Tag: Christian Little

Luke Holman gets LSU back in the win column against Northern Illinois

Luke Holman made his second start of the season and he pitched a masterclass as he got LSU back in the win column.

[autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] made his second start of the season and he pitched a masterclass as he got LSU back in the win column with a 5-2 victory over Northern Illinois on Saturday. Holman pitched seven innings and allowed zero runs on two hits, eight strikeouts and no walks.

LSU scored first in this one as [autotag]Mac Bingham[/autotag] had an RBI groundout and [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] was walked with the bases loaded to give LSU a 2-0 lead after two innings. In the bottom of the fourth inning, LSU scored three more runs as Bingham hit a two-run homer to left field and Pearson followed it with an RBI single to give LSU a 5-0 lead.

After that, the LSU bats went as cold as ice. The Tigers only managed three hits against Northern Illinois as Bingham, [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag], and Pearson were the only Tigers that got a hit. After Holman left the game, [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] came in for the eighth inning. Little allowed zero runs on zero hits, two strikeouts, and a walk as he maintained the 5-0 LSU lead.

In the top of the ninth inning, things got interesting. [autotag]Justin Loer[/autotag] entered the game on the mound and Northern Illinois teed off on him. The Huskies scored two runs on two hits as they chased Loer from the mound. [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] came in after Loer and shut Northern Illinois down to secure the 5-2 victory for LSU.

With the win, LSU moves to 6-1 this season. The Tigers will get a shot at revenge against Stony Brook on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT

LSU baseball holds off Central Arkansas to go 4-0 in opening weekend

Fidel Ullo earned the save as LSU won 4-3.

The LSU offense picked up where it left off on Sunday as the Tigers scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning against Central Arkansas. [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit an RBI single, [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] scored on a wild pitch, and Travinski scored when [autotag]Mac Bingham[/autotag] was walked with the bases loaded.

We got our first look at true freshman left-handed pitcher, [autotag]Kade Anderson[/autotag]. Anderson pitched four innings for LSU in his debut as he allowed one run on six strikeouts and three walks. Central Arkansas scored a run on him in the top of the third due to a wild pitch to cut the lead to 3-1.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] hit his third homer in four games this season as he hit a solo shot to left field to extend LSU’s lead to 4-1.

[autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] made his first appearance of the season as he came in to start the sixth inning. He pitched 1.1 innings and allowed one earned run on a walk and a strikeout. [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] entered to pitch in the top of the sixth and bailed the Tigers out of a jam.

In the top of the eighth inning, UCA scored another run on an RBI single to cut the lead to 4-3 as they chased [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] from the mound. [autotag]Justin Loer[/autotag] came in to save the day and he was followed by [autotag]Fidel Ulloa[/autotag], who earned the save as LSU won 4-3 and went 4-0 on the weekend.

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LSU pitcher Christian Little won’t sign with Mets, returns to Tigers in 2024

Christian Little struggled in his first season at LSU, but he’ll return to Baton Rouge to try to improve upon it.

LSU’s pitching staff took some hits in the 2023 MLB draft, but it will get one piece back in right-hander [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag].

Little, a transfer addition from Vanderbilt last offseason, was selected in the 19th round of the draft by the New York Mets, but he will not sign and will instead return to Baton Rouge for the 2024 season.

Following the draft, Little heavily implied his return in a post on his Twitter account where he stated that he was “not done,” and shortly after, he told The Advocate’s Leah Vann that he will indeed pass on his offer from the Mets.

Little came in with high expectations but struggled quite a bit. He began the year as a weekend starter but became a bullpen reliever by the end of the season, finishing with a 2-2 record and a 7.79 earned run average in 19 appearances.

He made eight starts and pitched a total of 34.2 innings, striking out 42 batters while issuing 29 walks. Still, Little is a guy with big-league talent, and his return will allow him another chance to unlock it with the Tigers.

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Christian Little taken by Mets in 19th round of the 2023 MLB draft

The Vanderbilt transfer began the year as a weekend starter but settled into a reliever role.

LSU pitcher [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] was selected by the New York Mets with the 576th pick in the 19th round of the 2023 MLB draft on Tuesday.

