The Arkansas Razorbacks. The LSU Tigers. One college baseball blueblood. The other chasing their first national title. There have many great players and games between these 2 schools. One of my favorite memories is watching Ryne Stanek versus Aaron Nola duel it out in the SEC Tournament in Hoover. Then, I thought how dumb the SEC Tournament was when LSU came back to eliminate Arkansas in 1 game.

This year, the Arkansas Razorbacks (40-9, 17-7 in SEC) are traveling back to Baton Rouge to take on LSU (38-11, 15-9 in SEC). Both teams are pretty much locks to host a regional, with the winner of this series probably locking in a national seed and super regional host. It is unfortunate that these 2, former SEC West foes, will not play every year going forward, due to the conference scheduling, because this series usually is great baseball.

Today, I am wanting to take a closer look at the 2025 LSU Tigers and look for some things to look out for this weekend. Let’s compare how Arkansas and LSU have fared in the SEC (all stats listed are conference stats only, from Stats – Baseball – Southeastern Conference):

Team Stats

Stat	Arkansas (SEC Rank)	LSU (SEC Rank)
Batting Average	.307 (1st)	.267 (7th)
ERA	4.47 (3rd)	4.15 (2nd)
OPS	0.970	0.813
Strikeouts – Pitching	256 (3rd)	270 (1st)
Strikeouts – Hitting	232 (5th)	202 (15th)
HR	55 (2nd)	31 (10th)

Now, there are a lot more stats you can look at, but I think these listed show some good details. LSU will be one of the best pitching teams Arkansas has faced this year. A key in this is LSU pitching leading the SEC in strikeouts while Arkansas hitting is the 5th highest. While Arkansas’ offense has been very good this year, they are prone to a streak of strikeouts, which you can see in games they have lost this year.

Another interesting stat from the table is the LSU batting average. I was expecting this number to be higher. When you look at overall, not just conference, LSU batting average jumps to #2 in the SEC. They are absolutely raking in the non-conference. While their SEC batting average is in the middle, they do not strike out – meaning balls are being put in play. Potentially some trouble for the Arkansas pitchers

Players to Watch

For this section, I want to highlight some players to watch, specifically on the LSU side. So why is LSU’s pitching so good? It all starts with possibly the best 1-2 starting duo in the SEC. (all stats below are again conference play only)

Kade Anderson LHP – 3-1, 4.22 ERA, 49 IP, 14.1 K/9, 9 HR given up, 6.1 IP per start

Anthony Eyanson RHP – 4-2, 3.25 ERA, 44.1 IP, 14.3 K/9, 3 HR given up, 5.5 IP per start

These guys are where it all starts for LSU. From my last blog post about Arkansas starters, I talked about K/9. These guys both fall into the “Elite” category for striking batters out. It will be tough for Arkansas to win even just 1 of their starts. It looks like their 3rd starter role has been given to Casan Evans (2-0, 1.37 ERA) recently, and he has done pretty well too.

Zac Cowan has made the most appearances out of the bullpen for LSU and has a 2.42 ERA in 12 appearances. He may not strike a lot of guys out, but he is not walking many and keeping balls in the yard. Overall, LSU’s bullpen is not their strong point.

On the LSU hitting side, my first thoughts of hitters from last year were Steven Milam and Jared Jones (mainly because of their size difference playing 2B and 1B last year). However, these guys have not performed very well for LSU in the SEC. They are bottom 2 in Batting Average for LSU – Milam: .205 AVG, 5 HR, 17 RBI, 0.718 OPS – Jared Jones: .252 AVG, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 0.742 OPS. While they do not have the highest averages, they are in the top 3 for HR for LSU. Interesting note: Jones has hit 4 HR in the SEC and 12 in out-of-conference play. With that said, both of these guys can get hot at anytime and be dangerous.

So if they are not performing too well, who is?

Derek Curiel CF – .313 AVG, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 0.893 OPS

Chris Stanfield LF – .333 AVG, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 13 2B!, 0.919 OPS

Curiel is a true freshman who has adjusted well to college baseball and the SEC. He has done a good job getting on base and overall, has been LSU’s best hitter in the SEC.

Chris Stanfield, who bats at the bottom of the order, has also done well in the SEC. He has no homers at all this year but has the most XBH (14) for LSU in SEC play.

Neither of these guys may be considered the most “dangerous” but are ones to watch this weekend. Honorable mention in the LSU lineup is Luis Hernandez (5 HR, 0.910 OPS) and Daniel Dickinson (2 HR, .450 OBP, 0.874 OPS).

Keys for Arkansas

What are the keys for Arkansas to take this series? After doing the research, it is obvious that Arkansas will need to grind at-bats against LSU’s Starting Pitchers. Jay Johnson has a pretty long leash for his pitchers, letting them go over 100 pitches. Any 3 pitch or less at-bat by Arkansas that results in an out is a “+”for LSU. This will also mean stringing hits together to get some crooked innings. The sooner Arkansas gets to the bullpen, the better chance for victory.

On the other side, obviously Arkansas starters will need to continue pitching well. Root has been hit a little bit on the road but would be nice to get a Quality Start from him. LSU’s offense has not looked the best, but that does not mean they are not talented. They will hit the ball so Arkansas needs to limit any defensive errors. Arkansas has plenty of bullpen arms but cannot afford to burn through the starters.

My Prediction: I have gone back and forth on this series. LSU is 10-2 at home in SEC play. LSU comes off a tough road series loss at Texas A&M, and Arkansas a strong performance versus Texas. In the end, I will let my homer-ism takeover and say Arkansas goes 2-1 this weekend. I believe they split the Anderson/Eyanson start and them grind it out on Sunday.

Let me know your predictions!

Other things I am watching:

• Does Reese Robinett carry over his Sunday vs Texas performance?
• How many pitches does Gage Wood go this week?
• Will we see Parker Coil and Logan Maxwell come back from injury? Are they effective?

References

Beaulieu, S. (2024). Gallery: Baseball vs Southeastern Louisiana [Review of Gallery: Baseball vs Southeastern Louisiana]. https://lsusports.net/imgproxy/jUVrADxIJZiFOCTkR-axVXp6MDiCpwX6UqH3x5PvLjs/fit/3000/3000/ce/0/aHR0cHM6Ly9zdG9yYWdlLmdvb2dsZWFwaXMuY29tL2xzdXNwb3J0cy1jb20vMjAyNC8wMy81YmIwNmRhNC1ic19zYl8wMzA2MjRfNzY2LmpwZw.png

Smith, J. D. (2025). Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy named SEC Player of the Week (C. Long, Ed.) [Review of Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy named SEC Player of the Week]. https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2025/02/24/20250223_Ark_-_Mich_baseball181_t800.jpeg?90232451fbcadccc64a17de7521d859a8f88077d

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