Tag: Hayden Travinski

LSU baseball dominated by Southern in midweek loss Monday night

Unfortunately, this is not an April Fools’ joke. The Southern Jaguars dominated the LSU Tigers at Alex Box Stadium on Monday night.

Unfortunately, this is not an April Fools’ joke. The Southern Jaguars dominated the LSU Tigers at Alex Box Stadium on Monday night.

Southern won the game 12-7 and LSU did not lead at any point. LSU cut the lead to 3-2 entering the fifth inning but that was as close as they could get.

[autotag]Kade Anderson[/autotag] started on the mound as the Tigers looked to bounce back against Southern after being swept by Arkansas.

In the top of the second inning, Southern got on the board first with a three-run homer against Anderson to give them a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the fourth inning, [autotag]Ben Nippolt[/autotag] hit a sacrifice fly and [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] had a sacrifice bunt to cut the lead to 3-2.

In the top of the fifth inning, Southern did some damage against [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] and [autotag]Justin Loer[/autotag] as they scored five more runs to increase their lead to 8-2. In the bottom of the fifth, [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] had an RBI groundout and [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] hit a two-run homer to cut the lead to 8-5.

In the top of the sixth, an LSU error led to another run for Southern as they increased their lead to 9-5. In the bottom of the sixth, [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] scored on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 9-6.

In the bottom of the eighth, Jared Jones hit a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 9-7. In the top of the ninth, [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] committed his second error of the evening leading to another run for Southern. A fielder’s choice and another error led to more runs for Southern as they increased their lead to 12-7.

LSU will host No. 6 Vanderbilt this weekend. Game 1 of the series is scheduled for Thursday at 6 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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Instant analysis from LSU baseball’s Game 1 loss at Arkansas on Thursday night

A late homer gave the Hogs all the insurance they would need to beat LSU 7-4.

A late homer for the Arkansas Razorbacks gave them all the insurance they would need to take Game 1 and beat LSU 7-4 on Thursday night.

The Tigers had lost back-to-back SEC series losses to start the year and the schedule did not get any easier as the Tigers traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to take on the No. 1 team in the country.

[autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] got the start on the mound for the Tigers as he tried to provide some stability for a struggling pitching staff. The Razorbacks scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the third inning due to an RBI sacrifice fly to make it 1-0 Arkansas.

In the top of the fourth inning, LSU took their first lead of the game as [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] and [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit back-to-back homers to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Arkansas scored two runs to take a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the seventh inning, LSU walked in a run with the bases loaded to extend the Razorbacks lead to 4-2. In the top of the eighth, White scored on an RBI single by [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] to cut the lead to 4-3.

[autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] entered the game to pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning. After walking two of the first three hitters he faced, he gave up a three-run homer to give Arkansas a 7-3 lead.

LSU added a run in the top of the ninth after a wild pitch with runners at second and third, but that was all it was able to manage as the Razorbacks put the game away.

Game 2 is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. CT.

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Instant Analysis: LSU baseball gets back in the win column against Southeastern Louisiana

After losing two out of three games to Florida last weekend, the LSU Tigers needed a pick-me-up.

After losing two out of three games to Florida last weekend, the LSU Tigers needed a pick-me-up. They got that with an 8-4 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday night.

LSU scored first in the bottom of the first inning when [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] scored on an RBI single by [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] to make it 1-0 Tigers.

In the top of the second inning, SLU took the lead by scoring two runs against [autotag]Sam Dutton[/autotag] to chase him from the game. In the bottom of the inning, LSU took the lead back as the Tigers put up four runs. [autotag]Mac Bingham[/autotag] hit a solo homer, [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] scored on an RBI groundout, and White hit a two-run homer to give LSU a 6-2 lead.

 

In the bottom of the seventh inning, LSU scored three more runs as [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit a two-run homer and [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] scored on a fielder’s choice to make the score 8-2 LSU.

In the top of the eighth inning, Southeastern hit a solo shot in the eighth and ninth innings to cut the lead to 8-4 but that was as close as they could get. LSU will now prepare to travel to Fayetteville to take on the No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks this weekend.

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Instant Analysis: Gators run-rule LSU baseball in Game 3 to take the series

This game got out of hand late, and Jay Johnson was thrown out as Florida took Game 3 12-2 to win the series.

After a heartbreaking loss last night against the Gators, LSU looked to bounce back in the Sunday Gold uniforms. This game got out of hand late and [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] was thrown out as Florida took Game 3 12-2 in eight innings to win the series.

LSU scored first in the bottom of the fourth inning when [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] scored due to an error made by the left fielder to make it 1-0 LSU.

In the top of the fifth inning, the Gators onslaught began. Two two-run homers and a two-RBI double led to a 6-1 Florida lead as [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] was pulled from the game.

