There were two at-bats that went a long way in determining Friday night's game at .
Alabama loaded the bases with two outs in both instances, putting junior right-handed starter on the ropes in the first and fourth innings.
But Eyanson struck out designated hitter Garrett Staton on a 3-2 off-speed pitch in the first before striking out shortstop Justin Lebron on another full-count pitch in the fourth, escaping both jams despite not having his best stuff or command in either inning.
"A coach I used to work with said, 'All pitches aren't created the same. Sometimes the pitcher has to dig down or find in themselves and know that pitch is there, and then go execute,' " LSU coach Jay Johnson said. "And Anthony does that better than anybody I've seen. Probably tied for first with Zac Cowan, actually."
Eyanson's wizardry allowed him to last six innings. He struck out 12 batters and allowed just one earned run in the Tigers' 4-3 victory over the Crimson Tide that clinched the series victory for LSU.
"The best performance he's had this year, in my opinion," Johnson said.
The only run Eyanson surrendered came on a groundout from left fielder Kade Snell in the first inning. By the end of the night, he had given up just four hits on 115 pitches.
"I just was more competitive in at-bats going later in the game," Eyanson said. "Just kind of mixed well, got ahead."
Junior right-hander Zac Cowan replaced Eyanson in the seventh and, with two outs, allowed just his fourth earned run of the season that cut the LSU lead to 4-2.
Cowan tossed a scoreless eighth inning, but things got tight in the ninth after he surrendered a leadoff double with LSU (34-6, 12-5 SEC) only up two. The runner scored on a sacrifice fly to cut the Alabama deficit to 4-3, but the fly out was the second out of the inning.
Cowan forced a line out to shortstop to end the game.
"When you've got Anthony and Zach and a great crowd behind you tonight and elite defense," Johnson said, "and you're punching dudes out, and it's an SEC win, we'll be happy with it and get ready for tomorrow."
LSU had a tough task facing Alabama (30-10, 8-9) right-handed starter Riley Quick. The redshirt sophomore entered Friday with a 3.13 ERA in eight starts and possessed a fastball that was up to 98 mph.
It took a few innings, but the Tigers' attack eventually got to Quick in the third when junior Daniel Dickinson singled home junior Chris Stanfield, and junior Jared Jones drove in Dickinson with a double.
The run-scoring hits gave LSU a 2-1 lead that it extended to 4-1 on a single from freshman Derek Curiel that scored Stanfield and senior Michael Braswell.
LSU had nine hits through the first four innings, chasing Quick out of the game with one out in the fourth.
"I thought we took great at-bats off Riley Quick, who has an electric arm," Johnson said, "and getting him out of the game early was a real factor."
The Tigers struggled after that, having just one hit over the next three innings against Alabama right-hander Braylon Myers.
LSU had a chance to extend its lead in the eighth after loading the bases with one out, but Jones popped out in foul territory and sophomore Steven Milam flew out to right field.
LSU finished with 12 hits, including six with runners on base. However, the Tigers were only held to four runs in part because they were 0 for 8 with two outs and 0 for 3 with the bases loaded.
"It probably means you didn't drive balls and you didn't capitalize on what we call red-zone opportunities," Johnson said. "And that happened tonight."
LSU will go for its fourth sweep in SEC play on Saturday at Alex Box Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the game will be available to watch on the SEC Network.
