Tag: Gage Jump

LSU baseball shuts out Auburn to take Game 1 Friday night

Gage Jump started on the mound for LSU, and he shut out Auburn 5-0 in Game 1.

LSU welcomed the Auburn Tigers to the Bayou for a weekend series as both teams tried to win their way into the conference tournament. [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] started on the mound for LSU and he shut out Auburn 5-0 in Game 1.

LSU got the scoring started in the bottom of the fourth inning via the long ball. [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] hit a solo shot to give LSU a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the fifth inning, that trend continued as [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit a solo shot of his own to give LSU a 2-0 lead.

The score remained 2-0 LSU until the bottom of the seventh inning when LSU tacked on three more runs. [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] hit a two-RBI double and [autotag]Ashton Larson[/autotag] hit an RBI single to extend the LSU lead to 5-0.

 

Jump finished the game after seven full innings of work after allowing zero runs and only allowing two hits on six strikeouts and zero walks. [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] finished the final two innings of the game as he struck out four of the six hitters he faced.

Game 2 of the series will start Saturday at 6 p.m. CT.

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LSU’s Gage Jump named SEC Pitcher of the Week

Gage Jump was absolutely dominant in LSU’s Game 1 run-rule win over Missouri.

The LSU baseball team finally got over the hump in SEC play this weekend.

Though it took a decisive Game 3 to clinch things, the Tigers won their first conference series of the season on the road against Missouri. They started things off with a huge performance in Game 1 with [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] on the mound, winning 12-1 via run rule.

For his efforts, Jump was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week on Monday. In the Game 1 win, he tossed seven innings while allowing just three hits and a run. He walked a single batter while striking out 14, and that performance ultimately paved the way for LSU to capture their first league series victory.

Jump, a transfer from UCLA, has become LSU’s Friday night starter and one of the few reliable arms among a group of pitchers that have struggled at times this season.

After a midweek game against Nicholls, Jump should take the mound once again on Friday as the Tigers return home to host Auburn at The Box.

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LSU baseball run-rules Missouri in Game 1

Gage Jump finished the game with seven innings pitched, and he allowed only one run on three hits, 14 strikeouts and one walk.

This is the LSU team we have all been waiting on this season. The offense was smashing the ball and the pitching was on point as LSU opened its road series against Missouri with a 12-1 run-rule win in Game 1.

[autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] got the start on the mound for the matchup and was great. Jump finished the game with seven innings pitched and he allowed only one run on three hits, 14 strikeouts and one walk.

LSU started the scoring in the top of the first when [autotag]Ashton Larson[/autotag] hit an RBI double to score [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] and make it 1-0 Tigers.

In the top of the second inning, [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] hit a solo homer to increase the lead to 2-0. The Tigers then broke the game wide open in the top of the third when they scored six runs. [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] hit a solo homer, [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit a three-run homer, [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] hit an RBI double, and [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] hit an RBI double to extend the lead to 8-0.

In the bottom of the third, Missouri scored a run to cut the lead to 8-1. In the top of the fourth inning, LSU scored three more runs. [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] hit a two-run homer and Travinski scored on a wild pitch to increase the lead to 11-1.

In the top of the sixth inning, Jones scored on a fielder’s choice to increase the lead to 12-1 as the Tigers looked to win via the run rule. Game 2 of the series will be Saturday at 4 p.m. CT.

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Photos from LSU baseball’s Game 2 loss to Vanderbilt on Friday night

LSU will look to take the series in Game 3 on Saturday.

The LSU baseball team had a chance to secure its first SEC series win of the year in Game 2 on Friday night against Vanderbilt, and late in the game, it looked like it had a decent chance to.

The Tigers held a 6-5 lead entering the eighth, but a late rally from the Commodores that saw them score three runs in the final two frames ultimately erased that lead and evened the series with an 8-6 win, setting up a rubber match on Saturday.

It was a solid start on the mound from [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag], who went 5.1 innings and allowed just four runs, but [autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] allowed the three late runs in relief.

Here are the photos from the loss, which dropped the Tigers to 3-8 in SEC play.

LSU baseball succumbs to late rally as Vanderbilt evens series in Game 2

LSU squandered a chance to clinch its first SEC series win.

After taking Game 1 of the series last night, LSU could win their first conference tilt of the season if it could beat Vanderbilt in Game 2 on Friday night. Unfortunately, Vandy rallied late to win the game 8-6, setting up a Saturday rubber match at The Box.

[autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] started the gameĀ with a solo homer in the bottom of the first inning to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the third inning, Vandy hit a two-run shot against [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] to give the Commodores a 2-1 lead. LSU quickly answered that homer with two homers of their own. [autotag]Ashton Larson[/autotag] hit a solo shot and White hit a two-run shot to give LSU a 4-2 lead.

