6/6/2021 LSU Sports Information By: William Franques Da Boot Sports! EUGENE, Ore. - LSU junior AJ Labas pitched eight strong innings and the Tiger hitters came out swinging in the first three innings to lift the Tigers to a 9-4 victory over Gonzaga in the NCAA Eugene Regional at PK Park. Labas (4-2) fired 123 pitches throughout his eight-inning outing and tied a career high with eight strikeouts while giving up four runs on six hits. Senior reliever Trent Vietmeier came in for relief to finish off the game in the top of the 9th and picked up one strikeout. Gonzaga starter Alec Gomez (5-4) was charged with the loss, pitching one inning and giving up six runs on six hits. The Tigers return to action at 9 p.m. CT Sunday night to take on the Oregon Ducks in the regional final of the Eugene Regional. The Bulldogs have been eliminated from the tournament. The matchup tonight will be streamed on ESPN3, and it can be heard on the LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates including 98.1 FM and streaming free at www.LSUsports.net/live.
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6/5/2021 By: Terrill J. Weil DA BOOT SPORTS! EUGENE, OR: LSU would go into Saturday's elimination contest against Central Connecticut State hoping to keep Paul Mainieri's coaching career extended to another game and that they did. The Tigers would have the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the 10th and Giovanni DiGiacomo at the plate. DiGiacomo came through with a single up the middle to bring home the winning run in walk off fashion... After a horrible offensive performance on Friday night in their 3-0 loss to Gonzaga, the Tigers bats came alive early in the bottom of the 1st inning. Dylan Crews would electrify the LSU crowd in attendance with a leadoff solo homerun bomb over the left field wall. Cade Doughty would follow with a single to left center, before being able to advance to second on a poor pitch by Andrew Braun. Tre' Morgan would step up to the plate next and single to right center, scoring Doughty to give LSU a 2-0 lead. CCSU would answer with an explosive five run second inning. The inning would start with Hilliard walking the first two Blue Devils hitters. Matt Bertochi started the scoring with a single to center field scoring Pasqualini from second base. Next up, Dan Covino would rip a one out double to left field scoring Elliot Good and Bertochi to give CCSU the lead, 3-2. Noah Martinez would then launch a two run blast over the right field wall to extend the Blue Devils lead to 5-2. Dylan Crews would leadoff the 3rd inning the same way he did in the 1st, with a solo homerun to left center field, cutting the Bulldogs lead to 5-3. Tre' Morgan and Zach Arnold would find themselves on base, each on a corner with Drew Bianco stepping up to the plate. Bianco would come through with a two RBI double down the left field line evening the score up at 5-5 to end the 3rd. After the first three innings, both teams would find themselves struggling to score until LSU would in extra innings to claim the win. The big story of the game was the LSU bullpen. With Ma'Khail Hilliard's up and down performance lead to only four innings of work before Mainieri would go to the bullpen to bring in Garrett Edwards. Edwards would pitch five fantastic scoreless innings to keep the game even into extra innings, before Devon Fontenot would enter the game in the top of the 10th to pitch a quick three up-three down frame. The Tigers will now wait on the conclusion of Saturday night's game between Oregon and Gonzaga to determine who their next opponent will be on Sunday afternoon at 3:00pm. 6/5/2021 LSU Sports Information By: William Franques DA BOOT SPORTS! EUGENE, Ore. – Saturday’s LSU-Central Connecticut State game will be televised live on the SEC Network at 3 p.m. CT. The LSU-CCSU game will be also be streamed on ESPN3, and it will be broadcast on affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network. Senior right-hander Ma’Khail Hilliard will be LSU’s starting pitcher on Saturday, while Central Connecticut State will counter with senior left-hander Andrew Braun. The winner of Saturday’s game will advance to play the loser of tonight’s Oregon-Gonzaga game at 5 p.m. CT Sunday. The loser of the LSU-CCSU game will be eliminated from the tournament. 