LSU TO RETURN TO ASTROS FOUNDATION COLLEGE CLASSIC IN NEWLY ANNOUNCED 2024 TOURNAMENT FIELD6/30/2023 Da boot Sports 6/30/2023 By: Jason Watson Jr. Houston, TX- The Astros Foundation College Baseball Classic has just announced its participants for the annual tournament’s 24th year. Minute Maid Park, home of the MLB team Houston Astros, will play host to some of the best university talent the country has to offer. One team on deck taking part in the event includes your reigning National Champions, LSU Tigers. The Tigers will be joined by in-state rival, Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) who will be traveling out west for the competition. Joining the Ragin’ Cajuns and LSU will be the Texas Longhorns, Texas State Bobcats, Houston Cougars, and SEC juggernaut, Vanderbilt Commodores. While nothing has been solidified, the Astros Foundation has released a tentative schedule for the weekend’s games that can be seen below. Friday, March 1: Game 1- 10:05am CST- Houston vs. Texas State Game 2- 2:05pm CST- Louisiana vs. Vanderbilt Game 3- 6:05pm CST- LSU vs. Texas Saturday, March 2: Game 1- 10:05am CST- Vanderbilt vs. Houston Game 2- 2:05pm CST- Texas State vs. Texas Game 3- 6:05pm CST- Louisiana vs. LSU Sunday, March 3: Game 1- 10:05am CST- Texas vs. Vanderbilt Game 2- 2:05pm CST- Texas State vs. LSU Game 3- 6:05pm CST- Houston vs. Louisiana One day tickets as well as full three day tournament passes will be released to public on-sale at a future date, which is not yet announced. Geaux Tigers! *John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior) A huge Thank You to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication!
1 Comment
Da Boot Sports 6/29/2023 LSU Sports Communications By: William Franques TUCSON, Ariz. —LSU coach Jay Johnson has been named 2023 National Coach of The Year by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. Johnson, in just his second season at LSU, led the Tigers to their seventh national baseball championship at the College World Series. LSU posted a 54-17 overall record as the Tigers defeated Florida, 18-4, for the title behind a 24-hit attack. The Tigers posted 11 wins during the NCAA Tournament, six of them against SEC teams. After a 3-2 loss to No. 1 seed Wake Forest early in the College World Series, Johnson's Tigers came through the loser's bracket by eliminating Tennessee before earning consecutive wins over the Demon Deacons to setup a best-of-three championship series against No. 2-seeded Florida. LSU won Game 1 of the series, 4-3 in 11 innings, before Florida drew even with a 24-4 victory in Game 2. Then the Tigers had a remarkable game in the third Championship Series contest to win the 2023 national title. LSU was ranked No. 1 by Collegiate Baseball in its pre-season poll compiled last December and was ranked No. 1 by Collegiate Baseball 13 times during the 2023 season. It is the fifth consecutive year a coach from the Southeastern Conference has been named National Coach of The Year by Collegiate Baseball. The Tigers captured five national titles (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000) under ABCA Hall of Fame Coach Skip Bertman, and added a sixth when ABCA Hall of Fame Coach Paul Mainieri led LSU to the 2009 title over Texas. LSU was led throughout the 2023 season by Collegiate Baseball’s National Player of The Year RHP Paul Skenes and CB first team All-Americans Dylan Crews and Tommy White. The Tigers averaged 8.9 runs per game this season as the team hit 144 homers (2nd in the nation). LSU also ranked second in the nation in walks received (413), hit-by-pitches (143), on-base percentage (.432) and pitcher strikeouts per nine innings (11.7). LSU was No. 1 in the nation in runs scored (634) and shutouts by its pitching staff (12). The pitching staff recorded a school record 798 strikeouts led by Skenes (209, school and SEC record) and right-hander Ty Floyd (120). Last fall, the Tigers landed Collegiate Baseball’s No. 1 recruiting class in the nation orchestrated by Johnson. It featured a star-studded class that included 21 newcomers (14 high school, five high profile NCAA Division I transfers and two junior college transfers). Previous Collegiate Baseball National Coaches of The Year include: • 2022: Mike Bianco, Mississippi • 2021: Chris Lemonis, Mississippi St. • 2020: Mike Bianco, Mississippi • 2019: Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt • 2018: Pat Casey, Oregon St. • 2017: Kevin O'Sullivan, Florida • 2016: Gary Gilmore, Coastal Carolina • 2015: Brian O’Connor, Virginia • 2014: Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt • 2013: John Savage, UCLA • 2012: Andy Lopez, Arizona • 2011: Ray Tanner, South Carolina • 2010: Ray Tanner, South Carolina • 2009: Paul Mainieri, LSU • 2008: Mike Batesole, Fresno St. • 2007: Pat Casey, Oregon St. • 2006: Pat Casey, Oregon St. • 2005: Augie Garrido, Texas • 2004: George Horton, Cal. St. Fullerton • 2003: Wayne Graham, Rice • 2002: Augie Garrido, Texas • 2001: Jim Morris, Miami (Fla.) • 2000: Skip Bertman, LSU • 1999: Jim Morris, Miami (Fla.) • 1998: Mike Gillespie, Southern Calif.; Mike Batesole, Cal. St. Northridge • 1997: Skip Bertman, LSU • 1996: Skip Bertman, LSU; Andy Lopez, Florida • 1995: Augie Garrido, Cal. St. Fullerton • 1994: Larry Cochell, Oklahoma • 1993: Skip Bertman, LSU • 1992: Andy Lopez, Pepperdine • 1991: Skip Bertman, LSU • 1990: Steve Webber, Georgia • 1989: Dave Snow, Long Beach St. • 1988: Larry Cochell, Cal. St. Fullerton • 1987: Mark Marquess, Stanford • 1986: Jerry Kindall, Arizona • 1985: Ron Fraser, Miami (Fla.) • 1984: Augie Garrido, Cal. St. Fullerton • 1983: Cliff Gustafson, Texas • 1982: Ron Fraser, Miami (Fla.) • 1981: Jim Brock, Arizona St. • 1980: Jerry Kindall, Arizona Da Boot Sports 6/28/2023 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - The 2023 CWS National Champion LSU Baseball team arrived home from Omaha on Tuesday. On Wednesday night, fans packed Alex Box Stadium/Skip Bertman Field to watch the team celebrate the program's 7th title... Below are photos of the celebration taken by our awesome photographer, Michael Bacigalupi... Enjoy & GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!!!! Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi *John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior) A huge Thank You to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication! Da Boot Sports 6/26/2023 By:Jason Watson Jr. OMAHA, NE- For the seventh time in program history, your LSU Tigers are Men’s College World Series champions. Capping off their road to redemption, LSU defeated the Florida Gators in Game three of the final series by a score of 18-4. Jay Johnson became the first head coach in NCAA Division I baseball history to lead their team to a championship through their first two years with a new organization. "I don't know where to start. I'll do the best I can with this. The national championship team, I think the most gratifying part of it is they were national championship people every single day of this thing. And kind of feels like a two-year win, if that makes sense." Jay Johnson said. "I think about meeting with Cade right when I got the job and said, hey, we're going to go to work and change a lot of things. And just his coachability, amazing. Dylan is the best player in college baseball history, in my opinion. And just so thankful. And frankly, it was a big reason that I accepted the job. I probably would have looked at LSU anyways, but knowing that I was going to have once-in-a-lifetime player on my team for two years was a big deal to do that. I think about Thatcher. I told him, you know, when he said, yes, that he was going to come to LSU, I said, hey, big guy, you might be the most important recruit of my entire career, because I knew what the other three on the stage would do. But to get to the national championship and get to the NCAA Tournament we needed real aces. And that's an ace right there, and one of the best pitchers in the country. It's kind of cool to feel that full circle. I don't know that I'll ever have children like Jordan is as close to what I would consider a son as anybody. And I'm so proud of him. I think Dylan and Jordan are the only two players that have started every single game for the last two years." Johnson would go on to add. "What a championship performance, heartbeat of our team. And I'm so proud of them. That kind of gives you some insight into it. Some other thoughts. I really believe this will go down in one of the best teams in college baseball history. So consistent in the regular season. I think the SEC Tournament is the only week of the year we had a losing record, if you think about that. Not only one losing week for an entire regular season. 11 wins in the postseason, six of them against SEC teams. And I really believe we played and beat every team, the best team that we could have played along the way throughout the entire tournament at that spot. So I love these guys. I'm so proud of them. And they are a worthy champion, if there ever was a worthy champion." After being defeated by the Gators in 2017, LSU gritted out big time victories all throughout the CWS behind the heavy swinging bats up and down the lineup in conjunction with dominant pitching from both starters and a bullpen whose come to life down the stretch. After a dismal performance in Game two, the Tigers flushed a 24-4 loss out of their minds and quickly moved on to make their own piece of history in Omaha. Florida got the scoreboard moving early in the game with a leadoff single from Cade Kurland followed up with a deep two run home run from Wyatt Langford, picking up right where they left off Sunday afternoon. 