FRIDAY’S GAME:  LSU 2, Miss. State 1

SATURDAY’S GAME: 2 p.m. (tentative) / SECN+

LSU needed a pair of long Jacks to beat Mississippi State’s Ace Friday.

The Tigers got solo home runs from Ethan Frey and Luis Hernandez off of reigning SEC pitcher the week Pico Kohn as LSU edged the Bulldogs 2-1.

But in the end the Tigers, who probably faced the best arm they’ve seen yet this year, needed a couple of aces up their own sleeves too.

LSU starter Anthony Eyanson (4-0) and freshman reliever Casan Evans more than matched Kohn while combining to strike out 18 Bulldogs.

Eyanson struck out 12 Bulldogs in five innings and Evans fanned six over the final four innings.

Neither gave up an earned run, with the Bulldogs’ only run coming in the fourth inning on a passed ball.

That tied the game after Frey’s home run gave LSU a 1-0 lead with his home run in the fourth and Eyanson, the catcher who was charged with the run-scoring passed ball, put the Tigers back up with his solo shot in the fifth.

Other than the two jacks over the fence, Kohn (4-1) came as advertised. He struck out eight Tigers in five innings and the Bulldogs’ Stone Simmons got three more whiffs over the final three innings.

LSU (25-3, 6-2 SEC), which beat the Bulldogs 8-6 Thursday night, will go for the sweep Saturday at 2 p.m. — weather permitting, as LSU officials said the scheduled time could and likely will be later. State fell to 16-11, 1-7.

In Saturday’s game, which didn’t start until 9 p.m. Friday due to day-long rains in Baton Rouge, both teams managed seven hits.

“Winning baseball starts and ends on the mound, and we got great performances from Anthony and Casan tonight,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “What an incredible performance tonight.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing — the Bulldogs stranded 12 baserunners.

Eyanson, however, wiggled out of several sticky situations. After the run scored on the passed ball, the Bulldogs still had runners at second and third with no outs, but Eyanson struck three straight hitters to end the inning with no further damage.

An inning later, State had runners at the corners with one out and Eyanson against struck out two in a row to get out of it.

Evans, who got his fifth save, got the first two outs quickly in the ninth. But a full-count walk and a two-strike single suddenly put the potential tying and go-ahead runners on before centerfielder Chris Stanfield tracked down a long fly ball just shy of the centerfield fence.

“They really navigated the lineup and I thought they pitched very smart,” Johnson said of his two pitchers, “There’s a few hitters in that lineup that if you make a mistake, they’re going to tattoo it.

“And I thought (they) showed poise, showed talent, showed his intelligence and his competitiveness.”