6/4/2021 By: Terrill J. Weil Da Boot Sports! EUGENE, OR: The Tigers are in Eugene, Oregon where Paul Mainieri will have one final opportunity to coach his LSU Tigers as they would battle Gonzaga on Friday night in regional action. Unfortunately the Tigers continued to compete in their struggling regular season form. No offense what-so-ever, errors on defense, and an inaffective bullpen. The 3-0 loss was as horrifying as a Stephen King novel. It was the first time LSU has lost a regional opening game since 1985. Below is our Game Break Down.... 1st INNING: The Tigers would begin the game with both Tre' Morgan (fly out) and Dylan Crews (stuck out swinging) going down at the plate. Gavin Dugas would single to center field, but would get picked off at first base by Gonzaga pitcher Alek Jacob to end the top of the 1st... The Bulldogs would come out swinging as Ernie Yake would leadoff with a single to right center, followed by a single to second base by Brett Harris to set up runners on first and second with no outs. After a Tyler Rando fly out, Landon Marceaux would get Andrew Orzel to ground into a double play to end the Gonzaga threat. 2nd INNING: Alek Jacob would take down the LSU hitters in order as each Tiger would pop out to the infield for a three up-three down inning. Grayson Sterling would lead off the bottom of the 2nd inning with a leadoff stand up triple to right center field. Guthrie Morrison would then step up and hit a single to the right side to score Sterling. Marceaux would then walk Mason Marenco before finally getting the first out of the inning, striking out Jack Machtolf and then out number two fanning Ryan Sullivan. Just when it seemed like Marceaux could get out of the inning with no more damage done, Yake would double down the right field line to score Morrison. Brett Harris would fly out to center field to end the 2nd inning with Gonzaga up, 2-0. 3rd INNING: LSU would make no noise in the top of the 3rd, as Jordan Thompson who came through with a one out single, would be stranded at second base... Landon Marceaux would finally settle down, sitting the first two Bulldog hitters before Sterling would reach first base on the horrible throwing error by Will Safford. A single by Morrison would put runners on first and second before a Marenco ground out to end the 3rd inning... 4th INNING: Dylan Crews would leadoff the 4th with a triple, setting up the Tigers with a great opportunity to get something on the scoreboard. But from there the LSU bats would go cold. Dugas and Stanford would both be recorded outs before Cade Doughty would draw a base on balls. Will Safford would get hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Giovanni DiGiacomo would then launch a ball deep to center field, but Guthrie Morrison would make an outstanding running catch to steal a big play and end the LSU scoring threat. The Zags went quietly in the bottom of the 4th, as they would send only four hitters to the plate, leaving a runner stranded on base. We would head to the 5th inning with Gonzaga still ahead, 2-0. 5th INNING: LSU would remain scoreless in the top of the 5th. Tre' Morgan would manage a two out single, then steal second base safely, but Dylan Crews would strike out swinging to leave him stranded on base... The Zags would manage to put runners on first and second with one out, before Marceaux would force Morrison to ground into a double play to take us to the 6th inning. 6th INNING: Alek Jacob would continue to pitch well, taking care of the LSU hitters quickly with another three up-three down inning.. Paul Mainieri decided to pull Landon Marceuax after facing three batters in the bottom of the 6th, striking out two and issuing a base on balls. Jacob Hasty would take the mound for the Tigers. Ernie Yake would take a base on balls against Hasty before Brett Harris would single to score Machtolf from second. Yake would then get thrown out trying to take second base to end the inning.. We would head to the 7th inning with Gonzaga in control of the contest, 3-0. 7th INNING: LSU's struggles at the plate would continue as Jacob seemed to get stronger on the mound as he went deeper into the ballgame, owning the Tiger hitters. Three up-three down quickly... Trent Vietmeier would enter the game in the 7th and struggle with every pitch early. With runners on first and second and only one out, Vietmeier would dig down deep and strike out the next two Gonzaga hitters to get out of the inning. 8th INNING: Jacob would continue his dominance with another one-two-three inning against the LSU hitters... Paul Mainieri would decide to go with Ty Floyd to start the 8th inning. It looked like Floyd would cruise through the inning after striking out the first two Bulldog hitters, but after walking Ernie Yake he would begin to struggle from the stretch. Floyd would finally record the final out, getting Rando to fly out to right field with runners on the corners. 