GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
OMAHA, Nebraska – LSU pitcher Anthony Eyanson will be meeting his UCLA friends halfway tonight at the College World Series.
The No. 6 seed Tigers (49-15) have traveled 953 miles northwest from Baton Rouge to be here. The No. 15 seed Bruins (48-16) have crossed 1,553 miles northeast.
Eyanson, who grew up 32 miles from UCLA in Lakewood, California, went to a lot of Bruins’ baseball games at 1,820-seat Jackie Robinson Stadium as a kid.
“Not too far, just get on the freeway and go to the games,” he said Sunday at LSU’s practice at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. “I would, honestly, go a lot when I was a teenager at 13 or 14 years old. I would try to go frequently.”
Eyanson (11-2, 2.74 ERA, 2 saves) is expected to start on the mound against UCLA tonight (6 p.m., ESPN) at Charles Schwab Field in a match of undefeated teams. LSU defeated Arkansas, 4-1, Saturday night after UCLA outlasted Murray State, 6-4. Eyanson is third in the nation in strikeouts with 142 in 98 and two-thirds innings. Sophomore right-hander Landon Stump (6-1, 4.54 ERA, 62 strikeouts, 73 and a third innings) will start for the Bruins.
LSU NEEDS TO START HITTING AGAIN SOON
Had Eyanson been interested, he might just be starting for UCLA coach John Savage tonight instead of LSU’s Jay Johnson, a former assistant at the University of San Diego who still recruits California hard. After two seasons at UC-San Diego, Eyanson became one of the hottest players in the NCAA Transfer Portal after going 6-2 with a 3.07 ERA in 2024. Baseball America ranked him the No. 4 transfer before he decided on LSU.
“I talked to him (Savage) a little bit,” Eyanson said. “But nothing seriously.”
Some in the Eyanson circle would have been pleased had he stayed closer to home.
“A lot of my youth coaches are UCLA fans,” he said. “I hope they’re for me. I mean, I really do. I hope so.”
LSU MADE IT LOOK EASY IN BEATING ARKANSAS
Pitching to make LSU 2-0 in Omaha for the first time since the 2009 national championship would mean a lot to Eyanson. So will pitching against the light blue and gold.
“It would, obviously, growing up and going to those games,” he said. “And just excited to pitch whenever my name is called. Being here at the College World Series is really a cool accomplishment for our team just to be here. So, I’m just trying to enjoy every minute of it.”
UCLA is 1-0 against LSU at the College World Series with a 2-1 win 12 years ago Monday on June 16, 2013, when Eyanson was 8. The Bruins beat Aaron Nola, who allowed two runs on five hits in eight innings with five strikeouts. UCLA went on to beat Mississippi State, 3-1 and 8-0, in the championship series for their only national title.
“That was 2013, so yeah, a while ago,” Eyanson said.
UCLA plays the same type of small ball, though, it did then under Savage. The Bruins scored a key run against Murray State Saturday with a squeeze bunt.
“It’s going to be a well-coached baseball team,” Eyanson said. “They’re going to be selective to their pitch. It’ll be fun to pitch against them.”
Be the first to comment