A transfer addition this past offseason from Vanderbilt, Little was one of the most highly anticipated new faces on the roster. He began the year as a weekend starter but struggled, ultimately settling into a reliever role.

In 19 appearances with eight starts in 2023, Little finished with a 2-2 record and a 7.79 earned run average. He struck out 42 batters on the year, but he also issued 29 walks.

The St. Louis native becomes the 13th LSU player taken in the draft, a program record.

It’s unclear whether Little plans to sign with New York, but he certainly would stand a lot to gain from returning to an LSU team in need of pitching help in 2024.

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LSU drops series finale against Georgia, will be No. 3 seed at SEC tournament in Hoover

The Tigers still took the series, but they missed a chance to win the regular season SEC title.

LSU entered Game 3 with a chance to be the regular season SEC champions, but Georgia was having none of that as the Dawgs took Game 3 with a 9-5 win. The Tigers still took the series and will now be the No. 3 seed at the SEC tournament in Hoover, Alabama, next week.

[autotag]Tre Morgan[/autotag] got the Tigers on the board first with a two-run bomb in the top of the first inning to put LSU up 2-0.

Georgia made a comeback in the bottom of the second inning to tie the game after a [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] error. In the bottom of the third, the Dawgs took their first lead of the game on a solo homer off of [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] to take a 3-2 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, [autotag]Sam Dutton[/autotag] entered the game to pitch for Coleman and Georgia greeted him by scoring three runs to extend their lead to 6-2 after four innings. In the top of the sixth inning, LSU cut the Georgia lead to two after a solo homer by [autotag]Cade Beloso[/autotag] and a double steal that resulted in [autotag]Brayden Jobert[/autotag] stealing home to make it 6-4 Dawgs.

Georgia got one of those runs back in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a bases-loaded walk by [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] to extend the lead to 7-4. In the top of the seventh, White hit a solo shot to cut the lead to 7-5.

Georgia scored two more runs in the bottom of the seventh to increase their lead to 9-5 as we headed to the eighth inning. LSU loaded the bases in the top of the ninth inning with only one out. Jobert struck out for out No. 2 which left everything in the hands of [autotag]Jordan Thompson[/autotag]. Thompson hit a flyball for an out and LSU lost 9-5.

With the loss, LSU drops to 42-13 overall and 19-10 in conference play. LSU fails to win the regular season conference title. We will see what the SEC tournament pairings will be soon as the Tigers will try to make a deep run in the conference tournament.

LSU will be the No. 3 seed. That means they will play the winner of the game between the No. 6 seed and the No. 11 seed. That game will be at 9:30 a.m. CT on Wednesday.

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LSU drops back-to-back SEC series with Sunday’s Game 3 collapse against Mississippi State

The Tigers led 13-4 in the sixth, but a Bulldogs rally erased that lead as LSU lost another conference series.

After blowing a lead late in Game 2, LSU looked to rebound and take the series against Mississippi State in Game 3. Instead, the Tigers saw a similar result as they squandered a 13-4 lead in the sixth inning to fall to the Bulldogs 14-13 in extras.

[autotag]Brayden Jobert[/autotag] got the game started off right as he hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the second inning to give LSU a 3-0 lead.

Mississippi State got one of those runs back in the top of the third inning as the Bulldogs hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 3-1. LSU got that run back plus one more in the bottom of the inning as [autotag]Tre Morgan[/autotag] hit a solo homer and [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] hit an RBI double to give LSU a 5-1 lead after three innings.

Things started to unravel in the top of the fourth, though, as the Bulldogs scored three runs against [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] to cut the lead to 5-4. Once again, the Tigers answered. It all started with an error to score [autotag]Jordan Thompson[/autotag]. After that, things went downhill fast for Mississippi State. [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] hit an RBI single, [autotag]Cade Beloso[/autotag] reached on a fielder’s choice but got an RBI, and Jobert hit a two-RBI single to make it 10-4 LSU.

Mississippi State loaded the bases in the top of the fifth inning against [autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag] but [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] came in and got the Tigers out of the jam without allowing any runs. After a Gavin Dugas double to start the bottom of the fifth, Morgan hit a two-run homer to increase the Tiger lead to 12-4. Hayden Travinski followed that with an RBI single to make it 13-4.

