Five takeaways from LSU baseball's win vs. Arkansas in College World Series
Five takeaways from LSU baseball's win vs. Arkansas in College World Series
LSU baseball is on its way to the College World Series Final.
Neither team had their ace on the mound, but we got a pitchers' duel anyway. LSU gave the ball to Zac Cowan to start, and Cowan delivered. In 5.1 innings, Cowan allowed just one run, struck out six, and didn't walk a single hitter. For much of the year, Cowan was among the best pitchers in the SEC, but he's struggled in the last month. Wednesday marked a return to form. Arkansas went with Landon Beidelschies, who pitched five innings, striking out nine and allowing just two runs.
Cowan and Beidelschies then gave way to the pens.
LSU carried a 2-1 lead into the eighth inning, but Arkansas loaded the bases vs. LSU reliever Chase Shores. A chopper gave LSU the chance to get out of the inning. LSU got the out at second, but the ball got past Jared Jones, and two runs scored on the play to give Arkansas a 3-2 lead.
Jones made up for the error in the bottom half of the inning, tying the game with a solo homer.
We entered the ninth inning tied at 3-3. Arkansas kicked off a rally with a Reese Robinett single and followed it up with a Brent Iredale double. Justin Thomas took the lead back with a two-run single and made it 5-3 Razorbacks.
LSU responded in the bottom of the ninth. With two runners on, Arkansas LF Charles Davalan got a bad read on a Luis Hernandez line drive, and LSU tied the game at five. Moments later, Jared Jones ended the game with a walk-off single.
It was LSU's second win over Arkansas in the last week after the Tigers kicked off their CWS run with a 4-1 victory vs. the Razorbacks last Saturday. Both games were low-scoring affairs, decided by the bullpens late.
Jared Jones plays the hero with two clutch hits
Jared Jones began his College World Series with as bad a game as a hitter could have, going 0-5 with five strikeouts in the first game vs. Arkansas. It was the low point of what's been an up-and-down postseason for the LSU first baseman.
But after the 0-5 performance, Jones woke up vs. UCLA with a home run, two hits, and four RBI.
On Wednesday vs. Arkansas, Jones delivered in the biggest of ways. With LSU down a run in the eighth inning, Jones homered to right and tied the game. After Arkansas and LSU traded a couple of runs, Jones came to the plate in the ninth with a chance to win the game. He sent LSU to the CWS final with a walk-off single.
With 64 career homers, Jones is one of the best sluggers in LSU history. His performance on Wednesday will be remembered for a long time.
LSU keeps Eyanson fresh, pitching staff well-rested for finals
The big question for LSU ahead of Wednesday's game: Would we see Anthony Eyanson?
The LSU starter only threw 48 pitches vs. UCLA on Monday before the game was suspended, forcing Eyanson to end his start early. With a day of rest, Eyanson was ready to go if needed on Wednesday. Some even thought he'd get the start.
LSU got the win without deploying the star pitcher.
That means Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson, LSU's ace 1A and 1B, are both fresh for the final series.
Had LSU lost on Wednesday, the Tigers would have had to play a game on Thursday. likely using Anderson, Eyanson, or both. That would have granted Coastal Carolina an extra day of rest. Winning on Wednesday -- not burning Eyanson in the process -- was key for LSU.
Zac Cowan rolls for 5.1 innings
It's easy to get caught up in the theatrics of the final innings, but don't forget about Zac Cowan's starting performance. I touched on this earlier, but Cowan needed a bounce-back performance after a month of struggles.
Cowan was a starter at Wofford, but his only previous start at LSU in 2025 was the regional final vs. Little Rock. That one didn't go well. Now on an even bigger stage, facing one of the nation's best lineups, Cowan delivered one of the best outings of his career.
Cowan went 5.1 innings, and the only run surrendered was a solo homer carried out by the wind. Other than that, Cowan was flawless. He struck out six without issuing a walk and threw first pitch strikes to 18 of 21 batters.
LSU was likely expecting two to three innings of work, but Cowan giving LSU 5.1 innings allowed Jay Johnson to work matchups later in the game and spare Eyanson.
LSU did not walk one batter
LSU's pitching staff did not walk a single batter on Wednesday. We mentioned Cowan's command, but the Tigers got more of the same from the bullpen.
Jaden Noot was first out of the pen. He threw a scoreless inning and eight of his 11 pitches were strikes. Chase Shores was next -- and he did allow three earned runs -- but command wasn't the problem for the big righty. Of Shores 35 pitches, 26 were strikes.
Jacob Mayers was the last LSU pitcher in the game. Mayers, who has struggled to command the ball this year, was 7/9 when it came to throwing strikes.
LSU limited traffic on the base paths all night. This gave the pitching staff room for error, and LSU took advantage, pitching aggressively. When Arkansas did get the rare hit, the damage was minimal thanks to LSU not issuing free passes.
LSU overcomes errors on defense
It wasn't the prettiest night for LSU's defense.
The biggest blemish came in the top of the eighth when the Tigers had a chance to end the inning on a double-play. Instead, the ball got past first basemen Jared Jones when LSU was looking for the second out and two Arkansas runners scored on the play, giving the Razorbacks the lead.
At the time, this looked like a brutal mistake, but Arkansas' own defensive mistakes evened it out.
Still, LSU committed three errors on the night. This isn't cause for concern just yet given how good the Tigers' defense has been in 2025, but LSU will want to tighten some things up for the final.
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