LSU advances with two-day win over UCLA

Published 11:49 am Wednesday, June 18, 2025

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.”

NOTEBOOK

LSU freshman pitcher Casan Evans found out Monday night during the rain delay against UCLA that if the game resumed that night, he was going to pitch for starter Anthony Eyanson.

The rains didn’t let up, but he was still next arm up when the game resumed Tuesday morning.

He held the Bruins scoreless for his first four innings as the Tigers went on to win 9-5.

“The mindset stays the same no matter when I come in, start or close,” Evans said. “I was just going out there and doing my best.”

COMEBACK: Unlike the game itself, it didn’t take long, but LSU’s 9-5 victory over UCLA was the Tigers’ eighth comeback after trailing by three or more runs. UCLA led 3-0 in the top of the first, but the Tigers took control with four in the bottom of the inning.

LSU now has nine comebacks of three or more runs in its CWS history.

CLUTCH: Five of the Tigers’ nine runs came with two outs. The two they got in the fourth when play resumed Tuesday both came after UCLA retired to first two batters.

“They did a good job with two outs and two strikes, UCLA coach John Savage said. “We got two outs and can’t get out of the inning.

“You’ve got to give them a lot of credit. We just left too many balls over the plate and they’re not going to miss those.

“We didn’t make enough good pitches against a really good team. And that’s a bad combo, right?”

SLUMP BUSTER: LSU’s Jared Jones, who struck out in all five of his at-bats Saturday, blasted a 3-run homer into the wind in the bottom of the first inning against UCLA. He also had an RBI single in the eighth.

He and Johnson spent extra time in the batting cage after Sunday’s practice. It was his 21st bomb of the season.

VIPS: Paul Skenes, last year’s National League rookie of the year with the Pittsburgh Pirates who led LSU to the College World Series championship here two years ago, was in the house for the start of LSU’s game with UCLA Monday night.

He was sitting next to his girlfriend, former LSU gymnast and Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model, Olivia Dunne, along with Raising Canes founder Todd Graves.

Skenes was able to attend Monday because the Pirates had the day off, but wasn’t there when the game resumed Tuesday, as he had to get to Detroit for the Pirates’ game.

TY-BREAKER: The 19 strike outs Arkansas’ Gage Wood rang up in his no-hitter Monday set the CWS single-game record. It was previously shared with 17 by LSU’s Ty Floyd of LSU and Arizona’s Ed Bane.

Floyd did it two years ago in LSU’s 4-3 win over Florida in the first game of the championship series. Bane did it in 1972.

ORDER RESTORED: Derek Curiel was back in the leadoff spot against UCLA after thriving in the No. 7 hole Saturday.

Jake Brown, who didn’t start Saturday but pinch-hit late (and was hit by a pitch) was back in right field and batting third after Josh Pearson started Saturday. Brown was 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI singles and a run scored.

Tanner Reeves was at third in place of Michael Braswell, hitting seventh, but was lifted for a pinch-hitter shortly before the Monday rains began and replaced in the field Michael Braswell.

WARDROBE CHANGE: Both LSU and UCLA came out in different uniforms Tuesday than they wore before the game was delayed by rain Monday night.

The Tigers went from pin stripes to solid white, while the Bruins switched from gray to blue.

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