In the top of the sixth inning, the Bulldogs clawed their way back into the game as an RBI single and a three-run homer cut the lead to 13-8. In the top of the seventh inning, the Tiger lead came crashing down as Mississippi State scored five runs against three different pitchers to tie the game at 13.

What once looked as if it would be another run-rule victory had now become a tie game.

In the top of the eighth inning, the Bulldogs loaded the bases before [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag] got LSU out of the threat unscathed. In the bottom of the ninth inning, [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] drew a walk to put the winning run on first base. [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] came into run for Pearson.

Kling advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and he advanced to third on a flyout by Morgan. Crews and White were intentionally walked to load the bases as [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] stepped into the box. He fouled out, and we headed to extras.

In the top of the 10th, the Bulldogs took the lead on a fielder’s choice to give them a 14-13 lead. Jones, Jobert, and Thompson were LSU’s final hope. Jones struck out swinging for out No. 1. Jobert walked to put the winning run at first. Thompson hit a fly ball into a double play and the game ended in a 14-13 Mississippi State victory.

With the loss, LSU drops to 39-12 and 17-9 in conference play. LSU has now lost two straight conference series. The next game will be on Tuesday against McNeese.

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LSU coach Jay Johnson not ruling out changes to pitching rotation after series loss at Auburn

With inconsistency behind Paul Skenes in the rotation, Johnson said changes could potentially be made.

LSU has been nearly unbeatable in series openers this season, and there’s one simple reason for that: [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag].

Skenes has been the most dominant pitcher in college baseball this season. He’s one of the top prospects in the country alongside [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag], and both could be the first two players off the board in this summer’s MLB draft.

But beyond Skenes, the Tigers have had some troubles on the mound. Pitching inconsistency in Games 2 and 3 have cost this team recently, most notably this past weekend.

LSU dropped its first series of the season on the road against a red-hot Auburn team. After Skenes tossed a 3-0 shutout in Game 1 on Friday night, the Tigers were defeated 8-6 in Game 2 and were embarrassed in a series-clinching 12-2 run-rule loss on Sunday.

The starting pitching situation outside of Skenes is becoming a concern as the Tigers gear up for a potential College World Series run. After the loss to Auburn, coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] said changes to the rotation were a possibility moving forward, according to The Advocate’s Leah Vann.

Ty Floyd has held down the Saturday job for most of the year, while Vanderbilt transfer [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] has been the Sunday starter of late. However, UCLA transfer [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] held that title before struggles relegated him to the bullpen.

If LSU wanted to bring in a different weekend starter, Hurd is an option. Other options include [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag], who recently returned from injury, and other bullpen arms such as [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag], [autotag]Sam Dutton[/autotag], [autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag] or [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag].

Unfortunately, the top bullpen arm in [autotag]Garrett Edwards[/autotag], who many thought could develop into a starting option, was lost for the season last month after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Exactly how Johnson will address the pitching rotation (or if he will at all) remains to be seen. But with only two SEC series remaining, LSU only has so much time to experiment with things before the games really start to count.

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LSU drops first SEC series of the season as Auburn dominates Game 3

For the first time all season, LSU has lost a conference series with Sunday’s run-rule loss.

For the first time all season, LSU has lost a conference series.

Auburn has now taken down No. 2 South Carolina and No. 1 LSU in back-to-back weeks after earning a dominating 12-2 run-rule win in Sunday’s decisive Game 3.

The game started off the way LSU wanted it to. [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] hit a solo shot on the third pitch of the ballgame to give LSU a 1-0 lead.

That nice start became a nightmare in the bottom of the first inning as [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] gave up four walks and an RBI single in the first five batters he faced before he was replaced by [autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag]. Herring walked the first two batters he faced before giving up a two-RBI single to give Auburn a 6-1 lead after one inning.

 

[autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] got LSU out of a jam in the first inning and he would stay in to pitch the second. Auburn hit an RBI single off of him to increase its lead to 7-1. In the bottom of the fourth, Auburn scored two more runs thanks to a two-RBI triple to increase its lead to 9-1.

LSU finally scored again in the top of the fifth inning when Dugas scored on a [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] single to cut the lead to 9-2. Auburn answered in the bottom of the sixth with another two-RBI triple to make it 11-2 Auburn.

