LSU baseball entered Sunday with a chance to advance to Omaha with a win vs. West Virginia in Game 2. Another night of offensive firepower accomplished that goal, and the Tigers are headed back to the College World Series with a 12-5 win.

LSU was the road team in this one, taking the bats in the top of the first. The Tigers scored a run after Derek Curiel led off the game with a double, he advanced to third on a flyout by Ethan Frey, and then scored on a fielder’s choice to make it 1-0 Tigers. Anthony Eyanson was the man on the mound for LSU. He worked a scoreless first inning, and LSU gave him some run support in the top of the second.

LSU scored five runs in the top of the second inning. Steven Milam hit a three-RBI double, Jake Brown hit an RBI single, and Jared Jones hit an RBI single to increase the Tigers’ lead to 6-0.

The bats on both sides got quiet for a few innings until the bottom of the fourth inning. West Virginia scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to cut the LSU lead to 6-3. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Mountaineers would tack on another run to cut the lead to 6-4.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Eyanson walked the first hitter he faced and was pulled from the game for Cooper Williams. Eyanson finished the night after five full innings of work. He gave up four runs on five hits, seven strikeouts, and three walks.

An error, a walk, and a hit by pitch started the top of the seventh for the Tigers and forced a pitching change by West Virginia. Chris Stanfield made the Mountaineers pay with a two-RBI single to give LSU an 8-4 lead. An error then scored Curiel to make it 9-4.

Milam hit an RBI double to score Frey and make it 10-4 Tigers. Jake Brown then hit a two-run blast to dead center to increase the lead to 12-4.

Williams remained in the game in the bottom of the seventh inning. In the bottom of the eighth inning, West Virginia scored another run on a solo homer to cut the lead to 12-5. Williams walked the next batter he faced, and he was pulled from the game.

Chase Shores would enter to pitch for the Tigers. Shores remained in the game to pitch the ninth inning, and he finished the game off and sent the Tigers to Omaha with a 12-5 victory!

With the win, LSU advances to Omaha to face off against a familiar foe, the Arkansas Razorbacks. LSU faced Arkansas during the season and took two of three from them, but anything can happen in Omaha. The date and time for that game are to be announced later.

West Virginia has added another electric arm through the transfer portal with the commitment of Florida International right-hander Owen Puk.

Puk, a redshirt junior in 2025, made 13 appearances this past season with 12 starts, going 4-1 with a 4.91 ERA. He struck out 51 batters over 40.1 innings while holding opponents to a .224 batting average. His arsenal features a big-time fastball that averages in the mid-90s and has touched 99 MPH, paired with a slider that consistently generates swings and misses.

He showed flashes of dominance throughout the season. Puk opened the year with five scoreless innings and five strikeouts against Stonehill and recorded a career-best nine strikeouts in just four innings versus New Mexico State. He followed that with eight strikeouts and only one hit allowed over five innings at Middle Tennessee, and threw four scoreless frames with six punchouts at Bethune-Cookman.

Puk also proved valuable in relief, tossing scoreless outings against Bucknell, Delaware, Louisiana Tech, and No. 17 Western Kentucky.

In 2024, he made 15 appearances (10 starts), striking out 28 in 26 innings. He notched seven strikeouts in a three-inning stint against Florida Atlantic and struck out the side at Iowa late in the season. He missed the 2023 campaign due to injury.

A native of Iowa and product of Marion High School, Puk was ranked as the No. 12 overall player in the state and No. 6 right-handed pitcher by Perfect Game. He helped lead Marion to a 2021 state championship and earned First-Team All-State and WAMAC Conference Player of the Year honors.

Baseball runs in the family, his brother, AJ Puk, was the sixth overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft and is currently a pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Puk’s power pitching and versatility as both a starter and reliever make him a valuable addition to West Virginia’s staff, which is looking to carry its momentum into another standout season.