LSU advances with two-day win over UCLA

American Press

5 hours ago

Jared Jones 3-run homer was the key blow in LSU's win over UCLA | Special to the American Press / Mitchell Scaglione
LSU 9, UCLA 5
OMAHA, Neb. —It took a little over 18 hours to get there, but it was worth the wait for LSU.
LSU is now in the driver's seat in its bracket of the College World Series.
The Tigers picked up Tuesday morning where they left off before a storm interrupted things Monday night and rolled to a 9-5 victory over UCLA the in key game of the bracket.
'It's kind of special when you get to this time of year and nobody is thinking of anything but winning,' LSU coach Jay Johnson said.
LSU's bats didn't miss a beat with the overnight delay, finishing with 12 hits. The Tigers scored five of their nine runs with two outs.
'Two outs and two strikes,' Johnson pointed out.'
Freshman Casan Evans took over on the mound when play resumed and gave the Tigers four shut out innings and an 8-3 leads before running into trouble in the. eighth.
'It just seemed like were swimming upstream most of the game,' UCLA coach John Savage said. 'It seemed like we were trailing a little from the mound, mostly.'
With a second straight win in the CWS, LSU (50-15) is the last unbeaten team in its bracket and got the rest of the day off while UCLA had to turn around and play Arkansas Tuesday , where it was eliminated by Arkansas.
Arkansas will now have to beat LSU twice, beginning with a 6 p.m. Wednesday game.
'It's where you want to be,' LSU coach Jay Johnson said, '(But) whoever we're playing (Wednesday) is fighting for their season. So you have to bring the same type intensity to counterbalance their focus and movtivation.'
The Tigers started fast both Monday and Tuesday.
UCLA starter Landon Stump didn't get past the second inning before the delay. Wylan Moss started Tuesday morning and didn't get through his first inning.
Jake Brown went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI singles and Ethan Frey scored four times after drawing three walks and singling once.
Jared Jones broke out of his slump after striking out five times Saturday against Arkansas with the biggest hit of the game — his 3-run homer in Monday's first inning put LSU up 4-3 after UCLA had nicked Tiger starter Anthony Eyanson for three runs in the top of the inning.
Jones also had an RBI single in the eighth after UCLA had closed the gap to 8-5.
'We talk about winning every inning,' Jones said. 'They put up a three-spot in (top half of the) first, so to win the inning we had to put up four. It just so happened.'
'We put up three and they put up four,' said Savage. 'We stayed in the game but … we just couldn't contain them enough at the end of the day.'
Casen gave the Tigers four scoreless innings and was crusing before giving a one-out single and hitting a batter after getting first out in the eighth.
Both eventually scored, but after fellow freshman Cooper Williams gave up RBIs on a single and a ground out, Chase Shores came on with the bases loaded and ended the inning on one pitch, a ground out. Shores then retired the Bruins in order in the ninth.
'I love the tempo that Casan set today,' Johnson said. 'He was outstanding, as he always is.
'Freshmen don't often transition to the SEC or the highest level of college like him. But if you know this dude, it's the least surprising thing of the season.'
Casan, who struck out five in his four 4 1/3 innings, gave up four hits and didn't walk a batter.
'It's not just winning,' Johnson said. 'It we win and how we're getting and how … we get better at trying to be of the elite teams in the country.'
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