2-0 Gators, headed to the 2nd inning. LSU got a little swing of momentum going their way when Gavin Dugas earned a walk and advanced to second off a wild pitch. Brayden Jobert got on with a single to left, putting runners on the corners. Jordan Thompson, who has had a rough go of it in the College World Series, brought home the Tigers’ first run of the night with an RBI single as cheers rained out in Charles Schwab field. An Alex Milazzo walk loaded the bases, starting the second time round the lineup. Cade Beloso is batting first in the rotation after Jay Johnson made some pregame adjustments in an effort to rejuvenate his offense. After being hit on the belt by the first pitch of the game, the Metairie native was struck once again, this time forcing across a run. LSU ties the game at 2 apiece. The Gators then walked Dylan Crews and another run across in the process. Kevin O’Sullivan had seen enough from his starter and brought in Cade Fisher for relief; a critical early pitching change for Florida. Tommy White came up to plate and battled to a full count before lining a ball out to left field for an RBI single. A sacrifice fly to deep center field from Tre’ Morgan allowed Beloso to come across the plate, making the score 5-2 Tigers. Gavin Dugas came up big in his next at bat as he singled into left, sending Dylan Crews home for the Tigers’ sixth and final run of the inning. Thatcher Hurd forced a 1-2-3 inning from the Gator lineup in the bottom half of the frame, earning two strikeouts. In the top of the 3rd inning, Crews delivered a two out single to right field, putting runners at first and second after another Milazzo walk. O’Sullivan went to his bullpen for the second time, this time bringing in Ryan Slater to face Tommy White. A ground out to short would end the half inning. LSU’s bats came to play again in the top of the 4th inning. With two outs, Jobert got a double to fall in deep right field and was sent across home with a single from Thompson. Thompson would scurry to second base as Florida attempted to get the out at the plate. Josh Pearson drove a two run dinger out to right on a 1-2 pitch, making the score 9-2. Milazzo singled and forced the Gators into another mound substitution. The catcher hustled home on a single from Cade Beloso and although the run scored off a late throw, Milazzo appeared to suffer a fracture to his left shin; a difficult blow dealt to the already injury plagued catcher room of LSU. Dylan Crews grounded out to retire the side, but not before the Tigers could put up a four spot extending the lead to eight. After a quiet 5th and 6th innings from both teams, LSU’s Morgan and Dugas got into scoring position by way of a wild pitch after a single and walk put them on base respectively. Florida’s Tyler Nesbitt would walk the bases loaded to Pearson before being pulled for Blake Purnell. Purnell would walk Travinski (in for the injured Milazzo) and gives LSU another unearned run; 11-2 Tigers. Riley Cooper came in relief of Hurd to begin the bottom of the 7th inning for the Tigers. Hurd would finish with seven strikeouts and two hits given up through six innings pitched. Florida cut the Tiger lead down to eight with a solo HR from Ty Evans off of Cooper. Jobert made a leaping attempt at the robbery, but had the long ball just bounce out of his glove and over the fence in right. Crews tripled to lead off the 8th inning. He would be driven home off a single from Tommy White. Following a Morgan single, Gavin Dugas would get walked to load the bases. Jobert would ground into a fielder’s choice and Thompson would hit a SAC fly to deep left, scoring two more runners. The Tigers would eventually be retired and head to the bottom of the stint leading 14-3. Gavin Guidry came in for the Tigers as the closer on the mound. Florida got a lead off knock from Kurland, making the score 14-4, off an almost meaningless run. Guidry would battle back to get the three outs in the inning and force the Gators to stare at the would-be final inning of their season. In what would prove to be his final at bat in an LSU uniform, Dylan Crews led off the 9th inning with a single to center. White would double down the third base line to send Crews home, adding just one more run to an incredible collegiate baseball career. A double from Morgan and a homerun from Jobert would extend the Tiger lead to 18-4. A combined effort from Guidry, Thompson, and Morgan shut down the Gators in the final frame. Two groundouts from short over to first and a swinging strikeout delivered from the bump to end the game sent LSU fans and players into a frenzy as the 2022-23 winners were crowned. Jay Johnson hoisted the trophy and handed it off to his squad who jumped and celebrated their season. LSU ace, Paul Skenes, was officially named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player. An argument could have been made for a number of Tigers to take home the award, but Skenes is nonetheless deserving. Truly, an incredible contest was put out on display for the Tigers to send their best players and seniors out on a high note with a victory closing out the season at Charles Schwab Field. Until next baseball season… GEAUX TIGERS! WE ARE CHAMPIONS! *John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior) A huge Thank You to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication! Da Boot Sports 6/25/2023 By: David Penn OMAHA, NE - Facing elimination, the Florida Gators withstood an early deficit held by the Tigers to emphatically take game 2 of the championship series and force a winner take all game 3. LSU started the scoring in the first inning when Gavin Dugas hit an RBI double that scored Golden Spikes Award Winner Dylan Crews to give the Tigers a 1-0 advantage. Ty Evans would answer with a solo shot in the top of the 2nd inning and LSU would add a pair of runs in the home half of the second inning to take a 3-1 lead after two innings of play. Beginning in the 3rd inning, Florida would reel off 23 runs on 22 hits. “Look at the two teams that are playing,” Jay Johnson said. “These are the two best teams in college baseball. Would I have liked today to have been different? Yeah. I think we were prepared to play at the beginning of the game. And then we asked Nate to get out there and give us everything he could. I’m really excited about tomorrow night. And I know our players are too.” LSU pitched by committee, Nate Ackenhausen got the start for LSU but only lasted 2 ⅓ innings before loading the bases in the third. Gavin Guidry was the first arm out of the pen and surrendered a grand slam by Ty Evans, Evans’ second long ball of the game in as many at bats. Hursten Waldrep got the start for FLorida and also only lasted 2 ⅓ innings as LSU got to him early and often. As a staff LSU recorded 14 strikeouts by 6 different pitchers to only four for the Gators, but Florida put the ball in play throughout the game and a combination of untimely errors, well placed hits, and 6 homeruns kept the Tiger defense on the diamond. On offense, the Gators had 11 different players record a hit, Wyatt Langford was 5-5, Jake Claglianone was 3-6, and Ty Evans was 3-5. Caglianone and Evans each homered twice in the game, and Langford put one over the left field wall. The offensive outburst for the Gators began in the 3rd inning with Florida adding six runs in that frame. Florida added 5 runs in both the 6th and 9th innings, four runs in the eighth, two runs in the 7th, and a run in the 4th. The Gators only failed to put up a run in the 1st and 4th innings. LSU’s final run came in the bottom of the 9th inning when Brayden Jobert launched a two out solo shot with LSU down 21 runs at the time. Florida pitcher Nick Ficarrotta pitched the final five innings for Florida, only allowing LSU 3 hits and one run. The series will conclude on Monday night at 6:00pm CST, The LSU Tigers will be the away team in the contest for the championship rubber match. With a win, LSU will record its seventh College World Series Championship, the first since 2009 and the first for LSU Coach Jay Johnson. Florida has a chance to capture the program’s second championship and the second for Coach Kevin O'Sullivan. *John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior) A huge Thank You to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication! Da Boot Sports 6/26/2023 By: Jason Watson Jr. OMAHA, NE- The road to redemption has officially started. LSU has defeated Florida and takes Game one of the College World Series championship with a 4-3 victory in an 11 inning duel. Ty Floyd fever was the highlight story of the game as he delivered a historic performance dishing out 17 strikeouts and only giving up five hits through eight innings pitched. In a game that could have gone either way, the Tigers have to feel lucky to have escaped with a victory after leaving 16 runners on base and a lineup finishing 1-12 with RISP. Pitching from the starter and bullpen were dominant once again for LSU as they held on to win in a nailbiter. "Great college baseball game. Two of the best teams in the country, a ton of execution by both teams from the mound. Great defensive plays. Really good, quality at-bats." Jay Johnson said. "Ty was outstanding tonight. Really hard to put into words what that performance meant for the outcome of the game and for our team. I think the eighth inning was the turning point, getting through the eighth, sending him back out there against their best hitters and striking out the side was amazing. Riley obviously did what Riley's done here and executed at a high level. Really proud of him for getting through that first and second one-out, I believe it was in the tenth with Langford and Caglianone. And offensively we did a lot of things right. Getting Sproat out before the fifth inning was a good job by our team. He's going to be a high draft pick. And we executed really well there. Hit into tough luck with the bases loaded there with Tommy lining to third base. I thought that was a good at-bat. Sproat did a nice job wiggling out of it where we might have been able to add some on early. But we stayed with it. And Tommy and Cade getting those swings were outstanding. On to tomorrow." The Tigers drew first blood in the top of the 1st inning as they were able to drive home Dylan Crews on an RBI single accredited to Cade Beloso. A deflating top half of the second came to a close when LSU left the bases loaded and had scored zero runs to display for it. A 3rd inning lead-off homerun from Gavin Dugas doubled the Tiger lead in one swing of the bat, but that would be all to come across the plate as the Tigers stranded two more in scoring position. The Gators were able to produce their first run of the game in the bottom half of the frame. With a man on first, Florida’s Wyatt Langford hit a high flying double out to right center field, putting men on second and third. Ty Floyd escaped the inning giving up just one run off a groundout before retiring the side. 2-1 Tigers. While the Tigers kept Florida’s pitch count ticking up early on, there were a limited number of runs on the scoreboard. LSU, through four innings, had left 10 men on base including seven in range of scoring. Florida would pull their starting pitcher and bring in Cade Fisher for relief after a walk to start the 5th inning. In the bottom of the fifth, Gator outfielder, Ty Evans was able to tie the ballgame when he came home. After leading off the stint with a double to left, Evans scored off a groundout that was bobbled by Dugas, making the score 2-2. A Tommy White single to lead off the 6th was not enough to aid the offensive woes for the Tigers. Two more runners left on base elevated the total to 13, a stat looming large in the low scoring contest. Floyd gave up his first major mistake of his outing when he allowed B.T. Riopelle to rip a two out homer to right field over the fence, giving the Gators a one run lead heading to the 7th inning. 