Jay Johnson explains using both starting pitchers in SEC Tournament opener

LSU pitched both starters Anthony Eyanson and Kade Anderson on the mound during the Tigers’ SEC Tournament opener against Texas A&M on Friday night. The duo was responsible for all 130 pitches thrown for LSU while striking out 16 batters as they defeated the Aggies 4-3 to advance through to Saturday’s semifinal.

Head coach Jay Johnson was questioned for his decision to play his starters in such an unconventional way. The LSU headman revealed he’s playing the long game with his best arms as the Tigers eye next week’s NCAA Regionals.

“We have asked a lot out of those two guys, and they are the reason that we are sitting here — the reason we’re not getting on an airplane,” Johnson said after the quarterfinal win. “So I felt like this was a good week to kind of minimize what we asked of them and their load to get them fresher and better for next week. That was the first thing.

“The second thing was, we now have the option to do whatever we want next Friday. And when you don’t know who your opponent is, you want to have the option to choose. I have that option because I have two pitchers as good as that. Number three, I wanted to play more than one game here (in Hoover), and I think the only way you get better as a team is to play and all that’s left are teams that are capable of going to Omaha and winning the national championship.”

The two pitchers have accounted for 29 starts in 56 total games for the Tigers in 2025. Anderson (8-1, 3.54 ERA) earned the start and pitched six innings during the quarterfinal win. He finished his slate striking out 12 Aggies batters. Eyanson (9-2, 2.77 ERA) came in during the seventh, picking up where Anderson left off. He left Texas A&M scoreless over that stretch, leading the Tigers to victory in a close matchup.

It was the Kade Anderson show in Hoover 😤

🔥 Most strikeouts by an @LSUbaseball pitcher in an SEC tournament game
🔥 First pitcher to record 12 K in an SEC tournament game without pitching into the 7th inning pic.twitter.com/6ZcEbRD2Kp

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) May 24, 2025

Their performance sets up a Saturday SEC Tournament semifinal matchup between LSU and the Ole Miss Rebels. More importantly, it gives some of the less experienced arms in the Tigers pitching staff a chance to show their worth against top 25 talent.

“What an opportunity for us to get better this week,” Johnson continued. “The next thing is, we’re going to need more than those two guys. So now, this is going to thrust a few guys into pitching well against teams that are capable of winning the national championship, which will thus make us better as we move forward.”