Anderson shines, LSU opens SEC play with 12-5 win over Missouri
BATON ROUGE, La. – Left-hander Kade Anderson pitched a career-long 6.1 innings Friday, and leftfielder Derek Curiel’s three-run triple highlighted a five-run fourth inning as top-ranked LSU defeated Missouri, 12-5, in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
LSU, which has won 13 straight games, improved to 18-1 overall, 1-0 in the SEC, while Missouri dropped to 8-9 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
The win streak is the Tigers’ longest since the 2023 squad also won 13 in a row from February 26-March 18.
LSU and Missouri resume their weekend series at 6 p.m. CT Saturday in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in a game that will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and streamed on SEC Network +.
Anderson (4-0) worked 6.1 innings, limiting Missouri to three runs on four hits with two walks and 11 strikeouts.
“Kade is an ace in the truest sense of the word,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “You don’t have to be a baseball expert to see the quality of pitcher that he is, with the strikes, the change of speeds and the location. Even more, who he is as a person and a competitor with his character, really shines through.”
Missouri starter Ian Lohse (0-3) was charged with the loss, as he allowed seven runs on three hits in 3.1 innings with two walks and two strikeouts.
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Shortstop Jackson Lovich unloaded a two-run homer in the top of the second inning to give Mizzou a 2-0 lead, but LSU responded in the bottom of the frame when catcher Luis Hernandez slugged a two-run dinger, his second of the season.
LSU erupted for five runs in the fourth, as the outburst featured Curiel’s bases-loaded triple, an RBI groundout by second baseman Daniel Dickinson and a run-scoring single by pinch hitter Jake Brown.
Brown’s two-run double in the sixth extended LSU’s lead to 9-2, and a two-run homer by shortstop Steven Milam – his fifth dinger of the year – highlighted a three-run eighth inning. The eighth inning also featured Brown’s sacrifice fly, marking his fourth RBI of the game.
“I’m very proud of our team and our offense,” Johnson said. “It’s easy to see the talented players that we have, but how they play is the separator. They’re doing a really good job, and they’re going to need to continue to do a really good job in order for us to score runs.”
