Tag: Hayden Travinski

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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A letter to LSU baseball freshman Jake Brown

The moral of the story is that nobody is perfect.

On Monday night, LSU took on North Carolina in a winner-take-all Game 7 for a shot at hosting a super regional against West Virginia. With two outs in the top of the tenth inning, Johnny Castagnozzi hit a fly ball to right field to [autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag].

Brown retreated towards the wall and tracked the ball while fighting the lights glaring in his eyes. He put his glove up to catch the ball… and the ball went right over his glove.

After that, North Carolina would hit an RBI single to take a 4-3 lead and never look back. After the game ended, many Tiger “fans” took to Twitter to berate Brown and say nasty things about him and his family. With the way people were talking about Brown, you would have thought he missed the ball on purpose. Obviously, he didn’t.

Coming out of Sulphur High School in Louisiana, Brown was rated as the No. 1 player in the state of Louisiana and the No. 18 left-handed pitcher in the country. He starred as a pitcher and as a center fielder for the Sulphur Golden Tors. Brown played in 56 games as a freshman for LSU this season and was listed as a left-handed pitcher/first baseman/outfielder on the Tigers roster.

In those 56 games, Brown had 48 total chances to make a play on defense. He finished the season with 46 putouts, one assist and only one error. The man missed one ball all year long and now people want to crucify him for it.

For those of you who are uneducated, playing outfield is hard. It is even harder when you are on the road. At home, you are familiar with the layout of your ballpark and you know every nook and cranny of that field. When you are on the road, you are not as aware of the dimensions of the ballpark, and on a ball hit near the wall, you have to reach a hand out to try to find out where the wall is.

You are also fighting the lights. It was mentioned a few times during the broadcast that it is hard for right fielders to see the ball at “The Bosh” no matter what team you were playing on. With all of those things in play, it is a recipe for disaster for anyone. Jake made one mistake all year and everyone blames him for that loss.

No one wants to talk about how LSU only had one hit after the third inning ([autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] singled in the bottom of the ninth). One of LSU’s five hits was a solo homer from [autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag]. If it wasn’t for him, the game would not have had the lead at all.

The moral of the story is that nobody is perfect. I am sure no one is beating themselves up more about the play than Jake because all he wants to do is make a play for his team. He is a Louisiana man who bleeds purple and gold. This is just one setback on the road to possibly being one of the LSU greats. Keep your head up, Jake. You’ll bounce back stronger next year.

For all of you, keyboard warriors who are downing Cheetos and whining about how you could make that catch with your eyes closed, use that energy to do something productive instead of bashing someone online.

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LSU baseball can’t close the door, season ends against North Carolina in regional final

LSU had the Tar Heels where it wanted them but couldn’t close the door as North Carolina won 4-3 in extras.

After an incredible day yesterday when the Tigers won two games to send the Chapel Hill Regional to a winner-take-all Game 7, the Tigers matched up with North Carolina one more time with the hopes of hosting a Super Regional. LSU had the Tar Heels where they wanted them, but they couldn’t close the door as North Carolina won 4-3 in extras.

Sam Dutton got the start on the mound and LSU was the home team once again. The Tar Heels started the game with three straight singles before [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] came in to pitch. Coleman walked the first hitter he faced before forcing a double play. He then got the final out but North Carolina took a 2-0 lead.

LSU didn’t waste any time trying to answer those two runs as the Tigers got a run of their own on a [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] groundout to cut the lead to 2-1. In the bottom of the second inning, [autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag] hit a solo homer to tie the game 2-2.

In the bottom of the third inning, [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] got in on the homer party as he hit a solo shot to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead.

In the top of the eighth inning, [autotag]Will Hellmers[/autotag] walked the first batter he faced and that was the end of his afternoon. When LSU needed him the most, Hellmers gave the best pitching performance of his career. He finished the game after pitching 5.2 innings and giving up zero runs on two hits, four strikeouts, and two walks. It was the longest Hellmers has pitched in his career. His previous high was in 2021 when he pitched five full innings against Southern and New Orleans as a freshman.

[autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] entered to pitch for him and he struck out the next three hitters to send LSU to the bottom of the eighth inning with a 3-2 lead. In the top of the ninth inning, LSU’s Ace pitcher [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] trotted out of the bullpen to try to close out the win. The Tar Heels led off the inning with a double to put the tying run in scoring position with no outs. After getting a strikeout, an RBI single tied the game 3-3. A lineout to second and a ground ball out sent us to the bottom of the ninth with a chance for LSU to walk it off.

[autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] struck out, [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit a single to put the winning run on first, Brown flew out to center, and [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] struck out to send us to extra innings.

The Tigers retired the first two hitters of the inning before an error gave the Tar Heels a runner in scoring position. LSU intentionally walked the next guy. Then with two outs and a full count, Carolina scored on an RBI single giving the Tar Heels a 4-3 lead. LSU had the top of the order due up in the bottom of the inning.

[autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] flew out on the first pitch he saw, [autotag]Steven Milam[/autotag] flew out to right for out number two and it was down to Jones to save the day. Jones reached on a walk to put the tying run at first. Pearson then came up to bat and flew out to center. The Tar Heels won 4-3 and the season ended.

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LSU baseball’s hot start leads to a win over North Carolina in regional final Game 1

LSU forced a winner-take-all game with an 8-4 win over UNC.

After beating Wofford on Sunday morning to remain alive in the Chapel Hill Regional, the Tigers got a rematch with the North Carolina Tar Heels with a chance to send it to a winner-take-all game tomorrow. LSU did exactly that with an 8-4 win.

[autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] continued the hot streak he started against Wofford as he put the Tigers on the board in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run homer to give LSU a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third inning, LSU tacked on another run as [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] hit an RBI single to extend the lead to 3-0.

In the top of the fourth inning, North Carolina got their first hit of the ballgame off of [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] with a double to put a runner in scoring position. An RBI single scored him and North Carolina cut the LSU lead to 3-1.

 

 

In the bottom of the fourth inning, LSU loaded the bases before [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] hit an RBI single, [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] hit a two-RBI single, and White scored on a groundout from Pearson to extend the lead to 7-1.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit a solo homer to extend the lead to 8-1.

In the top of the sixth inning, North Carolina scored a run on a passed ball to cut the lead to 8-2. After a couple of singles, Hurd was pulled from the game as [autotag]Justin Loer[/autotag] was called out of the bullpen. Loer walked the first hitter he faced to load the bases with two outs.

[autotag]Fidel Ulloa[/autotag] was then called from the bullpen. Ulloa struck out the next hitter on a 3-2 count to keep the score 8-2 LSU.

Hurd’s final line was 5.2 innings pitched as he allowed two runs on six strikeouts and zero walks. It was his best start since March 10th against Xavier. He came through when LSU needed him in this elimination game.

With two runners on base and one out in the top of the seventh inning, [autotag]Kade Anderson[/autotag] was called in from the bullpen. Anderson pitched against Wofford this morning but he still had enough gas in the tank to throw some more. He struck out the first batter he faced but he hit the second batter to load the bases with two outs. The Tar Heels then hit a two-RBI single to cut the lead to 8-4. The next batter hit a pop-up and we headed to the bottom of the seventh with the Tigers still up by four runs.

In the top of the ninth inning, North Carolina loaded the bases against [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] but he was able to get out of the inning unscathed as the Tigers won 8-4. The final game of the Chapel Hill Regional will be played on Monday at a time to be determined.

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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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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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LSU baseball hits 2 grand slams in run-rule SEC tournament rout against Kentucky

LSU followed Tuesday’s win with an 11-0 run-rule victory over the No. 3-seeded Wildcats.

After an impressive win over the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday, LSU followed it up with a win over the No. 3 seed in the SEC tournament as it beat Kentucky 11-0.

[autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] got the scoring started for LSU in the top of the first inning with a leadoff homer to make it 1-0. Then, in the top of the second inning, he had an RBI groundout to increase the lead to 2-0.

[autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] got the start on the mound for the Tigers and he was terrific. His day finished after six full innings of work. He gave up zero runs on zero hits, seven strikeouts, and two walks. [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] entered into pitch in the seventh inning.

 

In the top of the seventh inning, [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] got his first hit of the SEC tournament in dramatic fashion as he hit a grand slam to increase the lead to 6-0. [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] followed that with a solo shot of his own to extend the lead to 7-0.

In the top of the eighth inning, [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] joined the home-run parade as he hit a grand slam to extend the lead to 11-0 and put the run rule in play.

With the win, LSU advances to play in the winner’s bracket on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. CT against the winner of the Arkansas-South Carolina game.

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