9th INNING: LSU heads into their final at bat trailing 3-0, but a red hot Alek Jacob would finish with a complete game, once again easily handling the LSU hitters, three up-three down, sending the Tigers into the losers bracket with the Zag's victory... “It was obviously a very disappointing outcome for our team,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “Of course, the story of the game was their pitcher; we just couldn’t solve him. He has such a unique style of pitching, and we haven’t faced a guy like that all year. We worked hard all week to try to prepare for this kid, but he’s done this to everyone he’s pitched against all year. “Landon pitched his heart out, and they were very scrappy team offensively. They were very difficult to strike out, they put some balls in play, and they were able to scratch across a few runs.” LSU (34-23) will meet Central Connecticut State in a elimination game at 3 p.m. CT Saturday. Senior right-hander Ma’Khail Hilliard will be LSU’s starting pitcher on Saturday. 6/3/2021 LSU Sports Information DA BOOT SPORTS! Eddie Smith named Utah Valley baseball head coach Smith comes to UVU after spending the last two years as the hitting coach at national power LSU. He also holds assistant coaching stops at Tulane, Notre Dame, Santa Clara and Virginia, and was the former head coach at Lower Columbia College for four seasons. OREM, Utah – LSU assistant coach Eddie Smith has been named Utah Valley University’s new head baseball coach, the school announced on Thursday. Smith becomes just the third baseball coach for UVU at the NCAA Division I level and the fifth all-time, which includes the program’s junior college era. Smith has been the hitting coach at national power LSU for the past two seasons and is preparing to begin NCAA Tournament play on Friday in the Eugene Regional, the program’s ninth straight trip to the postseason. He has had assistant coaching stops at Tulane, Notre Dame, Santa Clara and Virginia before making his way to Baton Rouge. He was also the head baseball coach at Lower Columbia College in Longview, Wash., for four seasons from 2014-2017. “Eddie Smith is a proven winner with a magnitude of experience at the highest levels of college baseball. He has a history of success everywhere he has been and has learned from some of the most successful head coaches in the country,” UVU Director of Athletics Dr. Jared Sumsion said. “Coach Smith has helped build national championship caliber teams and will have an immediate impact on our program. He has an energetic desire to help our student-athletes succeed both on and off the field. Eddie has strong regional roots in the West and expansive ties all around the country. His ability to recruit elite players is obvious by the success of the programs he has worked with. I am happy to welcome Eddie and his wife, Jennifer, to the Wolverine family.” Smith helped the Tigers to a 12-5 record and a .273 team batting average in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign. This season, LSU is currently 34-22 and ranks 12th in the country with 80 home runs as a team and is also among the nation’s leaders in runs scored. “It is a great honor to be the baseball coach at Utah Valley. This program has the foundation to compete at a very high level and we can’t wait to get to work,” Smith said. “We will build the program around high character individuals who are committed to playing a tough brand of baseball. We look forward to having a baseball team that will make the community proud!” Prior to coming to LSU, Smith spent two years as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at Tulane. In his time as the hitting coach at Tulane, the Green Wave rewrote the American Athletic Conference offensive record books, setting all-time records for a season in home runs, batting average, runs per game, extra-base hits, walks per game, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and OPS. On the recruiting front, the 2019 Tulane recruiting class was recognized by Perfect Game as the No. 1 recruiting class in the conference while the 2020 LSU recruiting class was ranked second in the nation by Baseball America. Prior to coaching at Tulane, Smith spent four seasons as the head coach at Lower Columbia College. At LC, the Red Devils won three straight West Region titles and Northwest Athletic Conference championships in 2015 and 2017 under Smith. In 2015 he was named the ABCA National Coach of the Year for his level and compiled