LSU sophomore Kade Anderson joined the Tiger history books last Friday after throwing a complete-game shutout in their 2-0 win over No. 9 Oklahoma, marking the first time an LSU pitcher has done so since April 24, 2018.
Anderson threw 135 pitches – with 95 strikes – and struck out a career-best 14 batters while limiting the Sooners to just five hits.
His performance named him SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week. He shared the honor with Tennessee’s Liam Doyle, who recorded six shutout innings en route to the Volunteers’ combined no-hitter over Texas A&M on Friday.
Anderson’s start, however, didn’t necessarily point to a future complete-game shutout right away. After starting the outing with a strikeout, the Sooners hit back-to-back singles to left field. Anderson then walked the next batter, loading the bases with just one out, before punching out the next two batters.
“I think after the first inning, it could have gone a completely different way,” Anderson said after the game. “So just having that kind of mindset to get through the first inning and then the second, which I have kind of learned over my experiences.”
Throughout the game’s final four innings, Anderson retired 12 batters in a row to complete the shutout.
“That was literally the definition of getting better as the game goes along,” head coach Jay Johnson said of Anderson’s outing. “He was pitching with great tempo and getting ahead in the count more as the game went along, and I didn’t think their hitters were seeing him very well.”
Before Friday night’s performance, Anderson’s longest career game was 6 1/3 innings.
Anderson has lived up to the resume he came to LSU with. He recorded a 0.22 ERA throughout high school, ranking him as Louisiana’s No. 2 overall player.
Once he got to Baton Rouge, he immediately made an impact on the mound. As a freshman, he made 18 appearances, with nine starts, and posted a 3.99 ERA and 59 strikeouts.
Now, as a sophomore, he leads the SEC in wins (6) and innings pitched (47 1/3). He ranks second in the conference in strikeouts, with 75.
Anderson was named to the 2025 Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List by USA Baseball last week.
