GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Five-and-half-hour weather delay. No problem.
No. 6 national seed LSU, which has been through more than 20 weather delays this season mostly at Alex Box Stadium, waited and waited through rain and lightning, then poured it on big on Arkansas-Little Rock for a, 7-0, NCAA Regional opening victory in front of 11,678 at the Box Friday night.
No. 1 Regional seed LSU (44-14) advances to play at 8 p.m. Saturday against No. 2 Regional seed Dallas Baptist (41-16), which beat 3 seed Rhode Island, 6-2, after 1 a.m. Saturday. LSU’s game was originally scheduled for 2 p.m., then pushed back to 5:06 p.m. and finally to 7:30 p.m. because of rain and lightning and mainly the threat of that. Dallas Baptist and Rhode Island started at 10:59 p.m. after LSU’s game ended at 10:20 p.m.
LSU COACH JAY JOHNSON GETTING USED TO THIS RAIN THING
Rhode Island (38-21) plays UALR (24-33) in the first game Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Tigers showed no signs of rust after five days off and the 5.5-hour delay. LSU took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Derek Curiel led off the game with a single off UALR starter Wells Jackson and reached second on a wild pitch before scoring on a two-out single by Jake Brown.
LSU made it 2-0 in the second inning on a two-our RBI single by Jared Jones. Chris Stanfield scored from second after singling and reaching second on a wild pitch.
Daniel Dickinson then took over with his 11th home run of the season in the fifth inning for a 3-0 lead and hit another one with two outs and one on in the sixth for a 6-0 advantage. Chris Stanfield walked to start the rally and scored on Curiel’s double.
LSU went up 7-0 in the seventh on an RBI double by Michael Braswell III.
That was more than enough for LSU junior right-handed starter Anthony Eyanson, who limited the Trojans to five hits and one walk while striking out seven to improve to 10-2 on the season.
Sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson (8-1, 3.54 ERA), who is among the nation’s leaders in strikeouts with 145, will start Saturday night’s game.
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