3-2, Gators. Dylan Crews led off the top of the 8th inning for the Tigers with a groundout to short. White stepped up to the plate and hammered an 0-2 count breaking ball to deep left field. Tommy Tanks did it again and played hero for LSU, this time to tie the game at three runs apiece. A one out single to left field from Tre’ Morgan led Kevin O’Sullivan to make a pitching change late in the game. Right hander, Brandon Neely came in to pitch and was able to retire the side quietly. Two more strikeouts for Ty Floyd and LSU closed out the side for Florida in the eighth, sending the game to the 9th and final inning of regulation baseball. The 7-8-9 order of the lineup was due for the Tigers in the ninth, and a quick up and down string of at bats was all they could muster. Riley Cooper began the bottom of the frame in an attempt to close out the game. Cooper allowed a runner to work himself into scoring position for the Gators, but a crucial strikeout ended the side and guaranteed extras in Game 1 of the College World Series finals. With one out in the top of the 10th, Dylan Crews took a full count walk and advanced to second base off a wild pitch before Florida decided not to pitch at Tommy White again and opted for the intentional walk. Tre’ Morgan would pop out and Dugas, a fly out, once again, stranding two on base with Crews in scoring position. Florida threatened in the bottom of the inning, but to no avail. Josh Pearson leapt into the air and took away a would-be game winning hit from Langford as runners stood on first and second. Cooper forced a pop out to retire the side. Tommy White on Thursday, and now Cade Beloso on Saturday. Beloso delivered a signature “belly bomb” to lead off the top of the 11th frame to put LSU up 4-3 and send the Gators down to their final three outs. A full count flyout from Josh Rivera proved to be the first out in the bottom half. A Riley Cooper strikeout sent LSU fans into a ruckus as the Tigers became one out away from victory. 1-2 count… Strike 3! Cooper delivered again in the clutch, getting the punchout. LSU wins the ballgame and is now just one win away from winning their 7th College World Series championship. Game two of the final series will be held Sunday afternoon at 2:00pm CST. And as always… Geaux Tigers! *John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior) A huge Thank You to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication! Da Boot Sports 6/22/2023 By: Jason Watson Jr. OMAHA, NE- I believe Survivor said it best with “It’s the eye of the tiger/ It’s the thrill of the fight/ Rising up to the challenge of our rival.” LSU has defeated Wake Forest in a 2-0 shutout ballgame with a walkoff homer, sending the Demon Deacons packing. The Tigers have now battled back to win three straight elimination games to advance to the College World Series finals, setting up a 2017 championship rematch against conference foe, Florida. "Couple of things. Sorry for the delay. It's one of the greatest moments in my life, honestly, number one. Number two, couldn't be more proud of our team." Jay Johnson said. "I think that exemplifies the talent on this roster, but more importantly, the character and the people. And as I look to my left, I just see three great players that are better people than they are players. The best pitched college baseball game I've ever seen from both sides. Obviously what Paul did was spectacular. What Thatcher did was spectacular. You might see four pitchers that were on that mound tonight from both teams that will pitch in Major League Baseball All-Star Games.nAnd hat tip to Coach Walter and Wake Forest. We just slayed a giant tonight. And that was special. And, lastly, look to my left, if you're one of the best players in the transfer portal, there's only one place to come. Last summer I spent a lot of time with these young men, and I think they would tell you they made the right choice. I'd want to join forces with them if they're out there." Ace pitcher Paul Skenes became the SEC single season strikeout king when he tossed his 203rd K in the top of the 2nd inning. Skenes passes former Tiger legend Ben McDonald for the crown. Solid defense and elite pitching were the story of the game with both teams being held scoreless inning after inning. With hits limited and strikeouts aplenty, it certainly seemed as if bullpens would become an x-factor in the contest. The first four stanzas were quiet with minimal offensive action. Things got interesting later into the game, until one squad prevailed and conquered. In the top of the 5th, shortstop Justin Johnson drove a one out double to deep right field for Wake Forest. Brayden Jobert was able to corral it before Johnson rounded towards third base. As the next two batters grounded out, LSU kept it a goose egg affair, stranding one in scoring position. Now in the bottom of the 6th inning, third baseman Tommy White delivered a two out double in response giving the Tigers a threat on the bases. Tre’ Morgan came up and smacked the first pitch he saw toward the gap in left field, but an athletic snag in the air made by Wake’s Brock Wilken was enough to retire the side. The Demon Deacons had the scare of the night in the top of the 8th inning with a runner galloping home from third. After Paul Skenes allowed a lead off walk to Johnson, the runner advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. It looked as if the Tigers were going to pick up out number two of the inning on a strikeout from Jack Winnay, (playing for injured Nick Kurtz) but the first ball to reach the backstop all game allowed Winnay to reach safely at first. Johnson moved to third on the Tiger mistake. The Deacs tried again with a squeeze bunt in order to bring the runner home, but defensive master, Tre’ Morgan, came charging in from first base and was able to flip the ball to catcher, Alex Milazzo, just in time for the tag to be applied. The outstanding prowess from Morgan preserved a zero-all score and kept Tiger fans’ hopes alive. A line out caught by left fielder, Josh Pearson, ended the inning. Wake Forest stranded two more baserunners. The Demon Deacons began the bottom of the 8th with a new pitcher on the mound. Cole Roland came up in relief of Rhett Lowder whose night ended with six K’s, two walks, and only three hits given up in seven full innings. Roland walked the lead off Pearson and provided an out on a SAC bunt before being pulled for Michael Massey who would come in and earn a huge strikeout of Dylan Crews. After intentionally walking Tommy White, putting runners on first and second, Wake Forest was able to retire the side with a flyout from Morgan. A pitching change from LSU put Thatcher Hurd on the bump for the Tigers to begin the 9th inning. Paul Skenes was pulled after finishing with nine strikeouts, one walk, and only having given up two hits in eight innings of work. Two Deacon flyouts and a ground out resulted in a quick 1-2-3 frame from Hurd as the game turned to the bottom of regulation. A lot of the same offensively speaking came from the Tigers’ middle lineup. A Dugas strikeout, Beloso pop out, and Jobert strikeout would send the game to extras. A true pitcher’s duel in Omaha. A quiet 10th inning had no hits nor baserunners from either team as the arms race continued into the 11th. LSU escaped the top half of the inning still scoreless although the Deacons left runners on first and second base. Tigers’ top of the order would come to lead off and potential first overall pick in next month’s MLB draft, Dylan Crews, looking for a momentum shift. Facing a 1-2 count, Crews took a pitch out to left field for a single and put the winning run on base. Wake Forest opted for a pitching change bringing in Camden Minacci for Massey. Tommy “Tanks” White stepped up to the plate and got a pitch to hit… and boy did he ever! On a first pitch hanging breaking ball, White drove it out to left earning the first and only runs of the game in walk-off fashion. A two run homerun, ending Wake’s season as the Tigers live to fight another day. Final score 2-0, LSU. The Bayou Bengals will win out of Bracket 2 setting up a best-of-three series with Florida this weekend. Game 1 will be played at 6:00pm CST Saturday evening. GEAUX TIGERS! CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND! *John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior) A huge Thank You to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication! TIGERS ROARING BACK; ONE WIN AWAY FROM CWS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES AFTER DEFEATING WAKE FOREST,5-26/21/2023 Da Boot Sports 6/21/2023 By: Terrill J. Weil OMAHA, NE - The Tigers continue to battle back out of the loser's bracket in Omaha as they face Wake Forest again on Wendnesday night, a team that they must defeat twice in a row to survive and advance to the CWS Championship round. The purple and gold took another huge step in the right direction with a 5-2 win over #1 seed Demon Deacons "Great performance tonight by our team. Thought it was a great team win." Jay Johnson said. "Had a little bit of adversity early in the game there, and really responded offensively. In the second inning, we took some really good at-bats. And big inning obviously there in the third with a great one by Cade. Really proud of the pitching staff. Everybody contributed tonight. Was big of Javen to get out of the first inning with no runs. We didn't do them any favors offensively in the first, going