an impressive 146-49 record (.749 winning percentage) as the head man at Lower Columbia. From 2015 to 2017, his LC Red Devils also posted the third-best ERA of any program at any level in the nation, and he was also named the conference coach of the year twice during his time at Lower Columbia. Smith began coaching as an assistant at Virginia for five years (2007-2011), where he helped the program emerge as a national power, winning three ACC Championships and reaching the College World Series in both 2009 and 2011. After his time at Virginia, he served a year as an assistant coach at Santa Clara in 2012 as well as his alma mater of Notre Dame in 2013. Overall, during his coaching career, Smith has helped his teams to a pair of College World Series appearances and six conference championships in the past 11 seasons. He has also helped his squads to a 312-174-1 record during his nine seasons as an NCAA Division I assistant coach and has coached alongside two former coaches that have won national championships in Paul Mainieri at LSU and Brian O’Connor at Virginia. An impressive tally of 60 of his former players have been selected in the MLB Draft, which includes four in the first round and 15 that have reached the big leagues. He has also spent a pair of stints with USA Baseball as an assistant coach with the 17U and 14U National Team Development Program in the summers of 2015 and 2018. As a player, Smith spent two years at Notre Dame, where he helped the Fighting Irish to Big East Conference Championships and NCAA Tournament Appearances in both seasons. As a senior in 2006, the team was ranked as high as No. 8 in the country. He received his bachelor’s degree in Spanish and earned All-Big East Academic honors. His college playing career began at Centralia (Wash.) Community College, helping the Trailblazers set a school record for wins in 2004. He was honored as a NWAC Red Lion Scholar Athlete that year and was inducted into the Centralia College Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is married to the former Jennifer Cromwell. A 2010 graduate of the University of Virginia, she was a three-time All American and helped the Cavaliers win the National Championship her senior year in rowing. The Smith File Year at Utah Valley: First Birthdate: February 8, 1984 Hometown: Olympia, Wash. Wife: Jennifer Education: Notre Dame, 2006; B.A. in Spanish Playing Career Centralia (Wash.) Community College - 2003-04 Notre Dame - 2005-06 Coaching Career Virginia (asst. coach) - 2007-11 Santa Clara (asst. coach) - 2012 Notre Dame (asst. coach) - 2013 Lower Columbia College (head coach) - 2014-17 Tulane (hitting coach/recruiting coordinator) - 2018-19 LSU (hitting coach) - 2020-21 6/2/2021 LSU Sports Information By: William Franques EUGENE, Ore. – The LSU baseball team arrived in Oregon Wednesday and engaged in a two-hour evening workout at Linn-Benton Community College, as the Tigers prepare for the NCAA Eugene Regional. The Tigers, the No. 3 seed in the regional, will face second-seeded Gonzaga at 9 p.m. CT (7 p.m. PT) on Friday at the University of Oregon’s PK Park. Top-seeded Oregon will face No. 4 seed Central Connecticut State at 4 p.m. CT (2 p.m. PT) on Friday. Friday's games will be streamed live on ESPN3, and they will be broadcast on affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network. LSU coach Paul Mainieri said that junior right-hander Landon Marceaux (6-5, 2.26 ERA) will start Friday’s game on the mound for the Tigers. He will be opposed by Gonzaga junior right-hander Alek Jacob (7-1, 2.82 ERA). “Their pitcher is crafty, and he’s going to make it hard on us, so we’ve got to figure out a way,” Mainieri said. “We worked today on some things that would help us against a pitcher like this, and hopefully we can have success against him. We’ve got to get hot for three days in a row offensively; that’s what I’m hoping we can do out here.” The full schedule for the Eugene Regional is below; the TV/Online schedule for Saturday, Sunday and Monday is TBA: Friday, June 4 Game 1 – Oregon vs. Central Connecticut - 4 p.m. CT (ESPN3) Game 2 – Gonzaga vs. LSU - 9 p.m. CT (ESPN3) Saturday, June 5 Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser - 3 p.m. CT Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner - 9 p.m. CT Sunday, June 6 Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser - 5 p.m. CT Game 6 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner - 9 p.m. CT Monday, June 7 Game 7 (if necessary) – Game 6 Repeat - 9 p.m. CT |
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