Rain Delay Doesn't Stop the Tigers Securing A Win Over UCLA

Game 8 of the College World Series started like any other game, the LSU Tigers and UCLA Bruins each chasing the win to stay in the winner's bracket to keep the hope of reclaiming the national championship title just within grasp.

However, in LSU fashion, the weather had other plans, and after a 14-hour and 41-minute delay due to weather, the game finished a day later.

Anthony Eyanson is starting on the bump following Kade Anderson’s standout Saturday performance, looking to redeem himself after a shaky appearance that got a little too ahead of him against West Virginia last weekend.

“I feel like I was getting myself into a groove, but I just wanted to start the game sharper though,” says Eyanson. “I mean, this is a blessing in disguise, though, just being able to go out there for more appearances going forward.”

With UCLA up to bat first, Eyanson toed the rubber. Unfortunately, it got a little out of hand in the first. This small ball team came ready to swing, getting two men on base with no outs. This was something UCLA is known for, boasting a 27-1 record in scoring in the first inning.

It was shaky and moving fast, but after three runs and four hits were knocked up on the board, Eyanson was able to escape the inning and work on settling in for the second inning.

As the Tigers headed into the bottom of the first, trailing by three, it was not ideal for a team that likes to start ahead of the ball.

That didn’t deter from making noise like no other. After two single hits from Ethan Frey and Stevan Milam with no outs, the wheels started turning quickly. Jake Brown up to bat, and a single drives in Frey to put the deficit to two runs.

Jared Jones, after having a platinum strikeout on Saturday, something clicked against UCLA pitcher Landon Stump, and the slump was over in the form of a three-run homer to give LSU the lead. All of this with only one out, after that two ground outs ended the first.

For the Bruins, the aggressive small-ball approach used in the Big Ten was no match for this SEC defence, ready for every situation presented, which allowed no one to come home with nine hits and only five runs.

Although UCLA now entered the losers' bracket, it can’t go without mention how strong of a defensive attack the Bruins put on, with shortstop Roch Cholowsky making every ball hit towards him a smooth ride over to get the Tigers out.

It still wasn’t enough to halt the LSU defence, which scored nine runs on 12 hits, and used only four pitchers compared to the Bruins' eight pitchers.

With this 9-5 win, LSU is now 2-0 in the tournament and will play tomorrow night against the winner of Game 10, and that means one win away from the chance of taking it all back home to the boot.