Tag: Javen Coleman

Javen Coleman picked by Dodgers in 16th round

Javen Coleman was limited to eight appearances in 2023 as he returned from Tommy John surgery.

LSU extended its record number of players drafted to 12 on Tuesday afternoon with the selection of [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag].

Coleman went to the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 490th pick in the 2023 MLB draft. He’s the second LSU player the Dodgers have drafted, joining Jordan Thompson, who went in the prior round.

Coming off Tommy John surgery in 2022, Coleman was a bit limited this spring. He wasn’t available at the start of the year and ultimately played in eight games, registering a 1-2 record with a 7.07 earned run average.

It was an understandably shaky season coming off injury as he struck out just 21 batters while walking 16, but Coleman still projects as one of the Tigers’ top bullpen arms in 2024.

They’ll hope he isn’t ultimately swayed by a late-round offer from the Dodgers.

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PHOTOS: LSU gets revenge against Wake Forest, forces decisive College World Series semifinal game

LSU once again came through with its back against the wall against the top team in the country on Wednesday night.

Not many gave the Tigers much of a chance in a must-win game against Wake Forest on Wednesday night, but LSU proved the doubters wrong by knocking off the top team in the country 5-2 to force a winner-take-all game for a spot in the College World Series final against Florida.

Despite a rough start from [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag], who allowed two early runs with four walks and lasted just 1.1 innings, it was a breakout performance from Griffin Herring.

Herring would toss 4.2 shutout innings before [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] and [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag] finished things off. A three-run homer from [autotag]Cade Beloso[/autotag] in the third proved to make the difference.

Now, LSU will face Wake Forest again in what we expect to be a matchup between aces in [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] and Rhett Lowder.

While we await what should be a thrilling game on Thursday night, here were the pictures from LSU’s big-time win.

Reactions as LSU’s bullpen comes up big once again to beat No. 1 Wake Forest

The Tigers survived with their backs against the wall again and now may get Paul Skenes back for a decisive game against the Demon Deacons on Thursday.

The Tigers certainly had a tall task ahead of them on Wednesday night in their rematch against No. 1 Wake Forest with limited pitching options.

But for the second night in a row, LSU’s bullpen came through. Though it was a rough start on the mound for [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag] had a breakout performance coming in as a reliever, pitching 4.2 shutout innings with six strikeouts.

A timely three-run homer from [autotag]Cade Beloso[/autotag] in the third inning proved to be the difference as LSU won 5-2 and forced a winner-take-all game against the Demon Deacons for a spot in the College World Series finals against the Florida Gators, which many expect will be an ace-on-ace matchup between [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] and Rhett Lowder.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to the huge win to keep the season alive.

LSU takes down Wake Forest to force winner-take-all game for spot in CWS finals

LSU will face Wake Forest on Thursday night for the right to take on Florida in the national championship series.

[autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] got the start on the mound for the Tigers as LSU faced elimination once again. This time it was against the team that put them in the losers’ bracket, Wake Forest.

Though the Tigers found themselves in an early hole, the bullpen came through once again as LSU won 5-2 to force a winner-take-all game on Thursday night against Wake for a spot in the College World Series finals.

The Demon Deacons loaded the bases in the second to chase Coleman from the mound and bring in [autotag]Blake Money[/autotag]. Wake Forest hit a two-RBI single against Money before he got the next hitter to ground into a fielder’s choice. [autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag] then entered out of the bullpen to get the Tigers out of the inning.

In the bottom of the second inning, LSU cut the lead in half when [autotag]Brayden Jobert[/autotag] hit an RBI double down the right-field line to cut the lead to 2-1.

In the bottom of the third, [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] scored on a wild pitch to tie the game 2-2. [autotag]Cade Beloso[/autotag] followed that up with a three-run belly bomb to right field to give the Tigers a 5-2 lead after three innings of play.

Herring’s day was done in the top of the seventh inning after two runners reached base. He pitched 4.2 innings and allowed zero runs on three hits, six strikeouts, and a walk. [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] entered the game after him and shut the Demon Deacons down with two straight strikeouts to save the lead.

After Wake Forest put two runners on base in the top of the eighth inning, [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag] replaced Guidry with two outs. Cooper got his first hitter to lineout to third base to end the inning and maintain the 5-2 lead.

Cooper walked the first batter he faced before getting the next three out to win the game 5-2. LSU will play Wake Forest on Thursday night at 6 p.m.

The winner gets to play against the Florida Gators for a national championship.

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LSU coach Jay Johnson breaks down pitching plan, message to team ahead of CWS elimination game vs. Tennessee

The Tigers will play for their season on Tuesday night against the Volunteers.

LSU’s 6-0 start in the NCAA Tournament was spoiled on Monday night against the top team in the country, Wake Forest.

Now, the Tigers have to take the field on Tuesday night against Tennessee with their season on the line in an elimination game. If LSU wins that one, coach Jay Johnson’s team will have to win back-to-back games against the Demon Deacons to reach the championship series.