down on nine pitches and swinging at three or four balls, which was a little out of character. So we made it tough on him in the second. Blake after giving up the single that was a big out right there with their best hitters coming up, and then obviously what a performance by Griffin to strike out Kurtz, to limit the damage there. And then really settled into the game and got us the length that we needed. And then Gavin came in and executed incredibly well. And Riley finished off another one. So good performance and we'll turn it over to tomorrow." Wake Forest got on the board first in the top of the second. Walks got LSU starting pitcher Javen Coleman in trouble as Jay Johnson replaced him in the inning after he allowed the bases loaded with only one out. Blake Money entered the contest but allowed a two RBI single. Money was quickly replaced by Griffin Herring who was able to get LSU back in the dugout. The game headed to the bottom of the second with Wake Forest holding a 2-0 lead. LSU answered in the bottom of the frame as Brayden Jobert doubled down the right field line to score Cade Beloso from second base, cutting the lead in half, 2-1. The Tigers roared into the lead in the bottom of the third. Dylan Crews lead off the inning with a walk, followed by a single by Tre' Morgan. Gavin Dugas drew a base on balls to load the bases. Crews was able to score from third on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2-2. Cade Beloso then blasted a three run homer to right field to give the Bayou Bengals a 5-2 lead. Both Gavin Guidry and Riley Cooper entered the game late to help keep the Wake Forest bats in check as LSU took the 5-2 victory. LSU and Wake Forest will meet again on Thursday at 6:00pm CST for a winner takes all contest to advance to the CWS Championship series against the Florida Gators. *John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior) A huge Thank You to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication! Da Boot Sports 6/20/2023 By: Jason Watson Jr. OMAHA, NE- LSU baseball will live to play another day after defeating Tennessee in an elimination game by way of a 5-0 shutout. Defense was the story of the game for the Tigers’ pitching staff tossing a combined nine strikeouts and giving up just six hits to the Vols. Jay Johnson opted to start Nate Ackenhausen on the hill and he pitched the best game of his season, eventually ending his night with seven K’s, giving up just four hits on 93 pitches over six scoreless innings of work. Those 93 pitches were 26 more than the junior’s season high of 67 which came in the Tigers’ lone win of the SEC tournament against South Carolina. “Acken” earned the win and Riley Cooper got the save. LSU’s bats got going quickly versus Tennessee’s Drew Beam (9-4 on the year.) Dylan Crews was walked to lead off the game for the Tigers and advanced to 2nd base on an early wild pitch. After Tre’ Morgan made it runners on the corners with a base hit to left, Cade Beloso followed it up with a single of his own, earning an RBI in the process. 1-0 Tigers. A quiet 2nd and 3rd inning was the result of a true pitcher’s duel. Beam had earned six strikeouts heading to the top of the fourth, but Ackenhausen had held his own with three K’s for the LSU mound crew. The wind was not aiding either offense to that point with several hard hit balls falling short, deep in the outfield. The Volunteers looked ready to get their first run across in the bottom of the 5th after Ackenhausen hit his second batter of the night and allowed a two out double to Maui Ahuna. Suddenly, Tennessee had two in scoring position, but a pop out blooper into shallow right finished off the side, preserving LSU’s one run lead. First baseman Morgan led off the top half of the 6th with a double out left. He then immediately found himself at home plate earning the Tigers’ 2nd run of the night after Gavin Dugas laid down a bunt single. An errant throw from Vols’ senior, Zane Denton, allowed both runners to advance. Cade Beloso earned a walk next in the lineup. Jordan Thompson popped out with another bunt attempt, and then Brayden Jobert grounded out to first, enabling Dugas and Beloso to get to second and third base. With LSU now bound to strike, the Volunteers called for a pitching change. Freshman AJ Russell came in and delivered the final out. With both teams struggling offensively, LSU fans cheered and rooted as the score stood 2-0. LSU’s starter came back out to begin the 7th inning, but was quickly pulled after his 3rd HBP of the game, this time giving Tennessee a lead off runner. Riley Cooper came into the game to relieve. Cooper came in and delivered two speedy outs, but then walked a batter, putting runners at first and second. Ahuna stepped up to the plate and hit a ground ball to Thompson that seemed a sure out, but a bobbled error allowed the bases to become loaded with two outs. A dangerous position to be in, LSU and Riley Cooper battled and got a ground out from Hunter Ensley, leaving 3 stranded Vols. Tre’ Morgan led off the 8th inning for the Tigers and was hit by Aaron Combs, Tennessee’s new pitcher. Dugas came up to bat next and was struck by a pitch that could have been a lot worse. Combs’ pitch struck Dugas in the helmet, narrowly missing his face. Tennessee, having now allowed two base runners with zero outs, called for another mound visit and pitching change. Seth Halvorsen would be called on for the bump. Halvorsen would throw just 3 pitches to Jordan Thompson before he was pulled for Camden Sewell. Sewell forced Thompson to roll into a fielder’s choice, getting Dugas out at 2nd, but an unforced error from the second baseman allowed for Thompson to safely make it to first. Runners on the corners, 2 outs, and the Vols hit another LSU batter. Jobert took his base, then a wild pitch from Sewell brought in Morgan from 3rd making the score 3-0 Tigers. Milazzo would ground out to end the inning. A two out double from Tennessee got a runner into scoring position, but that would be as far as he makes it ‘round the bases as Blake Burke grounds out, sending the game to the 9th and stranding one Volunteer runner. Josh Pearson led off from the nine spot in the final frame and earned a walk. With the top of the order coming up, LSU was looking like they were in good shape to win. Who else but the Collegiate Slugger of the year, Crews, to pad the Tigers’ lead with a 2 run blast to right field, extending the lead to five. After giving up a walk to Dugas, Beloso doubled, putting the Bayou Bengals in scoring range once again. With a Jordan Thompson groundout to third, Tennessee was now down to the final 3 outs of their season and facing a 5-0 deficit to overcome. A quick 1-2-3 inning was in store for Cooper to deliver. After a fly out and strikeout, the Volunteers had one last fly out to the warning track that Pearson was able to snag effectively ending Tennessee’s season and keeping LSU alive for at least one more bout. With the loss, Tennessee has been eliminated from the College World Series. LSU will move on to a rematch against Wake Forest at 6:00pm CST on Wednesday night. LSU will have to beat the Demon Deacons twice to advance to the championship series as they sit in the driver's seat at 2-0. It has been done before, so until the final out… GEAUX TIGERS! *John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior) A huge Thank You to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication! Da Boot Sports 6/19/2023 By: Jason Watson Jr. OMAHA, NE- A pivotal matchup between the team with the lowest earned run average and the team with the most total earned runs in Division I baseball was on display at the Charles Schwab diamond Monday night. #1 Wake Forest and #5 LSU duked it out in the winners’ bracket game with the Tigers being handed the loss by a score of 3-2. After a slow start from both teams, LSU broke the ice in the top of the 3rd inning. With one out and Josh Pearson standing on second base, Tommy White singled up the middle to bring home the runner. Tre’ Morgan then delivered a huge RBI triple that went over the left fielder’s head as he lost the ball in the sun. That proved to be all for the Tigers, but not before making the score 2-0. Wake Forest tried to get something going with a lead off single in the 4th inning, the Deacons’ first hit of the game. An errant pitch that got away from Travinski allowed the runner to advance to 2nd and was in scoring position. Ty Floyd had other plans. The right-handed junior then struck out the next three batters in order which brought his total to 8 K’s on the night. Things were quiet through the 5th inning, but the Demon Deacons were given a golden opportunity in the bottom half of the 6th. Ty Floyd walked three straight batters to load the bases for Wake Forest with no outs. Jay Johnson had seen enough and brought in Thatcher Hurd in relief. Floyd finished with four walks and 10 strikeouts on the night. A strongly hit ball up the middle allowed one run to come across making the score 2-1 Tigers, but kept the bases loaded. Shortstop, Justin Johnson, grounded into an important double play, but was enough for another run to score, tying things up. After a HBP and a walk from Hurd, the bases were once again loaded. A huge swinging strikeout ended the inning and got LSU out of a jam with a whole new ballgame on the horizon. Cole Roland came in to replace Wake Forest’s Josh Hartle to begin the 7th inning. After delivering 2 strikeouts, he was pulled for redshirt junior righty Reed Mascolo, who was able to retire the side. LSU’s pitching walked the lead off man of the home side and got two quick pop outs before walking yet another Deacon. Runners stood on first and second, a base hit away from taking the lead, but Hurd delivered the punch out, keeping the score tied at 2 heading to the 8th. Both teams were in search of a momentum shift, and Tre’ Morgan produced just that. One pitch and one swing gave the Tigers a lead off runner of their own, this by way of a double out right. Morgan then made it to third base and Travinski to first off of an infield error from the second baseman. Cade Beloso then grounded into a fielder’s choice at 3rd base, with Morgan getting called out at home on a bang-bang play. Camden Minacci came in to pitch for Wake Forest, and forced Gavin Dugas to chop one into a double play leaving two LSU