Tag: Blake Money

Tigers going ‘back to the drawing board’ after rough weekend on the mound

LSU coach Jay Johnson said the Tigers are reevaluating pitching ahead of this weekend’s series at Florida.

Last weekend, coach Jay Johnson and the LSU Tigers dropped their first conference series of the season to Texas A&M. One of the major reasons was starting pitching.

Going into the weekend series, only Johnson knew the status of the Tigers’ ace Blake Money after he suffered an injury in the Tulane game. Ty Floyd got the start on the mound for the Friday night game, instead.

A key goal for any starting pitcher is to try and get a “quality start” every time you pitch. Per MLB.com, “a starting pitcher records a quality start when he pitches at least six innings and allows three earned runs or fewer. A starting pitcher has two jobs: to prevent runs and get outs. The quality start statistic helps to quantify which pitchers did a “quality” job in those two departments.”

Out of the three conference games last week, LSU recorded zero quality starts. Floyd pitched for only two innings and gave up two runs, Money pitched 3 1/3 innings and gave up four runs, and Hilliard pitched four innings and gave up five runs.

That is a total of 11 earned runs in only 9 1/3 innings, good for an ERA of 10.88.

That is an abhorrent number for any pitching staff. Those numbers have led coach Johnson to make some changes. The Tigers take on Louisiana Tech on Wednesday before traveling to Florida to take on the No. 8 Gators in Gainesville this weekend.

Something has to give for this pitching staff. According to Johnson, the Tigers are going to go “back to the drawing board” as far as the starting rotation is concerned and re-evaluate every pitcher on the roster to see who can get some quality starts and win some games.

The Tigers currently sit at 15-5 and they are ranked the No. 18 team in the country, but coach Johnson knows this team is capable of playing much better than it is right now.

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Another 9th-inning nightmare as LSU drops series to Texas A&M

The Tigers lost their opening SEC series with an 11-7 setback against the Aggies.

Welcome back, Blake Money.

The sophomore made his return from his wrist injury to start against Texas A&M in Game 2 on Saturday night at Alex Box Stadium. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as well as we all hoped it would.

Money was replaced after pitching only 3 1/3 innings and giving up four runs on six hits, three walks and four strikeouts in an 11-7 series-clinching victory.

The Aggies started the game off strong in the top of the second inning when they scored two runs thanks to two sacrifice fly balls. In the bottom of the second, The ‘Italian Stallion’ Giovanni DiGiacomo answered with a two-run homer to right-center field to tie the game.

Money retired the Aggie hitters in the top of the third without allowing a run. In the bottom of the third, Dylan Crews launched a ‘Crews Missle’ to right-center field to give the Tigers their first lead of the game.

After that, things quickly spiraled downhill for LSU as A&M scored four runs in the next two innings to make it 6-3 Aggies as we headed to the bottom of the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, the Tigers scored a couple of runs of their own to make it a 6-5 game. The first was a solo home run by Tyler McManus.

The second run came off of a Cade Doughty double that scored Jacob Berry.

With bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning, Bryce Collins struck out a batter that would have been the third out, but it was a wild pitch. Therefore, the guy who struck out reached first base safely and the Aggies scored a run to make it 7-5 A&M.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Tyler McManus came up clutch as he hit a two-RBI single to tie the game at 7-7 heading into the final inning.

Saturday’s top of the ninth went exactly like the one on Friday as Texas A&M scored two runs thanks in part to another throwing error to make it 9-7 Aggies. Garrett Edwards then came in to pitch for Devin Fontenot.

Edwards walked the first player he faced and then the Aggies hit a two-RBI double to make it 11-7 as we headed to the bottom of the ninth. LSU was unable to make a comeback in the bottom of the ninth and lost 11-7.

With the loss, the Tigers drop to 14-5 on the season and 0-2 in conference play. LSU will look to avoid the sweep on Sunday against the Aggies. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT at Alex Box Stadium.

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Injury update for LSU pitcher Blake Money

The Tigers could be without their ace for at least the near future as the team is set to begin SEC play this weekend.

Blake Money, a 6-foot-7-inch sophomore starting pitcher for the LSU Tigers, has been the ace for the team this year. He’s the Friday night guy.

In his first three starts, he was, as his name suggests, “money.” He carried a 0.44 ERA into last Friday’s game against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. In what should have been another quality start for Money, things went horribly wrong.

Money was pulled after only 4.1 innings, in which he gave up five runs on only two hits to the Wildcats. He looked like a completely different pitcher than he had been all season long, which led some to believe that something was wrong.

It turns out that Money has been dealing with what is being referred to as “wrist irritation,” according to coach Jay Johnson.

Any kind of injury to a pitcher’s throwing arm can be very tough to deal with. Since last Friday, Money has been going through treatment to try and heal his wrist, and Johnson said Money is listed as day-to-day.

It is unknown whether he will pitch this weekend or not. LSU opens SEC play with a series against Texas A&M on Friday at Alex Box Stadium.