Vandy scored one run in the top of the fourth and the top of the fifth to tie the game 4-4. Jared Jones then put LSU back in the lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning to give LSU a 5-4 lead.

Vandy scored a run in the top of the sixth inning to tie it once again but LSU answered that run once again in the bottom of the inning as [autotag]Mac Bingham[/autotag] hit an RBI groundout to give LSU a 6-5 lead.

In the top of the eighth inning, Vandy hit a two-run homer against [autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] to give Vandy a 7-6 lead late in the game. The Commodores scored another run in the top of the ninth inning to extend their lead to 8-6.

LSU was unable to score any more runs as the Tigers dropped game two 8-6. The rubber match will be played on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT.

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What is wrong with LSU baseball?

The 2024 season has not gotten off to the best start for the Tigers.

The 2024 season has not gotten off to the best start for the LSU baseball team. After three conference series, the Tigers are 20-9 overall and 2-7 in conference play and have lost all three series. The Tigers dropped series to Mississippi State and Florida 2-1 and then got swept by Arkansas last weekend.

So, what is going on with this team? For one, let’s rewind to the 2023 season. [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] and the LSU Tigers had the two best players in college baseball on their team, [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] and [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag]. The No. 1 and No. 2 overall draft picks in the 2023 MLB draft.

Along with that, the team had [autotag]Tre Morgan[/autotag], [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag], [autotag]Jordan Thompson[/autotag], [autotag]Brayden Jobert[/autotag], [autotag]Cade Beloso[/autotag] and [autotag]Ty Floyd[/autotag]. That equates to two out of three starting pitchers, first and second base, shortstop, designated hitter, and two of the three outfield spots. One outfield spot ([autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag]), one starting pitcher ([autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag]), and two catchers ([autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag]) were all that remained from last year’s starting lineup.

Replacing six hitters in your starting lineup and two of your starting pitchers is not an easy task. Johnson had to hit the recruiting trail hard for high school kids and players in the transfer portal. He did a great job of rebuilding the team, but some players you just can’t replace. There is no replacement for those guys.

With that out of the way, let’s take a look at some stats so far. LSU is in the middle of the road for most hitting statistics in the conference. The Tigers are seventh in the conference in batting average, on-base percentage, and hits, eighth in slugging percentage, doubles, and triples. The biggest issue for LSU on the offensive side is that we are ranked 11th out of 14 in RBI and runs scored. LSU is not hitting the long ball as well either as the Tigers rank ninth in that stat.

Three more interesting offensive stats, LSU ranks first in the conference in double plays and caught stealing. First in those areas is not a good thing. That means you have hit the most double plays and been caught stealing the most. [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] leads the conference in double plays. He has hit into eight of them. That’s three more than the next closest player.

Now, let’s look at the Tigers’ performance on the mound. [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] is the silver lining of this pitching staff. Without him, you would not want to see any of these numbers. Holman has the second-lowest ERA (1.38), second-highest strikeouts (61), and fourth-lowest opponent batting average (.173). Why am I singling him out? Because if you take him out of the equation, LSU does not have another pitcher in the top 15 of the conference.

LSU has the MOST walks in the SEC (131) and the second most wild pitches in the SEC (28). [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] is tied for the most losses in the conference with four and three LSU pitchers are tied for sixth in the conference in wild pitches with four. ([autotag]Kade Anderson[/autotag], [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] and Hurd)

LSU is sixth in the conference in fielding percentage but [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] is tied for first for the most errors in the conference with seven. Those numbers will not get the job done, especially in conference play.

LSU will play Southern at home on Monday before hosting Vanderbilt this weekend.

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LSU baseball makes changes to the pitching rotation before matchup with Arkansas

Jay Johnson is changing things up on the mound ahead of a matchup against the top team in the nation.

This weekend, the LSU Tigers take a trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to take on the No. 1 team in the nation, the Arkansas Razorbacks.

LSU has lost back-to-back series to start the conference slate. The Tigers dropped two out of three games to Mississippi State and Florida. This weekend, the schedule is a little different. There will be no game on Sunday due to Easter. The series will be played on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

With these circumstances, [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] has decided to make some changes to the starting pitching rotation. For the last two weekends, the Tigers have gone with [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] on Friday, [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] on Saturday, and [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] on Sunday. That won’t be the lineup this weekend.

Holman and Jump will both pitch on their normally scheduled days (Friday and Saturday) so they will be on full rest. As for Thursday, we do not know who is going to start for LSU. Hurd threw 90 pitches in Sunday’s loss to Florida so it will not be him.

The Tigers have a few options to go with but we will not know who it is until Johnson announces it before the first pitch.