runners stranded; A real missed opportunity for Jay Johnson’s group. Wake Forest turned the tides with a one out double putting a runner in scoring position. Catcher Bennett Lee came up big for the Demon Deacons with an RBI single out to left field, making the score 3-2 and giving the 2nd lead change of the night. Two strikeouts would go on to end the inning. Down to their final three outs, LSU’s Brayden Jobert was due up, leading off the 9th. Minacci caught him looking for the first out of the inning. Jordan Thompson then went down swinging. Josh Pearson looked to give the Tigers a last gasp hope, but a chopper right back to the pitcher was easily delivered to 1st base and recorded the final out of the game. A total of 13 batters were struck out by Wake Forest for the game, and most notably Dylan Crews, finished 0-3 on the night with 2 strikeouts and a walk. LSU will fall to 1-1, suffering their first loss of the NCAA tournament. They will play against Tennessee Tuesday night at 6:00pm CST in an elimination game. Wake Forest rises to 2-0 and will await the winner of LSU-Tenn. Tough loss and a tall mountain to climb, but as always… Geaux Tigers! *John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior) A huge Thank You to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication! Da Boot Sports 6/17/2023 By: Jason Watson Jr. OMAHA, NE- LSU baseball made its return to the College World Series with a 6-3 victory versus conference foe, Tennessee, Saturday night. This marks the first time the Tigers have made it to Charles Schwab field since 2017, a year in which they finished as runners-up to Florida in the championship series. Pitcher and 2023 Dick Howser trophy recipient, Paul Skenes, was dominant against the Vols’ lineup, notching 12 strikeouts through 7.2 innings pitched. He demonstrated excellent command and showed off the velocity, allowing just five hits and one earned run with one walk. Over the course of 123 pitches, Skenes reached over 100mph with his fastball more than 40 times. Second baseman, Gavin Dugas, helped the Tigers strike first in the bottom of the 2nd inning with a one out, solo home run (412 ft.) The Tigers threatened in the bottom of the 3rd, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd base with just one out. Tre’ Morgan aided LSU with a ground out RBI that brought Josh Pearson home, making the score 2-0. Dylan Crews was left stranded on third after a groundout from catcher, Hayden Travinski. The bottom of the 4th began to look very similar after outfielder, Brayden Jobert doubled, sending Dugas to 3rd. Cade Beloso struck out looking, and following an early pitching change from Tennessee, Pearson went down swinging to end the inning, stranding two Tigers in scoring position. After an uneventful 5th inning, and a 1-2-3 top of the 6th from the Volunteers, LSU scored again. Travinski led off the bottom of the inning with a walk and advanced to second base on a wild pitch from Halvorsen (Tenn.) before Dugas went down swinging. Jobert responded with a triple off the wall and earned an RBI while rounding the bases. Short Stop, Jordan Thompson, followed that up with a single, sending the runner home as the Tigers took a 4-0 lead. L-S-U chants began raining down in Omaha and Tennessee was forced to switch pitchers once again, leading Pearson to strike out, ending the inning. Skenes struck out two more Vols’ batters in the top of the 7th while giving up his first walk of the evening. Dylan Crews began the bottom side with a double out to right field. Third baseman Tommy White, singled in the lineup before Crews made it home off a SAC fly from Morgan. 5-0 Tigers. Beloso came up to bat with two outs and walked. Dugas, who started the scoring in the game, thought he had another LSU homer, but left the ball just short allowing it to be snagged at the warning track. What seemed like a sure win late, suddenly had become a drama-filled ending. In the top of the 8th inning, Tennessee, with a man on second, got a single through the infield to score their first run of the night. The score stood 5-1, and Jay Johnson had decided Skenes’ evening was through. Johnson went to the pen for Gavin Guidry to close the game… or so he thought. Guidry came in and delivered one pitch to the Vols before being pulled in favor of Riley Cooper. That one pitch was swung on and homered deep to left center by Hunter Ensley (Tenn.), driving across 2 more runs making the score 5-3. The Tennessee dugout and fans had gained life in one swing of the bat, but Brayden Jobert silenced them quickly in the bottom of the inning. Jobert led off with a solo shot to right field giving the Tigers breathing room pushing their lead to three. That would prove to be all for scoring. Jobert would go on to finish just a single shy of hitting for the cycle in the game. Tennessee got all that they could handle and were unable to muster any comeback as Cooper dealt two strikeouts and earned the save having caught the final line out of the game as LSU defeated the Volunteers 6-3. LSU will now face Wake Forest in the 1-0 game Monday at 6:00pm CST. Tennessee will fall to the losers’ bracket and play Stanford in a elimination game. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! GEAUX TIGERS!! *John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior) A huge Thank You to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication! Da Boot Sports 6/15/2023 LSU Sports Communications 2023 College World Series Thursday, June 15, 2023 Omaha, Nebraska, USA LSU Tigers Coach Jay Johnson Dylan Crews Thatcher Hurd Press Conference THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the LSU portion of our news conference. We'll start with a comment from Jay and have questions for the players. Jay, congratulations coming back. Give us an overview. JAY JOHNSON: Very proud of our team this year. Obviously a great collection of talent, but they became a team. We were very deliberate in how we did that. We've had great player leadership. To have the expectations on them to be the No. 1 team in the country preseason, hold that for 11 or 12 weeks and not have a losing week the entire season speaks to their consistency and their talent. I believe we're playing the best baseball that we have all year right now, and very proud of being here. With that being said, we're highly motivated to continue our streak of our best baseball right now. Can't wait to get on the field. Very proud and very honored to bring this group of players to Omaha. THE MODERATOR: We're going to start with questions for the student-athletes. Q. For Dylan and for Thatcher. You just heard your coach say it, and we've all seen it. Why do you think you're playing your best baseball right now? DYLAN CREWS: We had a little team meeting right after the SEC tournament and got together and we just said five games. Just give us five games to get here and play your best baseball that you possibly can, forget about all the stuff that happened in the season. Just focus on the present right now. Give us five games to get here, and I think everything will take care of itself as soon as we get here. We have to keep this momentum forward. Like I said, I think it's just going to take care of itself as soon as we start playing. THATCHER HURD: Just what Dylan said. I think that meeting was huge for us. A lot of momentum from that. Just something Coach said all year is just surrendering yourself to the result. It's all about the process and doing whatever we need to do to win. Q. This question is going to be for Thatcher. How does it feel to be with a new program this year and just all the alignments with your mechanics that you adjusted with UCLA last year? THATCHER HURD: I love being an LSU Tiger. I love our coaches. Love the teammates to death. Some of my closest friends. It's been a great season we've had. I've loved it. I feel like I've grown a lot from it. In terms of the adjustments, just sticking to my process every day and staying true to that. Some results following, and then we're in a good spot now. Q. How rewarding has it been for you, Thatcher, to deal with some of the ups and downs you had earlier in the season to fight your way back into having a prominent role again and to be a part of getting this team to this stage? THATCHER HURD: Yeah, I think it's been rewarding. With failure, success, I stayed true to my process every day with my work, and it feels good to contribute to the team. Obviously when you're going out there and you don't feel like you're contributing and letting some of your guys down, it's the worst feeling in the world. So it feels really good to kind of contribute, and I just want to help us win. Q. You guys mentioned that you guys held a team meeting after the SEC tournament, and the result has been a five-game winning streak. However, all of those games were in Baton Rouge. This is obviously not Baton Rouge. How are you guys planning on keeping that alive maybe with a little bit less of the familiarity that you have from playing at home? THE MODERATOR: Dylan, you start. DYLAN CREWS: Just sticking to our game really. I think we're in a very good spot right now. Like I said, the momentum is tremendous in this team right now. I think everything is just kind of clicking for us right now. Bullpen is doing really well. Starting pitching has just been dominant. Our approaches have been great in the batter's box. Really just sticking to our plan, no matter change of the field, change of the atmosphere. Just sticking to our plan, that's it. THATCHER HURD: I think now more than ever it's all about just staying true to ourselves, and what's got us here. I think that Dylan said it perfectly. Q. You're familiar with the team you're playing right off the bat. What is it like to play a team, yet again, that you are very familiar with that also has a really good pitching staff? THE MODERATOR: Thatcher, you start. THATCHER HURD: A lot of the SEC teams, we see them in conference and the SEC tournament, saw them in the postseason. It's just about playing our baseball and staying true to what we know. DYLAN CREWS: A very good team. I have total respect for them. Great program. Definitely know how to win. We have to play our best baseball for this game. Great pitching staff. We saw them early in the year, so kind of have an idea going into this game. But, yeah, like I said, we