Getting Money back to 100% as quickly as possible is pivotal for the success of this Tigers team. You are going to need your ace, especially later in the year, and LSU will hope his recovery goes smoothly.

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LSU baseball overcomes late deficit to sneak by Bethune-Cookman in Game 1 on Friday

The Tigers had a scare from the Wildcats on Friday, but they pulled away for an 8-7 win.

The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats came into Friday’s Game 1 with a 5-7 record on the year, but even with the losing record, they gave LSU all they could handle in the opener of this weekend’s three-game series.

The Tigers had to fight their way out of a deficit but ultimately emerged to save face and win 8-7.

Blake Money started on the mound for LSU, he came into the game with a 0.44 ERA. Needless to say, he didn’t leave that way. Coach Jay Johnson’s team started off strong in the bottom of the first inning as Cade Doughty blasted a two-run shot to left-center field to make it 2-0 LSU.

The bats then got quiet until the fifth inning when Bethune-Cookman scored six runs to chase Money from the mound and take a 6-2 lead headed to the bottom of the fifth.

However, while LSU may not be The Empire, it did strike back on Friday afternoon. Jacob Berry got it started with a two-run homer to right field.

That was followed by a bases-loaded walk to Thompson and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch to tie it at 6-6 after five innings of play. Dylan Crews then joined the home-run party with a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the sixth to give LSU a 7-6 lead.

That lead was short-lived, though, as in the top of the seventh inning, the Wildcats tied it up on an RBI single. In the bottom of that frame, Whit Merrifield hit an RBI single to center field to score the deciding run to give LSU the 8-7 lead. Bryce Collins and Devin Fontenot came in and shut the Wildcats down for the final two innings to secure the win. Fontenot (1-0) got the win on the mound for the Tigers and Berry led them at the plate going 3-for-5 with two RBI.

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LSU baseball rises as high as No. 3 in Baseball polls

The Tigers went 4-1 this past week, moving up in the polls in the process.

After playing a five-game stretch last week in which the Tigers went 4-1, LSU has climbed the college baseball rankings as high as the No. 3 spot.

This is fitting, because LSU’s No. 3 has a lot to do with why the Tigers had so much success during that stretch. LSU outfielder Dylan Crews batted .444 (8-for-18) with one triple, two homers, nine RBI, four runs scored, and a .565 on-base percentage in the last five games.

Crews is now hitting a team-high .483 on the year with one double, three triples, two homers, 13 RBI, and 12 runs. Along with the hot-hitting Crews, the Tigers definitely got their Money’s worth when Blake Money was on the mound. Money was brilliant on Friday night, as he defeated Towson with seven shutout innings, increasing his scoreless innings streak this season to 14 straight.

Money limited Towson to no runs on just two hits – a pair of singles – in seven innings with two walks and seven strikeouts. Money is 2-0 this season with a 0.00 ERA, a .085 opponent batting average, and three walks and 17 strikeouts in 14 innings.

The Tigers rank No. 3 in the Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game rankings, and they sit in the top 10 of D1 Baseball, USA TODAY Sports and Baseball America’s polls, sitting at No. 7 in the former two and at No. 8 in the latter.

This week will be a very interesting week for LSU Baseball as the Tigers play against New Orleans this Wednesday before traveling to Minute Maid Park in Houston for the Shriners College Classic. LSU will play Oklahoma on Friday, No. 1 Texas on Saturday, and Baylor on Sunday.

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LSU shuts out Towson behind another great start by Blake Money

The Tigers got back to their winning ways with a 6-0 win over Towson to kick off a four-game weekend slate.

LSU came into Friday night’s game after a disappointing loss to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in Ruston, Louisiana, on Wednesday night. With a weekend full of games upcoming at “The Box,” the Tigers wanted to try to get back into the swing of things.

Although the bats traveled well to Ruston on Wednesday, the defense didn’t. LSU had a total of five errors and two walks that ultimately doomed them. The Tigers only had two errors on Friday night in a 6-0 shutout against the Towson Tigers, both of them charged to shortstop Jordan Thompson.

The scoring spree started in the bottom of the first inning, Tre Morgan reached base with a walk, then Dylan hit a Crews missile to left field to make it 2-0 Tigers after one inning. In the bottom of the second, Alex Milazzo led off with a single and wound up scoring on a bases-loaded walk to make it 3-0 LSU through two innings.

In the bottom of the third inning, Jack Merrifield hit an RBI groundout that scored Brayden Jobert, Dylan Crews followed that with a two-RBI triple to make it 6-0 LSU. Blake Money (2-0) was replaced in the top of the eighth inning after another very impressive outing, going seven full innings and allowing zero runs and only two hits.

Garrett Edwards came in and only gave up a single as he recorded the last six outs of the ballgame to secure the 6-0 Tiger victory in the first game of an eventful weekend in Baton Rouge. LSU was led at the plate by Alex Milazzo who went 2 for 2 on the night, followed by Dylan Crews, who was 2 for 5 with four RBI, and reigning SEC Player of the Week Cade Doughty, who was 2 for 4.

