LSU's best player is probably Kade Anderson.
Coach Jay Johnson was willing to say as much Thursday, the day before the Tigers' series opener with Arkansas that the sophomore left-hander was scheduled to start.
"I think you have your best teams when your best players — and he's probably our best player, if you really want to get down to it — are the most bought into what you're doing," Johnson said.
Anderson has started every series opener for LSU this year and came into this week striking out nearly two batters per inning. But after recording his 10th strikeout in the sixth inning against the Razorbacks at Alex Box Stadium on Friday, Tiger fans had to hold their breath.
Anderson began holding and rotating his wrist, showing signs of discomfort. He threw a handful of warmup pitches in front of Johnson and head athletic trainer Isaac Trujillo, but he exited the game for redshirt sophomore right-hander Chase Shores.
LSU went on to win 5-4 in 10 innings on junior Ethan Frey's walk-off sacrifice fly, but the result paled in comparison to the status of the LSU ace.
"He's probably in college baseball the one guy that you can pencil into a big-league rotation within 24 months," Johnson said early Saturday morning.
The good new for LSU is Anderson's injury was just a cramp, Johnson said. Anderson was evaluated by Trujillo after the game, and Trujillo had no concerns regarding his wrist.
"We're past the Tommy John thing, so I wasn't worried about that," Johnson said. "It was just like a cramp."
Friday was only the second LSU game this season that went to extra innings, and the first since the Tigers' 8-5 victory over Kansas State in Frisco, Texas, in February. That game also ended in 10 innings.
"The margin between winning and losing is small," Johnson said, "and we're a couple outs away from being pretty good over these last five games against only the best teams in the country."
Trailing 4-2 in the seventh inning, LSU (39-11, 16-9 SEC) tied the score on a two-run single from freshman Derek Curiel.
The Tigers were unable to take the lead that inning after junior Daniel Dickinson struck out with runners on the corners, but junior right-hander Zac Cowan entered in the eighth and put up three zeroes — and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 10th — to keep the score tied at 4-4.
Cowan allowed just two hits and recorded three strikeouts, bouncing back from a rough weekend in College Station, Texas, when he allowed three runs.
"I had a good week of work and nothing really changed," Cowan said. "I know last weekend wasn't the best necessarily, but ... coach Johnson has a lot of faith in me, and I got a lot of confidence myself, so I just got out there and competed."
Junior Jared Jones led off the the 10th inning with a single before reaching second base on a wild pitch from right-hander Gabe Gaeckle, who had tossed 2⅔ shutout innings entering the 10th. Gaeckle forced Dickinson to ground out to first base, but the grounder allowed Jones to reach third with one out.
Frey then hit a ball to center field to chase Jones home with the winning run.
"Just kind of went up there with the mindset (of) I've got to swing at something that's in the zone, regardless of what it is or if I'm ready or not," Frey said. "Can't really miss pitches in that situation."
Friday's game originally was scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., but a rain delay postponed first pitch until 9:57 p.m. The game didn't conclude until 1:16 a.m.
Anderson went to war with one of the top lineups in the country. Arkansas (40-10, 17-8) collected seven hits off of him, including two solo home runs, but he filled up the strike zone.
"It's a great rotation, it's a great pitching staff, and obviously it's a great lineup," Johnson said about Arkansas. "Took three really good pitchers on our side to slow them down a little bit, and we did just enough for the offense to be able to come back."
LSU took the first lead, scoring a run on Jones' bloop single in the third inning before retaking the lead in the fourth on Frey's ninth homer of the year. His blast gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
LSU finished with nine hits. Frey led the way with a double and a homer before the walk-off sac fly.
"Just staying confident and staying locked in on what I need to do," Frey said, "and that's kind of the approach I've been taking."
LSU and Arkansas will faceoff in Game 2 of the series on Saturday. First pitch from Alex Box Stadium is set for 5:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on SEC Network.