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Starting pitching struggles for LSU baseball in series loss to Mississippi State

It was the first SEC series loss since last May, which also came against the Bulldogs.

As good as the LSU pitching was last weekend against Xavier, it was the polar opposite this weekend against Mississippi State. [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag], [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] and [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] combined to give up 16 runs, 21 hits, nine strikeouts and seven walks in 13.1 innings. Only 13 of those runs were earned, making the weekend ERA of the starters 8.93.

[autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] finished Game 1 after pitching 4.2 innings and giving up 10 hits and five runs (two earned runs) as he struck out three hitters and walked one in the Friday night loss.

[autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] finished Game 2 after only 3.2 innings and gave up four runs on four hits, three strikeouts and three walks. Even though LSU got out to a 9-1 lead, Mississippi State scored eight runs unanswered until [autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] shut the door on them.

[autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] finished game three after five full innings. He gave up seven runs on seven hits, three strikeouts and three walks. He had a bad first inning where he gave up three runs and then a bad fifth inning where he gave up four runs. Two doubles, a three-run bomb and a solo shot chased him from the game.

It was the first SEC series loss since last May against guess who? Mississippi State.

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Instant Analysis: LSU stops the rally to survive Game 2 against Mississippi State

After having a 9-1 lead early in the game, LSU had to fend off a comeback to win 9-8 in Game 2.

After having a 9-1 lead early in the game, LSU had to fend off a comeback to win 9-8 in Game 2 against Mississippi State.

LSU entered Game 2 looking to rebound after a 10-4 loss in Game 1 on Friday. To do that, they would need the offense to score some runs. That’s exactly what they did.

It seemed as though pitching was optional for both teams in this one as both teams put up a lot of runs. It felt like a game where the team that got to bat last would still have a chance to win.

LSU put up a three spot in the top of the first inning thanks to [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] both hitting homers to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the second inning, LSU scored two more runs due to a two-run homer by [autotag]Mac Bingham[/autotag] to extend the lead to 5-0.

The Bulldogs scored a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the second inning to cut the lead to 5-1. LSU got that run back plus three more as [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit a two-run homer and White hit a two-RBI double with bases loaded to extend the lead to 9-1.

Seems like a comfortable lead, right? Wrong. The game was flipped on its head in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings as Mississippi State scored five runs between those two innings to cut the lead to 9-6. [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] was chased from the mound after only 3.2 innings. He gave up four runs on four hits, three strikeouts, and three walks.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Bulldogs scored two more runs and just like that, we had a one-run game. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Bulldogs had runners on first and second with only one out as [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] entered to pitch for the Tigers. White would then make an incredible 5-3 double play to get LSU out of the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, [autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] entered to pitch for the Tigers to try and secure the win. He retired the hitters 1-2-3 and ended the game as LSU won 9-8.

Game 3 will be Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.

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Starters and shutouts for LSU baseball against Xavier last weekend

Last weekend against Xavier, the starters put up great numbers.

Entering the 2024 season, LSU had a couple of question marks regarding who would be in their starting rotation. We knew that [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] would be one of the starters based off of his performance in the College World Series.

LSU lost their other two starters, [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] and [autotag]Ty Floyd[/autotag], to the MLB Draft. Skenes was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Floyd was the 38th pick in the draft by the Cincinnati Reds.

With two spots to fill, where would head coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] turn? Johnson has recruited very well as he has landed a lot of talented players out of high school and out of the transfer portal.

The two best pitchers in the transfer portal committed to LSU. [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] and [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag]. Holman was the ace for the Alabama Crimson Tide last season and due to his experience in the SEC, he seemed to fit the mold for another starting pitcher spot.

Jump was coming off of a season where he was unable to pitch due to an injury, but as a freshman at UCLA, he was fantastic. The initial plan for the rotation appeared to be Hurd, Holman, and [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag]. That’s how things began as Johnson began to ramp up the pitch count for Jump.

Fast forward to now, the Tigers are starting conference play this weekend and the lineup has changed slightly. Hurd did not get off to the greatest start this year so he has slid from the ace to the Sunday starter. Jump has gotten more healthy and he has become the Saturday starter. Holman has proved that he has the ability to be an ace in this rotation.

Last weekend against Xavier, the starters put up great numbers. In total, between the three starters, they finished the weekend 2-0 with zero earned runs allowed over 16 innings pitched. They only allowed seven total hits as they struck out 29 hitters and only walked four.

The worst part of the weekend is that Hurd was given a no-decision as Xavier beat LSU 2-1 on Sunday to end the Tigers’ winning streak. In spite of that, I believe that this pitching staff has the talent to take LSU to Omaha once again.

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