have to play our best baseball right now. Q. If we can start with Dylan, obviously Skenes won the Dick Howser today. I wonder what do you appreciate most about him? I imagine it's probably different being in different parts in your career? DYLAN CREWS: Yeah. He has had a tremendous impact on my career. Just the way he goes about himself every single day, his preparation. From the first day he walked into the locker room, he has been the same ever since up to this point. That's what I respect about him. He goes about himself like a Big Leaguer does, and if not probably way better. So I have definitely taken notes of that. Just try to almost imitate him in every way possible because he has had a lot of success this year. THATCHER HURD: I think with Paul, he has helped me out I think probably more than he knows. I live with him, and we talk all the time about baseball mindset. I just try to learn from him every day. It's really special to be around him. Same with Dylan. Right next to him in the locker and I live with Paul. I'm just super thankful I've got to share the field with those guys all year, and it's special. Just trying to soak it in, you know. Q. Dylan, how does it feel to just not just be in Omaha, you are one of the three finalists right now for the Golden Spikes Award. Even what lies ahead towards the middle of July, what are you just looking forward to taking the field on Friday night? DYLAN CREWS: Man, it's something that I've wanted since I was a freshman walking into the locker room. It's just something that I have thought about every single day leading up to this point. I want to go here and experience all this, being able to play baseball -- or playoff baseball at the Box was something, but being able to play here is something else. The crowds are going to double, triple. The atmosphere is going to be electric. You know, being able to play here is pretty awesome. The Old Spice thing, it's awesome, but we have a job here to do. And, yeah, that's the only thing on my mind right now. Q. This would be for Coach and for Dylan. THE MODERATOR: We're going with the players first. Q. Dylan, can you talk about, I guess, the -- it seems like a common theme this year has been guys accepting their roles and thriving in those environments. Thatcher is a great example. Josh Pearson. Just can you talk about the willingness of this team and just guys being able to adapt to their roles pretty consistently? DYLAN CREWS: I think it all starts with the older guys really. Some of our older guys didn't start early in the year, so having them being able to come in and produce the way they did really just kind of moved on to the younger guys. They've done a tremendous job. Like Pearson and Paxton sometimes. And then just other guys really at any point. I have faith in all the guys. Everybody else does. It doesn't matter who you are, at any moment, any spot in the lineup, I think they're going to do a good job of staying present, staying locked in, and producing. Q. This one is for both the players. LSU all year has been very good at a whole ton of things. The team is borderline top 10 in walks and hits per inning. They're a fantastic hitting team. I believe you lead the nation in hits. Dylan as a hitter and then Thatcher as a pitcher, what does it mean to you guys that the other side of the ball is always constantly able to produce and give you some support? DYLAN CREWS: Yeah, it's awesome. It's a good feeling when the pitchers are doing their job and getting the lineup over -- or flipping to the other side to have the lineup do what it does best. Just going up there and hitting. We have a great offensive approach each and every day, sticking to our plan. Just commanding the line of scrimmage in baseball is what we call it. I think we do that, good things will happen for both sides of the playing field. THATCHER HURD: I think just like both sides of the ball, picking each other up. I think that's a huge component of our team. I know when I get the ball or anyone else gets the ball that we're going to score. As a staff we're just looking to pick up the offense, maybe to put up a zero that inning. That's a huge component of our team. Q. Dylan, I know that hitting in this ballpark, it's a little different here. The foul territory is bigger. I'm just wondering how that adjusts your game plan as a hitter. A. As a hitter, yeah. Really it stays the same. Sticking to the approach. Foul territory gets a little bigger, but the field stays the same really. So we just stick to our approach really. I think everything will kind of just take care of itself. (Indiscernible) approach, commanding the strike zone. Good things will happen on both sides of the ball. Q. Your answer to my Skenes question triggered something. Did you feel like you had a partner in crime when he showed up on campus, someone else that could shoulder the burden along with you as the face of this program? DYLAN CREWS: Yeah. I mean, didn't really view myself as the face of the program. Just doing my thing every day. But, yeah, just having somebody to kind of just lead the team. Not just on the hitter side, but on the pitching side too. Having somebody. Last year we had older guys being able to kind of be the role model, the leaders of the team. Paul has really stepped up in being able to be the leader for the younger guys. It's been tremendous. Guys have been looking up to him and kind of following him and seeing how the way he goes about himself. So it's been good. Q. Thatcher, I know when you first came here, you wanted the No. 25, and then you saw that Hayden Travinski had it. Can you talk to me, saying how did your relationship with him start, and what is it like now? THATCHER HURD: Yeah, I love Hayden. He was one of the first guys I met. When I came here, I didn't know anyone. He was one of the first guys I met. We would go out and get food together and hang out. It just felt really cool to be welcomed by him. He is such a great clubhouse guy. He is a leader. To see what he does on the field every day, I couldn't be happier for him, and no one deserves it more considering the adversity he has gone through and just persistence and doing what he does. I love that guy. Q. (Indiscernible) Outback, then I saw a bunch of pictures. It's bunch of you guys that go or different groups of guys that go. What does that do as far as team bonding? Are there other places that everybody kind of goes and groups up and kind of shares a meal together? THATCHER HURD: Yeah, for sure. That's one of the most fun parts of college and being on a team I think is going out to eat and hanging out. Yeah, we love each other. We love to hang out. We go out to eat and it's the pitchers, and it's a lot of fun. Q. (Off microphone.) DYLAN CREWS: Not really. We're always around each other every day at the field, so I don't know. We used to do that a lot in the fall really. We used to go out to the nutrition center, all of us, the whole team, and just have team dinners, team lunches, whatever it was. I think that helps a lot. I think that's why we're so close and why we gel so good. It's been great. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, guys. You're excused, and we'll open it up here for questions for the coach. Q. It's been a few years since this program has been back here. How much does it speak to the expectations in Baton Rouge for this program, that though it's been a few years, it's talked about like it's been ages since you have been back here? JAY JOHNSON: I never really thought of it in terms of how long it's been for LSU. This is my favorite place in the world, and this program has had as good a history as any program in college baseball of being here. I think in accepting the job I really wanted this group of players to play here. The guy sitting to my left, he was part of me deciding to come here, to get an opportunity to coach him at LSU for two years. They've done everything that we've asked them to do for 700-plus days. When we took the field last weekend, there was a really solid peace of mind that these guys were going to do it. To see the fans get behind them, they're going to get behind LSU no matter what, but this is a really easy group to get behind, how hard they play, how much they care, how invested they are in the program. That's kind of more where my thoughts were. Q. I think last week you said you can't control your performance unless you control yourself. I wonder how much that applies to you because your players say that you are not a shouter and a screamer when you coach them. You are pretty much level with them. JAY JOHNSON: I think in leadership you can talk about it the way you want them to do it or you can talk about it and try to show them. Certainly not perfect in that regard. Like I'll use Thatcher as an example. His competitiveness is his best quality. A lot of our conversations are never turning your best quality against you. And that's one I can relate to. As a younger coach maybe getting a little more overly intense, for lack of a better word. As I've grown in this role and leadership, I've always believed it's better to show them the way than to tell them the way, and you get more buy-in when you tell them if you show it to them. Q. When you were growing up, when did baseball really hook you, and when did you become just so in love with the sport? And do you have any humorous thoughts, your family, friends: Hey, Jay, let's go do this. Oh, he is watching baseball. JAY JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, relative to Omaha and the College World Series, I grew up in a small town, and playing Major League Baseball might as well have been going to the moon. You know what I mean? When you watch the College World Series, whether it was LSU, Texas, Stanford, that kind of seemed like a realistic goal. And so that was probably the first thought. Football was my first love. No question about that. But I realized really quickly very good high school player; there wasn't many 5'7", 165-pound running backs running around the SEC or the Pac-12 or that sort of thing. This was the way it was going to be. I got to play college baseball. Then becoming a coach was really the only option. I'm addicted to winning. I'm addicted to developing programs and helping players achieve their goals. It was just the route that it was going to