Tag: Alex Milazzo

Former top LSU baseball recruit enters the transfer portal

The No. 2 ranked shortstop from Arizona in the 2023 recruiting class has entered his name into the transfer portal.

The No. 2 ranked shortstop from Arizona in the 2023 recruiting class has entered his name into the transfer portal after only one season on the bayou. [autotag]Ryan Kucherak[/autotag] appeared in 16 games for the Tigers last season and only had 12 at-bats. He finished the season 3-for-12 (.250) with two RBI.

LSU doesn’t have many infielders remaining from last season’s team. [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] are likely both going pro, [autotag]Ben Nippolt[/autotag] is out of eligibility, [autotag]Austen Roellig[/autotag] is headed to Utah, and all three catchers are gone with [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] and [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] graduating and [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] heading to Alabama.

That only leaves [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag], [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag], and possibly [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] (who is mainly used as an outfielder but appeared in 10 games at second base). Milam is 100% coming back unless he enters the transfer portal but the status of Braswell III and Pearson are both unknown at the moment. Both of them will likely hear their names called in the 2024 MLB D]draft but they both still have one more year of eligibility.

Either way, there is work to be done to fill some holes in the infield in the transfer portal.

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Former LSU catcher Brady Neal transferring to Alabama

Brady Neal has announced that he is leaving Baton Rouge and taking his talents to Tuscaloosa.

In the words of Justin Timberlake, “What goes around comes around.” Last season LSU took one of the top players from the transfer portal, Luke [autotag]Holman[/autotag]. They took him away from Alabama. This time, the shoe is on the other foot.

[autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] has announced that he is leaving Baton Rouge and taking his talents to Tuscaloosa to play for [autotag]Rob Vaughn[/autotag] and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The sophomore catcher from Tallahassee, Florida, split time with [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] and [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] at catcher this season but he still had a pretty good season.

Neal played in 44 games and finished with a .276 batting average with eight doubles, nine homers, and 31 RBI. Alabama over-achieved this season in Vaughn’s first year. They are losing starting catcher Mac Guscette and Neal has the talent to step in on day one and become a starter and an everyday player for the Tide next season.

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LSU baseball adds a big-time slugger from the transfer portal

The Tigers landed one of the best sluggers in the country in the transfer portal.

[autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] has ventured into the black hole that is the transfer portal and he has stepped out with an Avenger. The Tigers have landed one of the best power hitters in the country from Indiana State.

[autotag]Luis Hernandez[/autotag] is a 6-foot, 190-pound sophomore catcher from Puerto Rico who was a star for the Indiana State Sycamores this season. He finished the season with a .359 batting average with 14 doubles, 23 homers, and 76 RBI. He had a .694 slugging percentage and showed power to both sides of the field.

Hernandez played catcher for the Sycamores but he can also play first base. LSU is losing two catchers, [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] and [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag]. That leaves them with [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] as the main catcher on the roster. Hernandez could play behind the dish or he could play first base and the Tigers could use [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] as a designated hitter.

This is a huge pickup for LSU. He can bring instant pop to the lineup and make the team better.

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Alex Milazzo posts special letter he received from neighbor’s daughter

Some things are bigger than baseball.

[autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] has been a warrior for LSU baseball during his entire career. He has served as a catcher for LSU for five years and has appeared in 183 total games. This season, he appeared in 50 games and caught three out of the four regional games that the Tigers played in.

Unfortunately, the final game did not go the way any of us wanted it to as the season ended with a 4-3 loss to North Carolina to send the Tar Heels to the super regionals. When Milazzo finally got back home from the long road trip, he received a letter from the daughter of his neighbor.

Some things are bigger than baseball. There are still people in the players’ lives who look up to them as heroes and cheer for them no matter what. This girl has watched Alex for the past two years and enjoyed every step of the journey. What a letter to receive.

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Griffin Herring hurls a gem against Wofford to keep LSU baseball’s season alive

After a rough start, LSU came back to win 12-6 and advances to the regional final against North Carolina.

LSU entered Sunday’s game facing elimination in Chapel Hill. The Tigers got a rematch against the Wofford Terriers who they beat in their first game of the regional. After a rough start, LSU came back to win 12-6.

[autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] got the start on the mound but things did not get off to the type of start he would like. Wofford greeted him with five runs in the bottom of the first inning to get out to a 5-0 lead. In the top of the second inning, the Tigers began to claw their way back into the game. [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] hit a sacrifice fly and [autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag] had an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-2.

In the top of the fourth inning, [autotag]Ashton Larson[/autotag] hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-3.

The Terriers answered with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth to extend their lead to 6-3. In the top of the fifth inning, LSU tied the ballgame as [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] hit a two-run homer and [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] hit an RBI single to tie the game 6-6.

In the top of the seventh inning, LSU took their first lead of the ballgame when Brown hit a sacrifice fly and [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] hit an RBI single to give LSU an 8-6 lead.

