GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
OMAHA, Nebraska – The name of the game within the game at LSU baseball games for as long as I can remember is called:
“Who Would You Pitch?”
It has been particularly interesting this season because of the depth on LSU coach Jay Johnson’s and pitching coach Nate Yeskie’s talented pitching staff.
It got particularly interesting on Monday night when LSU experienced just its second weather delay of a game that had already started when the Tigers and UCLA were stopped after three innings with LSU ahead, 5-3.
LSU KNOWS WEATHER DELAYS A LOT BETTER THAN UCLA
As the delay extended, it was obvious starting pitcher Anthony Eyanson would not be returning to the mound. Too much time had passed. And he had thrown too many pitches at 44 to pitch on Tuesday morning when the game was moved to a 10:03 a.m. start with LSU winning easily, 9-5.
During the delay Monday night, Andon Brabham, a smart young journalist at LSU’s Tiger TV under the auspices of the Manship School of Journalism, had an idea. He took a fan poll by asking the question, “Who Would You Pitch?”
Brabham, a junior in Mass Communications from Baton Rouge, said approximately 300 voted between Monday night and the start of the game. Here are the results of what LSU pitcher that the LSU students and fans said would get the ball first:
-Chase Shores, 30 percent.
-Zac Cowan, 28 percent.
-Others, 26 percent.
-Jaden Noot, 16 percent.
Casan Evans got the ball. He was under the “others” category with Cooper Williams, which means he did not draw a lot of votes.
The Manship School of Journalism is a great school. My wife Michelle teachers there. But what are these kids thinking? And they may need to schedule her class at once.
But it’s not just the kids. During the rain delay, I listened to all the journalists who cover LSU baseball from various backgrounds and schools who regularly play “Who Would You Pitch” discuss the options. And not one of them said Casan Evans. Shores was a popular pick because he was coming off a good outing against Arkansas on Saturday, and he’s 6-foot-8 and throws 100 mph. The vets said Williams, too, because he’s a left-hander and has the team’s lowest ERA at 1.83.
Only one person in the pressbox said Casan Evans. Yours truly. And this is news because I thought Billy Napier would be doing better at Florida, and my “Who Would You Pitch?” predictions have not been throwing strikes. Until now.
Will Jay Johnson go with Casan Evans on the mound after lengthy weather delay has likely ended starting pitcher Anthony Eyanson’s night?https://t.co/bxwaS5KXI5
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) June 17, 2025
Evans (4-1, 1.86 ERA, 7 saves, 66 strikeouts, 48.1 innings going in) was the obvious pick. He is clearly LSU’s third best pitcher behind pair of aces Kade Anderson (11-1, 3.44 ERA, 170 strikeouts for 1st in the nation in 110 innings) and Anthony Eyanson (11-2, 2.92 ERA, 143 strikeouts for 3rd in the nation in 101.2 innings).
Evans can start. Evans can close. He can throw middle relief, long relief, set-up relief, whatever. And he handles himself more like a junior about to be drafted than a freshman from St. Pius X private prep in Houston who played for his dad, Michael Evans.
And he delivered, AGAIN. Evans shut UCLA out for his first four innings before allowing a hit and hitting a batter in the eighth, and both scored off Williams, but credited to Evans. In the end, he allowed two runs on four hits with five strikeouts and zero walks for the win, improving to 5-1.
This was not a mid-week game to try to get an inning or two out of the up-and-down Noot to set up Evans, who is a great closer. But he’s LSU’s best starter other than Anderson and Eyanson, and he’s gaining on them.
Cowan? My God! He was great early in the season, but he has been struggling since April. And Shores has been improving of late, but he did just walk the bases loaded in the Super Regional.
DON’T OVERTHINK BASEBALL DECISIONS
Don’t over-think it. The lefty, righty thing? Go with your best pitcher regardless of what side from which he throws.
And of all of LSU’s relievers, Evans is the most dependable, mainly because he rarely walks batters – just 19 in 52 and two-thirds innings. And Johnson knows this like the back of his hand. He made up his mind during the rain delay Monday night to start Evans as the poll was being taken.
“Yeah, coach Johnson had told me that once we got out of the delay that I would be on the mound,” Evans said after the game. “And then it got rolled over to today. Just went back to the hotel and got ready for today. Woke up early. The mindset stays the same no matter when I come in the game, if I start or if I close. I was just going out there and doing my best to help my team win.”
Look for Evans to close soon. He threw 68 pitches, but he can come back for short relief if LSU plays Thursday. He could close and/or start in the national championship three-game series should LSU advance to that. The moment is not too big for Evans. It has been too big for a few other LSU pitchers.
“Freshmen don’t transition to the SEC or the highest level of college baseball like him very often,” Johnson said. “That’s a very natural thought. But if you know this dude, it’s the least surprising thing of the season, actually.”
And Johnson saw it. He canceled a trip to one of his best friends’ wedding last year so he could be at LSU on the highly recruited Evans’ second visit.
“That’s how important I thought that was at the time,” Johnson said. “And getting him through the draft, and just how he talks, how he carries himself. Dad is a high school coach. And very rarely do you get that combination of talent, makeup, character, maturity that’s ready for what we have to do. He has it.”
And it’s a good thing Johnson has it, as in the “Who Would You Pitch” decision under HIS cap.
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