be. It's really awesome to be able to do it at LSU. I view our university, our program, as the pinnacle of the sport. Q. When you're recruiting Paul -- or he is in the transfer portal and coming from Air Force, his fastball is 93, 94 miles an hour when he was there against Mountain West competition. How did his fastball jump the way that it did, 5 miles an hour upward, and how has he been able to be even better against better competition this year? JAY JOHNSON: That's a great question. I think there's a lot of value in simplicity, I think, and he's a great two-way player. This dude was launching home runs in fall baseball. I mean, as impressive as it gets. He definitely could make an impact. Had I just made him a position player, he would have 20 home runs right now and potentially be hitting fifth or sixth for our team. Well, we had a really deliberate plan on the pitching side of it. We got him started right when he got to campus with Coach Wes Johnson to develop his slider. There were some things that we needed to do. So we started to do that early. We shut him down earlier in the fall to give him more ramp-up time for the season. Then it wasn't intentional, but I think kind of removing the two-way player thing, I started to see his ability to recover physically better. You're minimizing the rotations because the rotation of a pitching delivery, rotation of a hitting swing, he is right-handed in both, it's very similar. I feel like last year he was catching. He was swinging a bat. He was running the bases. He was potentially playing first base at times. Then, also, you know, going six or seven innings in a league that's not very easy to pitch in. I know that firsthand. I think kind of the simplicity of it, and then you take someone that is so driven, that says so disciplined, and get them on track with one thing. What does Friday to Friday look like? Then he has absolutely mastered that. When you are talking about recovery, when you are talking about development, velocity improvement, improving his secondary pitches, he has been able to go all-in on those things. I think that's probably the reasoning. Q. This is kind of more an off-the-field question, but this team has a lot of goofiness to it, like the Hayden Travinski shirt, the Jobu statue. As a coach, what's it like to see these fun things that kind of bring your team together? I was talking to Hayden. He said he thinks more successful teams have goofy clubhouses. JAY JOHNSON: Yeah, I won't take any credit for the goofiness. That's for sure. No, I really want players to be themselves, but to become a team. I think that's been a big part of why I think this has worked, is there was talented players here that were going to be coming into their own; that we tried to give them a development template, but for them to develop, they have to be at the field. For them to develop as a team, they have to be together. So part of that they have to take ownership in. So if you let them be themselves, obviously within reason, with class and character and all those types of things, I've always just found the buy-in goes up tremendously. Yeah, as far as Travinski T-shirt and all that, we're good. They can -- as long as it's appropriate, I'm good with it. Q. I'm wondering if you can expand on, when I asked Dylan earlier, just about your team being able to kind of adapt different roles. Gavin Guidry was probably looking at infield and then certainly was a pitcher. Tre' was in left field a good part of the year. Can you just speak on that mentality as a whole from the players, and then is there a particular player that maybe at the beginning of the year you thought had a role and then he has kind of evolved into a different one for you guys that you are really proud of? JAY JOHNSON: Yeah, I'm very proud of all of that. I mean, we have a saying that I will always place the needs of the team above my own. Going into August when they were all going to show up, a lot was made of the returning players, and rightfully so. Dylan is coming back. Tre' Morgan is coming back. Jordan Thompson is coming back. So we had a nice core to start out with that had some successful playing experience. They won 40 games and finished in the top four in the SEC last year. Then you had this high school recruiting class, number one class in the country: Paxton Kling, Chase Shores, Jared Jones, Brady Neal, Gavin Guidry. All these guys that are going to carry the torch of this thing after this year is over. Well, then you go in the transfer portal, and it's Paul Skenes, Tommy White, Christian Little, Thatcher Hurd, Ben Nippolt. So that's an amazing collection of talent, but in the first meeting I said that doesn't make us a team. Developing them as people, developing them as teammates, not just accepting their role, but embracing it, and communicating it might look different in game 1 than game 10, it might look different in game 20, game 50, and then in Omaha. That's been the case. There are so many good examples of that. Cade Beloso was probably in line to get a bunch more at-bats early, but Tommy hurt his shoulder, so he couldn't play defense for a number of games. That really pinched him into the DH role. Cade got pushed out a little bit. Hayden Travinski didn't have a lot of at-bats the first 25, 30 games of the year. There's not a better hitter in college baseball right now than him. Josh Pearson was a starter all year last year. Kind of got beat out at the beginning of the year. Yet, when it's been winning time, that's the guy I want in the box. So they've all been ready to make their contribution because they made it about the team rather than themselves. I can't speak higher than that because I think it's incredibly uncommon nowadays. Q. You talked before, of course, about Paul Skenes' impact on this team. The way that younger players have been able to now watch him over the last year, do you think, even though he was only here for 11 months or so, that there is going to be a lasting effect on this program because he was in it at some point? JAY JOHNSON: Yes, and I would say the exact same thing for Dylan. This happened within a week's time. I had both of them in my office about different things. The comment came up from both of them, hey, what can we help you do to keep pushing this forward? Like, what's happening right now. It was right around the middle, beginning of the SEC. We just won at Texas A&M, just beaten Arkansas, just beaten Tennessee. Going through that meat grinder of a schedule. I'm thinking about these guys have their entire life in front of them. They're going to make a lot of money and play in the Major Leagues, be All-Stars, win batting titles, Cy Young, potential Hall of Famers. That's what's in front of them. Yet, their mind is wrapped up around this when they're not going to be here. They are the best examples of that. The fact that they even have the awareness to bring it up, there's no question about it. I don't think there's another Paul Skenes in our locker room, and I don't want anybody to try to be Paul Skenes, but I want them to take the things that he has shown and then emulate them the best way that they can to pay forward that contribution that they got from him. I think that's totally going to happen. Q. Now with a whole year with the strength coach almost, Derek Groomer, how is his style of training different from maybe what this team had before, and what have you seen specifically out of him that has impacted the players this year? JAY JOHNSON: He is very knowledgeable, and that created buy-in immediately. He is very detailed in the individual planning per player I think is the hook. It's applicability to what we need them to do on the field. Whether it's an infielder being able to play lower, is that a lower half strength issue or hip mobility issue? Hey, Derek, this is what we need this guy to be able to do. And then to write the program of what they're doing in the weight room to get it and to get the player there, he is exceptional at that. So I think his ability to get buy-in from the player and then execute a plan that's going to translate on the field to baseball is where he has made the biggest impact. Q. You had some bullpen issues in the middle of the season. Who has kind of stepped up for that role as tournament play has gone on? JAY JOHNSON: Yeah, I think following the SEC tournament, the regional, the super regional, the last regular season weekend at Georgia, those guys have been outstanding. I think there's a number of guys that have made a positive contribution to the point where I really don't want to leave anybody out. We had a lightning delay in Game 2 or the winner's bracket game of the regional, and Thatcher came in and gave us five innings from the fourth to the eighth. You don't necessarily look at him as a bullpen guy, but he closed out a couple of really big SEC wins and that five innings, 13 strike-out performance against Oregon State is as good as you can do. Right behind him is Gavin Guidry, and for me he is the star of the show with that. He is a freshman. He was a two-way player, but his poise, his confidence, his ability to block out what's going on around him and execute is second to none. Then we've really, really leaned on Riley Cooper. Though he started Game 3 of the regional, he came in in a high-leverage situation in the super regional and got us three really good innings. I would guess in the last three years there's not too many people with multiple super regional wins under their belt. Riley has done that. Then Gavin came in to close it out again. There's guys kind of just waiting in the wings that I think are in a really good spot too. Whether it be Javen Coleman, Blake Money got us an inning and a third in the super regional last week. Nate Ackenhausen, huge piece of our team. When he pitches, we win typically. I think you could call it struggle. I would just call it, like, life in the SEC. Nobody played a schedule like we did, and it wasn't going to be perfect no matter how good these guys are. I'm just proud of them for adjusting their preparation, getting through that difficulty, and just getting back to executing. Q. The guys mentioned that post-SEC tournament meeting. Thematically, what would you say was the nugget that everybody got out of it pushing forward? JAY JOHNSON: We just needed a little bit of a