In the top of the eighth inning, the Tigers extended their lead as Pearson hit an RBI double and Neal hit a two-RBI single to extend the lead to 11-6.

[autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag] was the pitcher Jay Johnson called on to relieve Ackenhausen after his nightmare first inning. Herring was phenomenal. He finished the game after pitching 6.1 innings, giving up one run on five hits, seven strikeouts, and zero walks. [autotag]Kade Anderson[/autotag] entered the game to relieve him in the bottom of the eighth inning.

In the top of the ninth inning, [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] hit an RBI single and Pearson hit a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 13-6.

LSU advances to take on North Carolina in another elimination game on Sunday night at 5 p.m. CT.

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LSU baseball falls to North Carolina in winners’ bracket, will face elimination on Sunday

LSU will play Wofford on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT in an elimination game.

[autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] took the mound for the winner’s bracket game against North Carolina. The winner of this game advanced to the Regional final matchup and would be one win away from Omaha. North Carolina won 6-2 and sent LSU to an elimination game.

There were no early runs in this one as Holman and [autotag]Shea Sprague[/autotag] were both locked in until the bottom of the fifth inning. With two runners on base in the bottom of the fifth, [autotag]Vance Honeycutt[/autotag] hit a three-run bomb to give the Tar Heels a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the seventh inning, [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] started it off with a single, [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] followed that with a single, and [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] hit a single to load the bases for [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag]. Jones then was walked on a 3-2 count to bring in the first run of the game for the Tigers. [autotag]Ethan Frey[/autotag] then entered as a pinch hitter with the bases loaded against the new Carolina pitcher. Frey drew a walk on a 3-2 count to score another run for LSU. [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] then grounded into a double play to send us to the bottom of the seventh inning with the score 3-2 North Carolina.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Honeycutt hit another homer off of Holman, this time a solo shot, to extend the lead to 4-2 North Carolina. That homer chased Holman from the mound and [autotag]Justin Loer[/autotag] entered the game. Holman’s final line was 6.2 innings pitched and he allowed four runs on seven hits, 11 strikeouts, and one walk.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, North Carolina added some insurance as they tacked on two more runs to increase their lead to 6-2 as we headed to the ninth. LSU was unable to come up with any magic in the top of the ninth and the Tigers lost 6-2.

LSU will play Wofford on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT in an elimination game.

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LSU baseball’s magical SEC tournament run comes to an end in championship against Tennessee

LSU ran out of late game heroics in the SEC championship on Sunday.

After the last two LSU baseball games ended in madness, the Tigers became the first No. 11 seed to make the SEC championship game. LSU would face off against the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers.

This time, the magic ran out as the Tigers lost 4-3.

[autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] got the Tigers on the board first with a 471-foot solo shot in the bottom of the first inning to give LSU a 1-0 lead.

[autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] got the start on the mound and he was incredible. He struck out five of the first six hitters he faced. In the third inning, he recorded the first two outs before being replaced by [autotag]Fidel Ulloa[/autotag]. Ulloa then gave up a three-run bomb and the Vols took their first lead of the ballgame.

 

In the bottom of the sixth inning, LSU had the bases loaded with two outs but [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] got picked off on first to end the inning and keep the score 3-1. Tennessee added to their lead in the top of the seventh inning to make the score 4-1 Vols.

[autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] entered to pitch after Ulloa and unfortunately had to leave the game with an injury. Hopefully, he will be okay in the long run. LSU used eight different pitchers in the game as they tried to keep everyone relatively fresh for regional play.

LSU entered the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 4-1 and needing three runs to keep the game going. In the bottom of the ninth, Hayden Travinski hit a double with one out and Milam followed that with an RBI double of his own to cut the lead to 4-2. Mac Bingham then reached on a fielding error and advanced to second on the throw as Milam scored to make it 4-3 with the tying run on second.

[autotag]Ashton Larson[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] then both struck out and LSU lost 4-3. LSU will now wait until Monday to find out where they are heading for regional play.

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Steven Milam walks it off to send LSU baseball to the SEC championship game

The Tigers move on to the SEC championship game on Sunday against the winner of Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt.

After starting the SEC tournament 3-0, LSU entered the single-elimination portion of the tournament with a rematch against South Carolina.

The game started out awful for the Tigers as the Gamecocks teed off on LSU and built an 8-0 lead going into the bottom of the fourth inning.

That is when the Tigers finally got on the board. [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] got the scoring started with an RBI single, [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] walked with bases loaded, [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] hit a two-RBI single, and [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit a two-RBI single to cut the lead to 8-6.

In the top of the sixth inning, South Carolina extended their lead with two more runs to make the score 10-6. LSU answered that in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot by Jones to cut the lead to 10-7.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, [autotag]Ashton Larson[/autotag] hit a sacrifice fly and Braswell III hit a solo shot to cut the lead to 10-9.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Ethan Frey entered the game to pinch hit for the Tigers and he led it off with a double. [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] laid a bunt down and an error by the third baseman led to [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] scoring from second base to tie the game at 10! Braswell then stepped up to the plate with a chance to walk it off against his old team, but this time he drew a walk.

