Texas A&M, No. 2 LSU split pair of Saturday pitchers’ duels
Game #45: Texas A&M 3, No. 2 Louisiana State 1
Records: Texas A&M (26-19, 9-13), Louisiana State (37-10, 14-8)
WP: Ryan Prager (3-3)
LP: Zac Cowan (2-1)
Save: Kaiden Wilson (1)
Box Score
Game #46: No. 2 Louisiana State 2, Texas A&M 1
Records: Texas A&M (26-20, 9-14), Louisiana State (38-10, 15-8)
WP: Anthony Eyanson (7-2)
LP: Justin Lamkin (3-6)
Box Score
This particular Saturday was for the boys on the mound.
With stellar pitching performances all around, Texas A&M and No. 2 LSU split a pair of pitchers' duels at Blue Bell Park.
The Aggies took the first game 3-1, while the Tigers answered back to win the nightcap 2-1.
"I like watching it from us, not necessarily from them," A&M head coach Michael Earley said of the pitching. "Really good arms, all the way around. Our guys did great."
All four starting pitchers — Ryan Prager in Maroon & White vs. Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson for the visitors — were fantastic.
Prager outlasted Anderson, while Eyanson's complete-game victory erased another solid 5.2-inning Lamkin performance. Offense was at a premium as the Ags and Tigers went frame-for-frame across the doubleheader.
"Not a whole lot of thought goes into the pitchers' duel battle part," Prager said. "It's more so treating each inning as its own, and going one pitch at a time, and treating it like it's 0-0 all the time."
Throughout the day, LSU pitching appeared to have the upper hand. In total, A&M hitters punched out 30 times in two games.
Anderson fanned a dozen in six innings, while Eyanson struck out 14.
Yet, the Aggies got to LSU's bullpen for a pair in the seventh to win the first game.
"They had some really good stuff," Earley said of the Tiger hurlers. "Those guys are the real deal. The standard is not (30 strikeouts), but they made it tough on us."
Facing Zac Cowan, Ben Royo's leadoff triple came across on Hayden Schott's RBI single as A&M took a 2-1 advantage. An insurance run scored as centerfielder Chris Stanfield dropped a Caden Sorrell sacrifice fly.
In the second contest, Royo's sixth-inning solo shot was the only run the Ags mustered vs. Eyanson.
"Tip your cap," the A&M second baseman said. "Those two starters are really, really good. They both threw really well."
Behind Prager's seven innings of one-run baseball, Kaiden Wilson's four-inning save preserved the late 3-1 lead.
Late on, LSU didn't need a reliever behind Eyanson as the uber-efficient right-hander worked around Wyatt Henseler's one-out single in the ninth to uphold a 2-1 Tiger edge.
"Our pitchers gave us a chance to win," Earley said. "It's just a tale of two different stories. Game one, we got the hit. That game, we didn't. It was well-fought matchups by both teams."
Only Jared Jones cracked the Prager code with a line-drive homer in the sixth.
The Aggie ace scattered just five total hits while striking out five.
Against Lamkin, LSU scored two on back-to-back doubles by Jones and Ethan Frey as a perfect bunt single from Josh Pearson scored the doubleheader's final run.
"I try to keep it simple," said A&M left-hander Caden McCoy, who spun 3.2 scoreless innings in relief in the nightcap. "I'm just going out there and doing my job and trying to keep my team in this game as best we can. You've got great dudes on the field, and you have faith that you can win it."
A&M found just a trio of hits vs. both Anderson and Eyanson, finishing with a two-game total of nine knocks.
Pushed back 20 hours due to weather, A&M and LSU battled in a pair of traditional SEC fights on the first day of the series.
While the Aggies took an important step toward making their postseason dreams a reality on Saturday, a greater leap would require claiming the three-game set.
That opportunity comes on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
"Get up, eat breakfast, get some coffee, and get rolling just like we've done all year," Earley said. "It's going to be a quick turnaround after a long day, but we'll be ready."
