Tag: 2022 SEC Baseball Tournament

Photos from LSU’s final SEC Tournament game against Kentucky

The Tigers fell 7-2 in an elimination game against Kentucky on Saturday.

The Tigers’ run in Hoover came to an unceremonious end in an elimination game rematch loss to the Kentucky Wildcats.

LSU was never really in it, as starting pitcher Jacob Hasty gave up a pair of runs in the first inning, and the Wildcats never looked back. They jumped out to a 7-0 lead, and though the Tigers would get two runs back late, it ultimately didn’t make a difference.

Coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] and his team will head back to Baton Rouge and await the decision of the NCAA Tournament committee. LSU entered the week in the hunt to host a regional, but it’s still far from a guarantee after a 1-2 performance in the conference tournament.

Here are some of the best pictures from the final outing in Hoover for the Tigers.

Tigers make a Hasty exit in 2022 SEC Tournament with elimination game loss to Kentucky

LSU’s run in Hoover came to an end on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers had a quick turnaround after Friday night’s loss to Tennessee.

[autotag]Jacob Hasty[/autotag] got the start against the Kentucky Wildcats in a win-or-go-home scenario in the SEC Tournament, and they sent the Tigers packing in a 7-2 loss.

Kentucky also sent Hasty packing with a final line of 0.1 innings pitched, allowing two runs on two hits and three walks. [autotag]Eric Reyzelman[/autotag] came in to get the Tigers out of the inning and he did just that. In the bottom of the second, Kentucky hit a solo homer off Reyzelman to increase their lead to 3-0.

The Wildcats scored two runs each in the fourth and fifth inning to make it 7-0 Kentucky headed to the top of the seventh inning, and the LSU offense didn’t have a hit yet. The Tigers finally got on the board in the seventh as Tre Morgan reached on an error and then [autotag]Tyler McManus[/autotag] brought him home on an RBI triple.

[autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] then hit a sacrifice fly to center to score McManus and cut the lead to 7-2 Wildcats. LSU was unable to score any more runs in the game as it was knocked out of the tournament.

Now, we will wait until the selection show Monday morning at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2 to see whether LSU will host a regional in Baton Rouge or have to travel for their regional.

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Tigers fall in SEC Tournament vs. Tennessee, face elimination on Saturday

LSU didn’t have enough on offense to topple the Volunteers, and it will have to win a rematch against Kentucky on Saturday to stay alive.

Round 3 in the winner’s bracket of the 2022 SEC Tournament pitted the Tigers against the No. 1 team in the Southeastern Conference and the whole country, the Tennessee Volunteers.

The Vols proved they are the top team for a reason, as they won 5-2 to advance to the semifinals. LSU meanwhile, faces elimination in a rematch against Kentucky on Saturday.

[autotag]Ty Floyd[/autotag] got the start on the mound, and UT did not greet him kindly as it scored three runs in the first two innings to jump out to an early lead that it held until the top of the fifth. In that frame, [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] hit an RBI double to score [autotag]Drew Bianco[/autotag], and [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] followed that with an RBI of his own to cut the lead to 3-2.

Tennessee scored two more runs on Floyd in the bottom of the fifth to increase its lead back to three runs.

[autotag]Trent Vietmeier[/autotag] came in to pitch for the final out of the fifth inning. Floyd’s final line was 4.2 innings pitched allowing five runs on six hits, three walks and five strikeouts.

Vietmeier stayed in to pitch for the rest of the game as he went 3.1 innings allowing zero runs on zero hits and three strikeouts. However, LSU was unable to score any more runs against the potent Tennessee pitching staff.

With the loss, LSU moves to the loser’s bracket and now has a date with the Wildcats, who have been something of a tournament darling as they’ve won two games as a 12-seed. The first pitch for that game will likely be 30 minutes after the conclusion of Alabama vs. Florida, which begins at 9:30 a.m. CT.

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Tigers take down Kentucky in late-night SEC Tournament opener after numerous delays

The Tigers are moving on to the winner’s bracket after comfortably handling Kentucky despite a shaky start

After a long hiatus due to a first-round bye and a plethora of rain, the LSU Tigers finally got to take the field at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium and play in their first game in the SEC Tournament on Thursday night.

LSU got to skip the single-elimination round as it entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed. That meant that the Tigers would play the winner of No. 5 Auburn and No. 12 Kentucky.

Coming into the week, no No. 12 seed had ever won a game in the SEC tournament, but the Wildcats beat AU to set up a second-round matchup against LSU to begin double-elimination play. Their luck ran out on Thursday night, as LSU advanced into the winner’s bracket with an 11-6 victory.

It will face top-seeded Tennessee on Friday night in the third round in what will be the first matchup against the Volunteers this season.

[autotag]Ma’Khail Hilliard[/autotag] got the start on the mound for the Tigers, and Kentucky jumped on him in the top of the second inning with a two-run homer to take an early lead. But in the bottom of the third, LSU got those runs back, plus one.