reset. I intentionally did not come down on them or crush them when we lost back-to-back series because I trusted the talent enough, I trusted the work enough, I trusted the approach enough. I looked at it as Auburn is a national seed, and we're on the road, and we were ahead in one of those games. If one inning goes a little bit different, we win that series too. Then, you know, we had that tough loss against Mississippi State. Well, in Saturday of that game we were ahead in the eighth inning also. Obviously had the big bullpen lead. It was a good time to reset, address, and it was a very simplistic message. Right head, right heart; we're five wins away from the College World Series. Right head, right heart; we are five wins from there from a National Championship. We absolutely can do this. Let's get back in the preparation. Let's get back in character, and we're going for it. It was just as simple as that. aDa Boot Sports 6/11/2023 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - LSU returned to Alex Box Stadium/Skip Bertman Field on Sunday afternoon looking to officially punch their ticket to the College World Series with one more win after defeating Kentucky, 14-0 on Saturday night in game one. The Tigers punched their ticket to the CWS with a 8-3 victory over the Wildcats. True Freshman Gavin Guidry was amazing, earning the save, pitching the final 2.2 innings, giving up no runs on one hit while striking out four batters. Both Ty Floyd and Riley Cooper each had solid outings. "Wow, first off, thanks for your patience. That's special out there and did not want to rush off the field." Jay Johnson said. "And so proud of this team. Coming here was a big move, personally, and professionally just had a vision of what tonight would look like. And I wanted these guys to experience that so bad. This is about the players. And whether it's culture, team, buy-in, connectedness, whether it's baseball, there's been a lot of blood, sweat and tears put in the bucket over the 700-whatever days we've been here. And they're champions. And really excited to go to Omaha and chase a national championship with them. And if they are in character, we'll have a great chance to do that." The Wildcats took the early lead in the bottom of the first when Jase Felker hit a solo shot off of Ty Floyd to go up 1-0. The Tigers pulled even in the second inning when Gavin Dugas was able to score from third base when dylan Crews made it to first base safely on a fielder's choice. 1-1 as the game headed to the bottom of the inning. LSU took the lead in the top of the third when Cade Beloso hit a three run homer to right center putting the purple and gold up, 4-1. Tommy White added another run to the lead as he singled with the bases loaded to bring Jordan Thompson in from third. 5-1 LSU as we head to the bottom of the frame. Kentucky answered in the bottom of the third when Devin Burkes homered to center field cutting the LSU lead to 5-2. Kentucky put another run up in the bottom of the fourth when Nolan McCarthy hit the Wildcats' third solo homer of the contest putting the score at 5-3 Tigers. LSU was able to pick up an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning. With the bases loaded a wild pitch allowed Gavin Dugas to score from third base. 6-3 Tigers. Dylan Crews then added to the lead as he hit a two RBI double at his last plate appearance in the Box, to left field to extend the advantage to 8-3. The Tigers return to Omaha for the first time since 2017. What an amazing season and it's not over yet Tiger FANS!!! HOW BOUT DEM TIGERS!!??? See y'all in Omaha!!!! Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi Photos Below By: Jonathan Mailhes *John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior) A huge Thank You to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication! Da Boot Sports 6/10/2023 LSU Sports Communications By: William Franques BATON ROUGE, La. – Right-hander Paul Skenes tossed 7.2 shutout innings and LSU’s hitters launched six home runs Saturday night to lift the No. 5 national seed Tigers to a 14-0 victory over No. 12 national seed Kentucky in the first game of the NCAA Super Regional round at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. With the win, LSU leads the best-of-three series, 1-0, as the Tigers improved to 47-15 on the season and the Wildcats dropped to 40-20. Game 2 of the Baton Rouge Super Regional between LSU and Kentucky is scheduled for a 5 p.m. CT start Sunday evening, and the contest will be televised on ESPN2. The matchup may also be heard on the LSU Sports Radio Network. Skenes (12-2) earned the win after firing 7.2 scoreless innings, allowing just four hits with one walk and nine strikeouts. He increased his season strikeouts total to 188, the second-highest single-season mark in LSU history. With Skenes’ final strikeout of the night, the LSU pitching staff established a school record for strikeouts in a season with 684. Kentucky starter Zack Lee (5-4) was charged with the loss after working 4.0 innings and allowing nine runs on nine hits with no walks and six strikeouts. The two teams were originally scheduled to play at 2 p.m. CT Saturday before NCAA officials initiated a weather delay before the first pitch. The start of the contest was delayed until 9:06 p.m. CT, when the Tigers and Wildcats finally squared off. After the lengthy weather delay, LSU first baseman Tre’ Morgan got the Tigers on the board with a solo shot to left field. In the bottom of the third, third baseman Tommy White and Morgan added to the evening’s dinger total. To begin the two-out rally, centerfielder Dylan Crews recorded an infield single and scored on White’s two-run shot. Morgan followed with his second homer of the game to make the score 4-0. Morgan’s multi-home run outing marked the second time he has hit two dingers in one game. He last accomplished the feat on May 14, 2023, when the Tigers faced Mississippi State. Second baseman Gavin Dugas tacked on to the Tigers’ home run total with a solo dinger to left field, and LSU led 5-0 after four innings. The Tigers scored six runs in the bottom half of the fifth to take a double-digit lead. The frame began with a solo homer from left fielder Josh Pearson. After, Crews reached base on an error, and White singled, Morgan collected his third hit of the night with an RBI single to increase the margin to 6-0. LSU loaded the bases on a hit-by-pitch from catcher Hayden Travinski and right fielder Brayden Jobert earned an RBI via a bases-loaded HBP. With the bases still juiced, Morgan scored on a wild pitch. Shortstop Jordan Thompson delivered a two-out, two-RBI single to widen the gap to 11-0. White launched his 22nd homer of the season – and his second of the game – to give LSU a 12-0 lead. With that dinger, the 2023 LSU baseball squad hit its 132nd homer of the year, giving it sole possession of third place on school’s all-time list for home runs in a season. The Tigers added two more runs in the seventh inning, as Thompson provided an RBI single and centerfielder Dylan Crews added a sacrifice fly. Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi Da Boot Sports 6/5/2023 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - The Tigers (45-15) face Oregon State (41-19) in the finals of the 2023 Baton Rouge Regional on Monday afternoon. The winner advances to the Super Regional round next weekend. LSU needs only one more win to punch their ticket while the Beavers will need to beat the Tigers twice to move on. The Bayou Bengals took care of business, defeating Oregon State, 13-7 and will host a Super Regional next weekend to battle for the right to go to Omaha against either Kentucky or Indiana. "Really proud of the team. I think this was a great week. The preparation by the players and the staff was elite." Jay Johnson said. "And then the execution on the field by the players on all sides of the ball was outstanding. Great job by our pitching staff for the three games. Really proud of the guys today the way they executed what we laid out for them. Defensively, I thought we had a great weekend. One error today. But I think that was it. And then offensively, really, really, really strong performance in three different kind of ways. But I think it shows the capability of this team. And really proud of them. And we're going to get reset, put together another great week, and get prepared for the coming weekend." LSU took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning when Brayden Jobert got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, sending Hayden Travinski in from third. With the bases still loaded Jordan Thompson stepped to the plate and flied out to deep left field allowing Cade Beloso to tag up and score from third base. LSU continued to heat up as Josh Pearson hit a two RBI triple to extend the lead to 4-0. The Beaves refused to quit as they cut LSU's lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth on a two run home run by Gavin Turley. Hayden Travinski got a run back for LSU as he hit a solo home run over the left field wall in the top of the fifth. Cade Beloso then stepped to the plate next and blasted a solo shot to right field. 6-2 Tigers. Dylan Crews lead off the top of the sixth inning and increased the LSU lead to 7-2 with a solo homer over the left field wall. the Beavers answered in the bottom of the sixth with a two run homer by Brady Kasper to cut the LSU lead to 7-4. LSU quickly got a run back when Gavin Dugas led off the top of the seventh with a home run to left field. 8-4 Tigers. LSU continued to inflict damage at the plate in the inning as the Tigers loaded the bases for Tommy White who hit a two RBI single to right field to put LSU up 10-4. Dylan Crews would then score from third base on a wild pitch to increase the lead to 11-4. Travinski then singled in Tommy White to add another run to the lead. 12-4 Tigers as the game headed to the bottom of the seventh. Tigers padded the lead in the ninth when Tre' Morgan doubled down the right field line to bring Crews home to make the score 13-4. The Beavers were able to pick up a few garbage runs in their final at bat. Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi *John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior) A huge Thank You to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication! |
Archives
November 2024
|