Pico Kohn is the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week. He’s 4-0 with a 2.52 ERA. Anthony Eyanson will start for LSU. He's 3-0 with a 4.50 ERA.