LSU will play Southern tomorrow with the first pitch at 1:30 p.m. CST from Alex Box Stadium.

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LSU remains at No. 8 in D1Baseball Top 25

There was no change for the Tigers after a dominant opening weekend sweep against Maine.

After a phenomenal opening weekend at Alex Box Stadium where the Tigers outscored the Maine Black Bears 51-15 in a three-game sweep, LSU remains at number eight in the D1Baseball Top 25 poll.

There were many expectations coming into the 2022 season, the first at LSU for new head coach Jay Johnson. The Tigers started it off by putting on a show.

Friday was “Money Time” as Blake Money came out and pitched a gem of a game going seven innings while allowing zero runs on two hits and ten strikeouts. The star of the show on offense wasn’t one of the usual suspects, it was the new kid on the block straight out of Junior College, Brayden Jobert.

Jobert finished the game Friday going two-for-two with a homer and two RBI. On Saturday, the bats stayed hot as they rode a streak of scoring a run for 12 straight innings. Two players were one-hit short of a cycle, Crews and Doughty. LSU had 17 runs on 17 hits.

On Sunday, the Tigers stayed golden as Ty Floyd pitched a gem and LSU scored 21 runs, breaking the program record for runs scored in the first three games. The Tigers sit at 3-0 and travel to Louisiana Tech for a one-game series Wednesday Night starting at 6 PM.

Here’s the full D1Baseball poll for this week.

Rank Team Overall Record Record Last Week Previous Rank
1 Texas 3-0 3-0 1
2 Arkansas 2-1 2-1 2
3 Ole Miss 3-0 3-0 5
4 Oklahoma State 2-1 2-1 7
5 Vanderbilt 1-2 1-2 3
6 Stanford 2-1 2-1 6
7 Mississippi State 1-2 1-2 4
8 LSU 3-0 3-0 8
9 NC State 3-0 3-0 10
10 Florida State 3-0 3-0 11
11 Arizona 3-0 3-0 15
12 Long Beach State 2-1 2-1 24
13 Notre Dame 2-1 2-1 13
14 Oregon State 4-0 4-0 18
15 Florida 1-2 1-2 9
16 Georgia 3-0 3-0 16
17 TCU 2-1 2-1 17
18 Tennessee 3-0 3-0 19
19 Georgia Tech 3-0 3-0 21
20 Texas Tech 1-2 1-2 14
21 Liberty 2-1 2-1 NR
22 Maryland 3-0 3-0 NR
23 Duke 2-1 2-1 23
24 Miami 4-0 4-0 25
25 East Carolina 0-3 0-3 12
Dropped Out
UC Irvine 1-2 1-2 20
Dallas Baptist 1-2 1-2 22

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Tigers start the 2022 season strong with a win over Maine

Tigers take the opener behind Blake Money’s seven-inning performance.

Pinstripes, punchouts, and a packed house at Alex Box Stadium. Ah, baseball season is back in the Bayou.

The No. 8 LSU Tigers did NOT disappoint against the Maine Black Bears as the Tigers won 13-1. There were a lot of questions going into the season about how the lineup would look and how the pitching staff would look. The Tigers have plenty of great talent, so it was up to new head coach Jay Johnson to figure out where each piece fit in.

It all started with the opening day first pitch from former Tigers head coach and Hall of Famer, Paul Mainieri. After that, it became the Money show. By that, I mean the Blake Money show.

AP Photo/Matthew Hinton

The 6-foot-7-inch, 235-pound Sophomore came out throwing darts. He pitched 7 innings and gave up two hits, one walk, and 10 strikeouts. It was the first time since Jake Tompkins in 2003 that an opening day starter recorded 10 or more strikeouts.

I know what you’re thinking, “We’ve seen all the posts and the preseason hype around the golden spike award watch lists and preseason All-American hitters. How’d they do?” We’ll get to those guys, but they weren’t the ones that really stole the show on Friday Night.

That title goes to Brayden Jobert.

A man that wasn’t even in the starting lineup made the biggest impact in the batter’s box. Jobert played at Delgado Community College in New Orleans, Louisiana, last year where he earned JUCO All-American honors. There he d batted .386 with 15 doubles, 16 homers, 71 RBI, a .813 slugging percentage, and a .469 on-base percentage.

Who had the first hit of the 2022 season? Who scored the first run of the 2022 season? The answer to both of those questions is Brayden Jobert. He hit a single during his first at-bat and during his second at-bat, he hit a homerun to Right Field. He finished the night 2-for-2 with two RBI, a single, a sac-fly, and a homer. That one run in the fourth inning was all the Tigers needed, but they didn’t stop there. The bats got HOT and the Tigers ended with 13 runs on 12 hits.

Winning Pitcher: Blake Money (1-0)

LSU will play Maine again tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. at “The Box”.