With runners on first and second and no one out, White stepped into the box. Tommy popped out to first base for out number one of the inning. The Bear stepped into the box after Tommy. Jones flew out to deep center but both runners advanced. With two outs the winning run was 90 feet away for Pearson. He grounded out to second base and we headed to extra innings.

In the top of the 10th inning, South Carolina attempted to steal home but the runner was thrown out for out number three…or so we thought. The umpires came together and ruled there was catcher interference by [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] therefore the run scored from third to give the Gamecocks an 11-10 lead. LSU then applied for a protest. The protest failed, [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] got tossed, and we headed to the bottom of the 10th with the score 11-10 Carolina.

Travinski drew a walk on a pitch clock violation to start the bottom of the 10th. Stevan Milam then hit a two-run walk-off homer to win the game 12-11!!

The Tigers move on to the SEC championship game on Sunday against the winner of Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt on Sunday at 2 p.m.

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Former Gamecock Michael Braswell serves as the hero for LSU in win over South Carolina

On Tuesday, Michael Braswell III clapped back at a Gamecock fans’ Twitter account. On Thursday, he clapped back against his old team.

On Tuesday, [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] clapped back at a Gamecock fans’ Twitter account. On Thursday, he clapped back against his old team.

In what has been the greatest game of the SEC tournament so far, Braswell served as the hero for the Tigers as his RBI single gave the Tigers a one-run lead in the top of the ninth inning and led to an 11-10 win over South Carolina to move LSU to 3-0 in the tournament.

Now, let’s rewind. How did we get to 11-10? LSU scored the first run of the game on an RBI single by Stephen Milam to give LSU a 1-0 lead.

[autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] got the start on the mound for LSU and he struck out five of the first six hitters he faced to start the game. He ran into trouble in the third inning, though. An RBI double chased him from the mound and [autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] was greeted with a grand slam to give Carolina a 5-1 lead after three innings.

in the top of the fourth inning, LSU clawed back into the game as they tied it up with four runs of their own. [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit an RBI double, Milam hit an RBI single, and [autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag] hit a two-run homer to tie the game 5-5.

In the top of the fifth inning, Jared Jones hit a solo shot to give LSU a 6-5 lead.

South Carolina scored a run to tie it up in the bottom of the fifth inning and then [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] gave the Tigers the lead again in the top of the sixth inning with an RBI groundout to make it 7-6 Tigers.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Gamecocks scored four runs to give them a 10-7 lead. In the top of the eighth, two LSU runners scored on an error to cut the lead to 10-9.

LSU entered the top of the ninth inning down 10-9, needing at least one run to keep the game going. Milam started the inning off with a single and Brown followed that with another single to put runners on first and second base. [autotag]Ashton Larson[/autotag] flew out for out number one, but Paxton Kling advanced to third on the flyout. Brown would then steal second to put runners on second and third with one out. [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] then hit a sacrifice fly to the wall to tie the game 10-10. Then, magic happened. Braswell III stepped up and hit an RBI single to give the Tigers an 11-10 lead.

[autotag]Fidel Ulloa[/autotag] closed out the win in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Tigers won 11-10! LSU will now get a day off before playing in a single elimination semifinal game on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT. LSU will play the winner of Kentucky/South Carolina.

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Gage Jump leads LSU baseball past Georgia in SEC tournament opener

The Tigers kept their hot streak going with a 9-1 win over Georgia to open their run in Hoover.

LSU baseball entered the SEC tournament coming off of a sweep against Ole Miss. The Tigers kept that hot streak going with a 9-1 win over Georgia in the single elimination first round on Tuesday morning.

LSU drew first blood in the top of the first inning as [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] hit a two-RBI single to make it 2-0 Tigers. He followed that up with an RBI groundout in the top of the second to make it 3-0 LSU.

Georgia finally got on the board in the bottom of the second inning to cut the lead to 3-1. The score remained that way until the top of the fifth inning when an RBI single from [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] and an RBI single from [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] increased the lead to 5-1.

In the top of the seventh inning, [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] hit an RBI single to increase the lead to 6-1.

As we headed to the bottom of the eighth inning, [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag]’s day ended as [autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag] headed to the mound. Jump was phenomenal on short rest. He pitched seven innings and gave up only one run on four hits, seven strikeouts, and one walk.

In the top of the ninth inning, LSU tacked on three more runs as Milam hit a solo homer, Milazzo hit an RBI single, and [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] hit an RBI single to extend the lead to 9-1.

Herring remained in the game for the bottom of the ninth inning as he closed the game out for LSU. With the win, LSU advances to play Kentucky on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. CT in the double-elimination portion of the SEC tournament.

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