Auburn walked it off with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning to win the game 12-2.

With the loss, LSU drops to 37-10 and 16-7 in conference play. The next game will be Tuesday evening at 6:30 CT against Northwestern State.

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LSU sweeps Alabama with win in offense-heavy Game 3

The Tigers prevailed to secure a weekend sweep in a Game that featured 22 combined runs.

LSU entered Sunday’s matchup against Alabama with a chance to sweep the Tide. The Tigers did just that with a 13-11 win in Game 3.

Alabama started off strong in the top of the first as they scored a run on a fielding error before [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] got the Tigers out of the inning. In the bottom of the second, [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] hit a two-run bomb to give LSU its first lead of the ballgame at 2-1.

[autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] extended the lead to 3-1 with a “Crews Missile” in the bottom of the third inning.

The Tide came back strong as they scored three runs in the top of the fourth and fifth innings to give them a 7-3 lead thanks to some good hits and a couple of errors by LSU. In the bottom of the fifth, the Tigers came roaring back with some runs of their own as Crews and [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] both hit RBI singles with the bases loaded before [autotag]Cade Beloso[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Thompson[/autotag] walked in runs with bases loaded to tie the game.

Jones then hit a sacrifice fly to give the Tigers an 8-7 lead. [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] then hit an RBI single to extend the LSU lead to 9-7 after five innings.

The Crimson Tide scored a run in the sixth and the seventh inning to tie the game 9-9 heading into the bottom of the seventh. Milazzo gave the Tigers the lead again when he hit an RBI single to score [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] to make it 10-9 LSU. Crews then walked with the bases loaded to make it 11-9 Tigers.

In the bottom of the eighth, Thompson and Kling both hit solo homers to make it 13-9 Tigers.

Alabama hit a two-run homer with two outs in the top of the ninth as it attempted to make a comeback, but that is as close as the Tide would get. With the win, LSU moves to 35-8 overall 15-5 in conference play.

Its next game will be Tuesday night at Southeastern Louisiana. The first pitch for that game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.

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Hayden Travinski lifts LSU to a series sweep with clutch go-ahead homer in 9th

The Tigers looked like they were going to miss out on their first SEC sweep of the year, but the decision to pinch-hit Travinski in the ninth paid off.

LSU entered today’s game with a shot at sweeping the Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford and a pinch-hit three-run homer from Hayden Travinski lifted LSU to a win!

[autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] got the Tigers on the board first when he hit an RBI single up the middle to score [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] and give LSU a 1-0 lead early. Ole Miss tied it up in the bottom of the inning when they hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game 1-1.

Ole Miss took the lead in the bottom of the second inning when they hit an RBI single to give the Rebels a 2-1 lead after two innings. LSU re-took the lead in the top of the third when Jordan Thompson hit an RBI single to score Crews. [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] was thrown out at home during the play. [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] followed that with an RBI single to give LSU a 3-2 lead after three innings.

In the top of the fifth inning, [autotag]Cade Beloso[/autotag] hit a solo shot to right field to extend the LSU lead to 4-2.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ole Miss cut into the lead with an RBI double to bring the Rebels to within one run as [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] came in to pitch for [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag]. The final line on Little was 5.1 innings pitched with three runs on six hits. He had three strikeouts and one walk. It was his longest start of the season and put him in line to win the game if LSU pulled it off.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Ole Miss tied the game on a solo shot to right-center field to make it 4-4 heading into the eighth inning. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Rebels hit a two-run shot to give them a 6-4 lead as we headed into the ninth inning.

In the top of the ninth inning, Ole Miss got two quick outs before walking Jones and hitting [autotag]Brayden Jobert[/autotag] with a pitch. [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] then pinch hit for [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] and he proceeded to hit a three-run bomb to give the Tigers a 7-6 lead.

[autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] would be called on out of the bullpen to try and save the game. He retired the first batter he faced before the Rebels hit a double to put the tying run on second with one out. Guidry got the next hitter to fly out at the wall and the Rebels found themselves down to their last out. The final batter popped up to the second baseman, and the Tigers won 7-6.

With the win, LSU moves to 32-7 on the season and 12-5 in conference play. LSU’s next game will be on Tuesday against Nicholls. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m CT.

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