With bases loaded, [autotag]Tre’ Morgan[/autotag] grounded out to the pitcher, but [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] was able to score. That was followed by the red hot [autotag]Tyler McManus[/autotag] hitting a two-RBI double to put LSU on top 3-2.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Tigers put up three more runs to extend their lead to 6-2. Crews singled to center field to bring home [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag], [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] singled to bring home [autotag]Drew Bianco[/autotag], and Crews scored on an insane play at the plate where he dodged the catcher’s tag and eventually led to Kentucky’s head coach getting thrown out when the run was confirmed after video review.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the bases were loaded for Thompson, and he came through with a single to clear the bases and make it 8-2 Tigers. McManus then got his third hit of the night as he singled to bring Pearson home and make it 9-2 LSU.

Hilliard’s day was finished as the Tigers entered the top of the seventh inning with [autotag]Devin Fontenot[/autotag] on the mound. For Fontenot, it was his 111th career appearance, which broke the record for most career appearances. Hilliard’s final line was six innings pitched allowing two runs on four hits, two walks and six strikeouts.

Kentucky scored a run on Fontenot to cut the lead to 9-3 as we went to the bottom of the seventh. Pearson became the first LSU player with five hits in an SEC Tournament game as he launched a two-run moonshot to right field to make it 11-3.

And oh yeah, he’s just a freshman.

In the top of the eighth inning, Kentucky hit a three-run homer to cut the lead to 11-6 and bring [autotag]Grant Taylor[/autotag] out of the bullpen. After retiring the first batter he faced for out number three, Taylor stayed on the mound for the ninth.

After walking the first batter of the ninth, Taylor was replaced by [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag], who was greeted with a single. Cooper retired the rest of the Wildcats, and the Tigers won 11-6.

With the victory, LSU will play in the winner’s bracket against No. 1 Tennessee on Friday night in the late game. That start time is TBD, but at least the forecast shows no sign of rain — for now.

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How to watch LSU baseball’s SEC Tournament opener against the Kentucky Wildcats

LSU is set to begin its postseason on Thursday afternoon, weather permitting.

The Tigers had a first-round bye at the SEC Tournament in Hoover this week thanks to a sweep in the final regular-season series that secured a No. 4 seed.

They’re probably very grateful for that, as there have been upsets aplenty through the first couple of days of single-elimination competition in Hoover, Alabama. The bottom two seeds in the field won, including a Kentucky Wildcats squad that became the first No. 12 seed to win a game in the tournament with a 3-1 upset over five-seeded Auburn.

Now, No. 4-seeded LSU will open its postseason on Thursday against that same Wildcats team in the double-elimination portion of the tournament. When exactly that game will happen remains to be determined, as Mother Nature has thrown a wrench into the plans this week with quite a few rain delays.

First pitch will take place at approximately 1 p.m. CT, as things currently stand. It will be the second game of the day, coming 30 minutes after the conclusion of a matchup between No. 8 Vanderbilt and top-seeded Tennessee at 9:30 a.m. CT.

With a win over Kentucky, the Tigers would draw the victor of that one in the winner’s bracket. With a loss, they would face the loser in an elimination game.

A strong showing could pay dividends for coach Jay Johnson’s team, which remains in the race to host a regional at the NCAA Tournament, which begins next week.

Here’s everything you need to know to follow the beginning of LSU’s postseason journey.

LSU Baseball Rankings Update: Weekend sweep in Nashville helps the Tigers climb

The Tigers kept their hopes of hosting a regional alive last weekend against Vanderbilt.

What a weekend it was in Nashville as the LSU Tigers swept the Vanderbilt Commodores and secured the No. 4 seed for the 2022 SEC Tournament.

[autotag]Brayden Jobert[/autotag] had a great series going 8-for-16 with three homers and 10 RBI to earn SEC Player of the Week honors. We went into the weekend series thinking that any chance the Tigers had at hosting a regional was pretty much gone, but LSU flipped the script with a series sweep and a first-round bye in the conference tournament clinched.

Now, if LSU has a good showing in Hoover, it may secure a regional in Baton Rouge. The Tigers’ first game will be Wednesday evening at approximately 8 p.m. CT against the winner of Auburn and Kentucky.

In the meantime, LSU saw its standing in the national polls rise after an impressive weekend. Here’s where it stands in the latest rankings, including the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

Full schedule for the SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover this week

Here’s a rundown of the entire conference tournament schedule as the postseason begins this week.

The SEC regular season is in the books, and LSU managed to close things out on a high note.

In their final conference series of the season, the Tigers captured an impressive sweep on the road with three convincing wins against Vanderbilt. By virtue of that performance, they were able to clinch a top-four seed and a bye through the single-elimination round at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama, this week.

No. 4-seeded LSU will play on Wednesday night against the winner of the contest between No. 5-seeded Auburn and No. 12-seeded Kentucky during the double-elimination portion of the tournament at the Hoover Met.

With the order of events and seeding all set for this week’s tournament, here’s a full rundown of all the games in Hoover this week. Note that every game will be televised on SEC Network with the exception of the Championship Game, which will be on ESPN2.