Tag: Javen Coleman

LSU baseball’s Javen Coleman enters the transfer portal

LSU lost one of its top bullpen arms to the portal on Sunday.

Most of the news LSU has been receiving out of the transfer portal recently has been positive news as the Tigers have picked up a lot of good pitchers so far. This time, the news is on the other end of the spectrum.

LSU will be losing a veteran left-handed pitcher to the transfer portal as [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] has entered his name into the portal. Coleman had a few different roles on the team this spring as he was used as the No. 3 starter at times but then was used out of the bullpen during other games.

Coleman is a redshirt junior who has spent his past four years at LSU. Last spring he finished with a 3-1 record and a 5.19 ERA. In 26 innings of work, he struck out 28 hitters and walked 21. His last outing of the season came in the final game against North Carolina when Coleman pitched 1.1 innings and did not allow any runs as he struck out one hitter and walked two.

Hopefully, Coleman lands on his feet wherever he goes and has a great season next spring.

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Will Hellmers, the hero LSU baseball needed

Although the Tigers lost, we still should acknowledge how incredible Will Hellmers played to put the Tigers in a position to win the Chapel Hill Regional.

During the Chapel Hill Regional, [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] left no stone unturned when it came to pitching. He went through just about every pitcher on the roster to dig the Tigers out of the losers’ bracket and get them to a winner-take-all game seven against North Carolina on Monday.

After the Tigers beat the Tar Heels to force that final game, Johnson was asked about who he was going to have to pitch in the final game of the regional. To which, Jay responded “A chip and a chair.”

That was the motto that the Tigers had taken on for the SEC Tournament and onto the Chapel Hill Regional. The idea was, that as long as LSU still had a chip left and a chair at the table, they could still go all in. The chip Johnson went with to start game seven was [autotag]Sam Dutton[/autotag]. That chip was quickly taken away and [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] was put on the table. After he was taken out, Johnson went with [autotag]Will Hellmers[/autotag].

Hellmers, a senior from Metairie, Louisiana, has been through the wringer in Baton Rouge. As a freshman, he appeared in 20 games, making nine starts and finishing with a 6-2 record and a 4.08 ERA. That was the start of what seemed to be a promising career at LSU for Hellmers.

His next two seasons didn’t go as planned. He only appeared in six games during his sophomore season and seven games during his junior year and he only pitched a total of 22 innings in those years combined. He suffered a nagging arm injury that kept him from being 100%.

This season, he had his best year as a Tiger. He played in 20 games once again and this time he finished with a 1-0 record and a 2.31 ERA. He only gave up a run in three of those 20 games. Johnson had the utmost trust in him in any situation. During the SEC Tournament, LSU found themselves in an elimination game against South Carolina and the Tigers needed a pitcher to come in and hold the rope for at least a couple of innings. Johnson called on Hellmers.

Will pitched two innings and did not give up any runs or any hits and the Tigers eventually came back to win the game 12-11. After the game ended, Johnson said postgame “We won this game because of [autotag]Will Hellmers[/autotag].”

Fast forward to the biggest game of the season and Johnson needed a pitcher to eat some innings and be clutch for LSU, he called on Hellmers once again. Will put on the best performance of his career. He pitched 5.2 innings and gave up zero runs on two hits, four strikeouts, and two walks. It was the longest he had pitched during his career. His previous record was 5.0 innings against New Orleans and Southern University back in 2021 when he was a starter.

He gave it everything he had and put the Tigers in a position to win the game and host a super regional against West Virginia. Although the Tigers lost, we still should acknowledge how incredible Hellmers did to put the Tigers in a position to win.

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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 suffers another Game 3 run-rule loss as Vanderbilt takes series

The Commodores run-ruled LSU on Saturday to take the series.

LSU had two chances to get their first conference series win of the season after winning against Vanderbilt on Thursday evening. They could not make it happen as a late rally won Game 2 for Vandy and then the Commodores run-ruled LSU today to take the series.

The Commodores plated five runs in the first three innings before LSU was able to respond. [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] scored due to a throwing error in the bottom of the third inning as LSU would cut the lead to 5-1.

Vandy went on to score two runs in the top of the fourth, one run in the top of the fifth, and three runs in the top of the sixth inning to extend their lead to 11-1. [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] was charged with three runs, [autotag]Will Hellmers[/autotag] was charged with two runs, [autotag]Cam Johnson[/autotag] was charged with two runs, [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] was charged with one run, and [autotag]Jaden Noot[/autotag] was charged with three runs today.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] hit a two-run homer to cut the Commodore lead to 11-3.

Vandy scored a run in the top of the seventh and the eighth inning to win the game via run rule 13-3. LSU will be back in action on Tuesday as the Tigers take on McNeese at 6:30 p.m. CT.

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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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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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Instant Analysis: LSU crowned the champions of the Astros Foundation Classic with Sunday win over Texas State

LSU joins Vanderbilt as the only other team to go 3-0 at the Astros Foundation Classic.

LSU took on Texas State in a battle of two teams who came into the game undefeated at the [autotag]Astros Foundation Classic[/autotag]. Texas State knocked off Houston and Texas while LSU knocked off Texas and Louisiana-Lafayette. Both teams entered the game looking to leave as one of the only two teams to go 3-0 on the weekend.

[autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] got the start on the mound for the Tigers and he had a quality start. He went five innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits, five strikeouts, and one walk. Hurd was the first LSU starter to give up an earned run during the Classic.

[autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] got the Tigers on the board first with a solo shot in the bottom of the third inning to give LSU a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Tigers tacked on five runs as [autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag] hit an RBI double, [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] had a two-RBI single, [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] had an RBI single, and [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] got an RBI on a fielder’s choice to make the score 6-0 LSU.

In the top of the fifth inning, Hurd looked like he would escape the inning unscathed until a ball caromed off of [autotag]Michael Braswell[/autotag]’s glove into left field resulting in a run. After that, a throwing error by Braswell resulted in two more runs scoring for the Bobcats to cut the lead to 6-3.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, LSU got two of those three runs back. Travinski hit an RBI double and [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] hit an RBI double to extend the LSU lead to 8-3.

[autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] entered to pitch for LSU in the top of the seventh after [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] got the Tigers through the sixth unscathed. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Milam hit an RBI single to extend the lead to 9-3. [autotag]Ashton Larson[/autotag] then entered to pinch hit for LSU and he hit an RBI single to make it 10-3 Tigers.

With the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning, [autotag]DJ Primeaux[/autotag] came into the game to try to get the last out of the evening. DJ was met with a two-RBI single to cut the lead to 10-5 and [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] would get the call out of the bullpen.

With the win, LSU moves to 11-1 on the season. LSU was crowned the champions of the Astros Foundation College Classic tournament after going undefeated and putting up a better run differential than Vanderbilt, who also finished the tourney 3-0. The Tigers will be back in action on Wednesday against Southeastern Louisiana.

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LSU gets revenge against Stony Brook to close weekend series on Sunday

With the win, LSU moves to 7-1 this season and will be off until facing Rice on Wednesday.

There was no shortage of runs from either side in this one. The most important thing, though, is that the Tigers came out on top with an 18-10 win over Stony Brook on Sunday. LSU dropped their first game of the season to the Seawolves on Friday as the Tigers could not manage many hits.

The offense woke up in this one as the Tigers scored 10 runs in the first two innings. In the bottom of the first, [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] had an RBI single, [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] had a three RBI triple, and [autotag]Ethan Frey[/autotag] had an RBI single to put the Tigers up 5-0.

In the bottom of the second inning, [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] had an RBI single, Frey had another RBI single, [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] had an RBI single, and White had a two-RBI single to give LSU a 10-0 lead.

Stony Brook finally got on the board with a two-run homer in the top of the third inning to cut the lead to 10-2. LSU got those runs back in the bottom of the inning when Jones hit a two-run homer to extend the lead to 12-2.

The Tigers tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth inning when White hit a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 13-2. In the top of the fifth inning, the Seawolves started making a comeback. Stony Brook scored six runs in the top of the inning to cut the lead to 13-8 as the Seawolves got in striking distance of LSU. Two of the runs were charged to [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] and the other four runs were charged to [autotag]Micah Bucknam[/autotag].

In the bottom of the sixth inning, LSU got four of those runs back after [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit a three-RBI double and [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] hit a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 17-8.

The Seawolves scored two more runs in the top of the seventh inning against [autotag]Cam Johnson[/autotag] to cut the lead to 17-10. The Tigers got one of those runs back in the bottom of the eighth when Milam hit an RBI single up the middle to extend the lead to 18-10.

With the win, LSU moves to 7-1 this season and will be off until facing Rice on Wednesday.

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How to watch LSU conclude its opening weekend series against Central Arkansas on Monday afternoon

The Tigers are looking to complete their opening weekend 4-0 on Monday.

After a 3-0 start to the season, LSU’s baseball team will look to make it a perfect 4 for 4 as it concludes its opening weekend with a rematch against Central Arkansas on Monday afternoon.

The Tigers won the first meeting between the two on Saturday in a low-scoring affair, but after the bats exploded for 27 runs in a win on Sunday, they’ll hope they have a better offensive showing this time around.

It’s still not clear who will take the mound for the Tigers after [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] took the bump on Sunday.

Here’s everything you need to know as LSU looks for a clean sweep in its opening weekend against the Bears.

Javen Coleman to return to LSU baseball in 2024

Javen Coleman will not sign with the Dodgers, who drafted him in the 16th round of the 2023 MLB draft.

LSU got a major boost for its 2024 pitching staff on Tuesday night as left-handed pitcher [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] announced that he will forego a professional contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers and instead return to LSU.

Coleman was drafted by the Dodgers in the 16th round with the 490th pick in the 2023 MLB draft earlier this month.

After a promising true freshman season in 2021, Coleman was sidelined after just three relief appearances in 2022 due to injury and underwent Tommy John surgery.

He didn’t make his return to the field until April 18 this season. He ultimately appeared in eight games (making four starts) with a 1-2 record and 7.07 ERA while striking out 21 batters and walking 16.

It wasn’t the best campaign for Coleman as he was working his way back from injury, but he’ll come back to Baton Rouge to work on his craft for another season.

With LSU losing a number of arms from the pitching staff, Coleman has a chance to be a key reliever if not compete for a spot in the weekend rotation next spring.

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