In the bottom of the inning, LSU got one of those runes back via a Jared Jones solo shot to cut the lead to 6-2.

After the homer by Jones, some words were exchanged between the Gators’ first baseman and Jones which led to warnings for both teams. [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] struck out to end the inning and apparently, he heard something else he didn’t like. He came out of the dugout and proceeded to get tossed from the game.

Florida would go on to score two more runs in the top of the sixth and four runs in the top of the eighth to extend their lead to 12-2. LSU failed to score in the bottom of the eighth and the Tigers lost via run rule.

That’s two straight SEC series losses for LSU as their record drops to 19-5. The next game will be against Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. CT.

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Instant Analysis: Gators beat LSU baseball in extra innings to even the series

After leading 4-2 in the eighth inning, LSU gave up four runs and lost to Florida 6-2 in 11 innings.

After leading 4-2 in the eighth inning, LSU gave up four runs and lost to Florida 6-2 in 11 innings on Saturday night.

LSU scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the third when [autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag] scored on a [autotag]Mac Bingham[/autotag] single to make it 1-0 LSU. Florida answered that run with two of their own to take a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth.

[autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] then tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with a solo shot to left field.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, LSU tacked on two more runs as Bigham hit a solo shot and [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] hit a solo shot to make it 4-2 LSU.

In the top of the eighth inning, Florida had runners on the corners with two outs with [autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] on the mound. Ackenhausen struck the hitter out BUT the ball got away from [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] and he was unable to throw the runner out at first therefore a run scored to cut the lead to 4-3.

Everything went downhill after that. With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, the Gators got an RBI single to tie the game and send us to extra innings. The Gators then hit a two-run homer in the top of the 11th to take a 6-4 lead and LSU failed to score any more runs.

Game 3 is Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.

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Instant Analysis: LSU baseball takes care of business against Louisiana Tech

The LSU bats were on fire as the Tigers run-ruled the Bulldogs 11-1 in eight innings.

The LSU bats were on fire as the Tigers run-ruled the Louisiana tech Bulldogs 11-1 in eight innings.

The LSU bats wasted no time getting a strong lead against Louisiana Tech. The Tigers scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning as [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit an RBI single, [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] hit an RBI single, [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] hit a two-RBI single, and Pearson stole home to give LSU a 5-0 lead.

The Bulldogs scored a run in the top of the second inning but LSU got that run back plus one more in the bottom of the second [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] hit a two-RBI homer to increase the lead to 7-1.

LSU then scored one run in the bottom of the third, fourth, sixth, and seventh inning to give the Tigers an 11-1 run-rule victory over Louisiana Tech.

LSU welcomes the Florida Gators into Baton Rouge for a weekend national championship rematch. The Gators will enter the weekend series as a top-10 team.

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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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Instant Analysis: Gage Jump shines as LSU takes Game 2 over Xavier

Gage Jump finished the game after pitching five innings and allowing zero runs on three hits, 10 strikeouts and one walk.

There was no delay to Game 2 tonight between LSU and Xavier. [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] got the start on the mound for the Tigers and he looked great once again. He finished the game after pitching five innings and allowing zero runs on three hits, 10 strikeouts, and one walk.

Just like last night, LSU scored in the bottom of the first inning. [autotag]Ethan Frey[/autotag] hit a three-RBI double to give the Tigers an early 3-0 lead.

The Tigers scored another run in the bottom of the second inning when [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] hit a sacrifice fly to score [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] to make it 4-0 LSU.

The Tigers scored another run in the bottom of the fourth due to a solo homer from [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag]. In the fifth inning, LSU scored three more runs thanks to an RBI single by Milam and a two-RBI double by Travinski to extend the lead to 8-0.

In the top of the sixth inning, Xavier cut into LSU’s lead by scoring two runs to make it 8-2 LSU. Those are the only runs Xavier was able to score as the Tigers took Game 2 by a score of 8-2.

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Instant Analysis: LSU baseball shuts Xavier out to begin weekend series

Luke Holman finished the night after pitching six innings and allowing zero runs on zero hits.

After a rain delay moved the game back from its original start time, LSU and Xavier finally got underway around 8 p.m. CT. [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] got the start for the Tigers as he has become the ace and looked every bit of it on Friday night.

Holman finished the night after pitching six innings and allowing zero runs on zero hits. He struck out 10 hitters and only walked two.

LSU did not waste any time getting some runs on the board as the Tigers plated two in the bottom of the first inning. [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] hit an RBI double and [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit a sacrifice fly to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the second inning, [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] hit an RBI triple and [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] hit an RBI double to extend LSU’s lead to 4-0.

[autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag] and [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] pitched the last four innings and held Xavier scoreless as the Tigers took Game 1 4-0.

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