“I think it would be very easy to crawl in the hole with disappointment,” Johnson said after the game on Monday night. “That’s a great college baseball game that we came up on the short end of the stick. … So that could be deflating. But I shared with them two things. No. 1, I’ve had a team in this position before. Lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Oklahoma State and then won three consecutive games to play for a national championship. Then the very next year this program did the same thing. And they beat probably one of the best teams in modern college baseball history twice to get that opportunity.

“And I have all the faith in the world in our team that we can do that. So let’s stick to what we do. And if we do that well, then we’ll be in a good spot.”

The Tigers aren’t out yet, but they’ll face an uphill battle when it comes to pitching as they try to dig themselves out of this hole. Paul Skenes is unavailable for Tuesday night’s elimination game, as are Ty Floyd and Thatcher Hurd, who came in to relieve Floyd on Monday.

Johnson didn’t announce a starter, but he said the team would have nine arms available. While it’s not official, it has been speculated the team may turn to [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag].

“Yeah, we have nine guys available to pitch tomorrow. And we’ll choose one of them. And he’ll get guys out for as long as he can,” Johnson said. “Then we’ll go to the next guy and we’ll go to the next guy and we’ll go to the next guy until we figure out how to get 27 outs against a really good team.”

Fair enough.

Tennessee will have no such issue, however. The Volunteers have a clear Day 3 starter, Drew Beam. In 16 starts this season, Beam has a 9-4 record with a 3.78 ERA.

Despite having one of the best lineups in the country and the nation’s best pitcher, Skenes, pitching depth has been a major question mark for the Tigers this season.

That depth will be truly put to the test as LSU battles to keep its season alive.

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LSU baseball eliminated from SEC tournament with loss to Texas A&M

Texas A&M eliminated LSU from the SEC Tournament with a 5-3 loss.

After losing to Arkansas on Thursday, LSU faced Texas A&M in an elimination game. If the Tigers were going to remain in the tournament, it would be up to [autotag]Ty Floyd[/autotag].

Unfortunately for the Tigers, their run in Hoover, Alabama, came to an end on Friday evening with a 5-3 loss to the Aggies.

[autotag]Brayden Jobert[/autotag] put the Tigers on the board first with an RBI single in the top of the second inning to score [autotag]Cade Beloso[/autotag]. The Aggies tied the game in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double and we headed to the third inning tied 1-1.

In the top of the fourth inning, Jobert struck again as he hit an RBI double to score [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] and give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. In the top of the fifth, [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit an RBI double to score Tre Morgan and give LSU a 3-1 lead after five innings.

Floyd’s day was finished after pitching five innings and allowing one run on three hits, seven strikeouts, and a walk. [autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag] was called on out of the bullpen in relief to start the bottom of the sixth.

In the bottom of the seventh, things fell apart for the LSU bullpen. The Aggies scored a run on a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 3-2 and then they hit a three-run homer off of [autotag]Sam Dutton[/autotag] to give them a 5-3 lead. [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] came in and got the Tigers out of the inning, but the damage was already done. Travinski scored in the ninth inning but that is all LSU could manage as they lost 5-4.

With the loss, LSU is eliminated from the SEC tournament and will now await to see who they will face in the Baton Rouge Regional.

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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 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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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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LSU baseball loses first midweek matchup of the year to Ragin’ Cajuns

Pitching woes doomed the Tigers in their 8-3 midweek loss to Louisiana.

Pitching woes doomed the Tigers in their 8-3 midweek loss to the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns. It was the first time LSU has lost a midweek contest this season.

It was great to see [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] make his first appearance on the mound for LSU since having Tommy John surgery. That was about the only bright spot on the night for LSU.

In the bottom of the first inning, [autotag]Cade Beloso[/autotag] hit an RBI Triple to right field to score [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] and give LSU an early 1-0 lead.

[autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] came into pitch in the top of the second inning and the Ragin Cajuns greeted him by scoring two runs and taking a 2-1 lead. LSU tied it up in the bottom of the second when [autotag]Whit Merrifield[/autotag] grounded out but [autotag]Brayden Jobert[/autotag] scored to make it 2-2.

[autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag] came into pitch in the top of the third inning and Louisiana-Lafayette hit a two-run blast off of him to give them a 4-2 lead. LSU cut into that lead in the bottom of the inning when [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] scored on a [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] sacrifice fly to make it 4-3.

Then the wheels fell off in the top of the fourth inning when LSU misplayed two flyballs (one by [autotag]Tre Morgan[/autotag] and one by Crews) that ended up scoring two more runs for ULL and increasing their lead to 6-3 after four innings.

[autotag]Blake Money[/autotag] came into pitch in the top of the seventh after [autotag]Sam Dutton[/autotag] allowed a runner to reach on a walk. The first batter he faced hit a two-run bomb to increase the lead to 8-3 for the Ragin’ Cajuns.

In the bottom of the ninth, Morgan hit a two-run blast to cut the lead to 8-5 with no outs but that is as close as LSU would get to coming back in this one.

With the loss, LSU moves to 29-7 for the season. The Tigers will hit the road to Oxford, Mississippi, for a weekend series against the Ole Miss Rebels. Game 1 is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.

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