Who will be the next Griffin Herring?
When it came to the bullpen, that was the question on LSU fans' minds heading into the season. Did the bullpen have someone who could throw multiple shutout innings in a tight game? Did anyone have the makeup to fill such a roll?
Coach Jay Johnson didn't anoint any pitcher before the start of the year, but LSU spent the preseason developing a number of potential candidates for the role, including freshman right-hander William Schmidt, junior right-hander Gavin Guidry and junior left-hander Conner Ware.
Also among that group was freshman right-hander Casan Evans and junior right-hander Zac Cowan. Through 28 games, it's been Evans and Cowan who both have earned the role.
After Cowan tossed four scoreless innings in relief Thursday, Evans threw four more shutout innings Friday to close out LSU's 2-1 win over Mississippi State and clinch the series victory over the Bulldogs at Alex Box Stadium.
"I'm just a big believer, man," Johnson said. "At the end of the games is where you need your guys, and especially with an offense like we have."
It wasn't all smooth sailing for Evans. He ran into a bases-loaded jam with two outs in the eighth inning after walking a pair of batters and surrendering a single, but he worked his way out of it by recording his sixth strikeout of the night.
Evans admitted Friday wasn't his best outing.
LSU starting pitcher Anthony Eyanson (24) greets LSU catcher Luis Hernandez (23) as they pair return to the dugout against Mississippi State, Friday night, March 28, 2025, at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
"Command, fastball, slider, changeup, all of it. I thought it could have been a little better, but that's the game of baseball," Evans said. "You can't be perfect every time."
Evans closed out the game by inducing a deep fly to center field with two outs in the ninth. The save was Evans' fifth of the year after throwing a career-high 73 pitches.
"(He has) a whole lot of ability with the right mental makeup and pitchability," Johnson said. "And, I mean, that was impressive tonight."
Friday was junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson's best start in SEC play. But before he could throw a pitch, he had to wait an extra two hours and 36 minutes because of inclement weather in the Baton Rouge area.
The game originally was scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m., but Eyanson's first pitch didn't come until 9:06 p.m. The contest didn't end until 12:10 a.m. Saturday morning.
The UC San Diego transfer thrived in the late-night setting, striking out 12 batters in five innings while allowing just one run that was unearned.
He surrendered a run in the fourth on a passed ball after Mississippi State (16-11, 1-7 SEC) loaded the bases with nobody out, but he kept the Bulldogs at just the one run after striking out the side.
For the final strikeout, Eyanson scored an assist from Johnson. The LSU coach sprinted onto the field when he noticed that sophomore Dylan Cupp had taken too long to get into the batter's box.
The heads-up move by Johnson helped the umpires call the delay of game violation against Cupp. And since Cupp was already in a two-strike count, the penalty put another strike on the board and provided Eyanson an inning-ending strikeout.
Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis was extremely displeased with home plate umpire Jeff Head after the call.
"I just heard somebody say 'clock' behind me," Johnson said. "And I turn and look, and then immediately use my old running back first step to get out there to make sure Jeff Head was looking at the clock."
The fourth inning wasn't Eyanson's only pickle of the night. Mississippi State threatened again in the fifth, placing two runners in scoring position with one out. But Eyanson recorded two strikeouts to escape the jam.
"I probably say it a lot," Eyanson said. "But what it really comes down to, I think I just executed pitches when I really needed to."
Eyanson's day ended in the sixth inning when he walked the leadoff batter. The Bulldogs then managed to put men on the corners with two out against Evans, but the Texas native forced a groundout to get out of the inning.
Stranding runners in scoring position was Mississippi State's Achilles heal on Friday. The Bulldogs left 12 runners on base and were just 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
"It was funny too," Johnson said. "(After the) comeback win last night it was 8-6. I literally grabbed (pitching coach Nate Yeskie) and gave him a hug and said, 'Hey man, I don't care if it's 8-6 or 2-1, we're going to win 2-1 tomorrow.' So that was pretty cool."
LSU (25-3, 6-2) kicked off the scoring in the second inning on a solo home run from junior Ethan Frey. The blast was his fifth homer of the year.
Mississippi State left-hander Pico Kohn kept the Tigers' bats quiet over the next two innings but senior Luis Hernandez got to Kohn in the fifth, blasting his fourth homer of the year with one out. The shot down the left field line handed LSU the 2-1 lead.
Kohn, who was the SEC Pitcher of the Week last Friday against Oklahoma, exited after the fifth inning. He struck out eight batters and allowed five hits on 93 pitches.
"He hides the ball well, does a really good job," Johnson said. "(He) keeps it behind him, and it's a little unique slot.
"He locates the fastball well, and the slider is hard, and it comes out of the kind of the same tunnel, kind of spins the same."
After Kohn, LSU was unable to get a run across Bulldogs senior right-hander Stone Simmons. He shutout the Tigers with three strikeouts in three innings of work.
"I thought we could have done a little bit more there," Johnson said.
LSU and Mississippi State face off for the final game of the series on Saturday at Alex Box Stadium. The game will be available to stream on SEC Network+.
First pitch was originally scheduled for 2 p.m., but Johnson said afterwards that it will start no earlier than 5 p.m.
"It is not official and I don't have total autonomy on that decision," Johnson said. "That's what I was told on the field after the game."
