Everything LSU pitcher Kade Anderson said after stifling Arkansas in College World Series
Everything LSU pitcher Kade Anderson said after stifling Arkansas in College World Series
LSU ace Kade Anderson dazzled in LSU baseball's College World Series win vs. Arkansas on Saturday. The lefty went seven innings, allowing just three hits and one run. Anderson struck out seven and walked two.
The Razorbacks' lineup is arguably the best in college baseball. It's filled with power and MLB talent from top to bottom. Apart from a sixth-inning solo home run, Arkansas had no answer for Anderson.
Anderson threw 100 pitches, 60 of them strikes. Anderson was aggressive, throwing first pitch strikes to 15 of the 24 batters he faced. When hitters get behind vs. Anderson, it's tough to recover vs. his fastball/changeup combo.
Anderson's performance continued to make a case as to why Anderson should be the top pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. Anderson has watched his draft stock skyrocket in recent months, and Saturday's outing will only add to the hype.
LSU advances to play UCLA at 6 p.m. CT on Monday. But first, here's everything Kade Anderson said after the win.
On bouncing back from last week
Anderson pitched seven innings vs. West Virginia in the super regional, but he didn't have his best stuff, allowing seven runs. Here's what he said about his response.
"Yeah, I think that's part of the game. And you don't take those for granted. It's a learning lesson. And to have that experience and to learn from that outing was huge because Coach Yeskie and I went through it and found out what was the plan for next week to be better. And just taking it all in. And it was a really cool moment, but just excited to win. That's all that really matters."
Embracing the big moment in Omaha
"Yeah, I think just taking it all in. And that's why you come here. And really just proud of our team. And at the end of the day, that's all you need to do is win. And it doesn't matter the stat line and kind of how this paper lines up. But we won the game. And that's really all I care about."
Anderson and LSU take a business-like approach
"Yeah, I think Coach Johnson does a really good job in preparing our team. And when you treat every game like a playoff, you get used to it. And LSUs used to being in Omaha. And that's something that we do often. We're proud to say that. But we're meant for these kind of games. And we're excited to keep going."
Did Anderson look at his first game vs. Arkansas in May?
"Yeah, I take every outing with a grain of salt. And just looking to prepare for the next one. Obviously, you look back a little bit, but every week's different. And kind of how they prepare as well is different. So just continuing to live in a classroom. And that's the best part of it."
It's just another game
"Yeah, I think, like I said earlier, we treat every game like a playoff and we'll be ready to go. We've faced them four times and I like the results of what we had. And just continuing to go out there and battle and we're not, like Coach Johnson said all the time, we're not playing Arkansas, we're playing the game. And when you take that kind of note at it, it's just another game. And I think that that playoff mindset has really helped us a lot."
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