Former Lakewood standout Anthony Eyanson delivered a masterful pitching performance for No. 6 LSU on Sunday afternoon, earning the Tigers a national-championship victory over No. 13 Coastal Carolina.
“When I dreamed about this place … this is what I dreamed of, literally — starting the game for the final game of the national championship,” Eyanson said in a postgame interview on ABC.
The junior right-hander got the start, throwing 99 pitches over 6.1 innings, as he struck out nine while facing a contact-oriented Chanticleers lineup.
Eyanson largely induced whiffs by keeping his breaking pitches below the zone. Coastal Carolina’s hitters consistently waved over Eyanson’s looping curveball and tight slider, as eight of his punchouts were swinging.
The Chanticleers cashed in on Eyanson’s infrequent mistakes, though. He surrendered a solo home run in the second inning and a two-run shot in the seventh; both blasts came on elevated breaking pitches.
Despite the three runs allowed, Eyanson largely limited damage. He stranded at least one Chanticleer in five of his six full innings of work.
“There is nobody better in baseball … in baseball at pitching with runners on base than Anthony Eyanson,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said.
Eyanson also had the luxury of pitching with run support for the latter half of his outing.
The Chanticleers struck first, but LSU immediately responded with a run in the top of the third. The Tigers then plated four on a pair of 2-RBI singles in the next frame.
Tigers reliever Chase Shores held the 5-3 lead in place for the final 2.2 innings. LSU rolled a 4-6-3 double play to clinch its second title in the past three seasons, and eighth national championship overall — second-most among Division I programs.
“[LSU] is the place to be,” Eyanson said via ESPN.
Eyanson’s electric showing came one day after fellow LSU starter Kade Anderson delivered a 130-pitch complete-game shutout in the first game of the championship series.
Anderson and Eyanson’s dominance against the Chanticleers this weekend was a microcosm of the Tigers’ campaign. The dual-ace tandem started a combined 37 games this season, with the Tigers winning 31 of those.
“The two guys that toed the rubber for us in this series are major leaguers,” Johnson said via ESPN.
Sunday’s victory — Eyanson’s 12th of the year — comes in what’s likely the final start of his collegiate career. In his latest 2025 MLB mock draft, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel projected Eyanson to go 37th overall to the Tampa Bay Rays.
The first three rounds of this year’s MLB draft will take place on July 13th in Atlanta. Eyanson has virtually cemented himself as a day-one pick given his tremendous campaign and additional postseason heroics.
