Tag: Jay Johnson

Kim Mulkey, Jay Johnson among Peter Burns’ best SEC hires of the last five years

Both Kim Mulkey and Jay Johnson won national titles in their second seasons.

LSU has made a number of high-profile coaching hires in the last few years.

While the jury is still out on some of those, like football coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and men’s basketball coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag], two of them have been unqualified successes.

Both women’s basketball coach [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] and baseball coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] captured national titles in just their second seasons in Baton Rouge, and ESPN’s Peter Burns offered high praise for both.

Burns ranked the top five SEC hires across all sports over the last five years (in no particular order) and both Mulkey and Johnson made the cut.

Mulkey is searching for another national title — which would be her fifth overall — as the Tigers are in the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. They’ll face UCLA in Albany, New York, on Saturday afternoon.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

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.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

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.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Instant Analysis: Cold bats lead to another loss as LSU drops series finale to Xavier

For the first time this weekend, the LSU offense went cold.

[autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] got the start on the mound as the LSU Tigers looked to go for the sweep against the Xavier Musketeers.

For the first time this weekend, the LSU offense went cold. In Games 1 and 2 the Tigers scored at least one run in the first inning to get out to an early lead. That was not the case Sunday as they failed to get the sweep with a 2-1 loss, their second of the year.

LSU was unable to score any runs until the bottom of the fourth inning when [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] hit a triple and then scored on a fielding error by the Musketeers to give LSU a 1-0 lead.

Xavier got that run back in the top of the fifth inning when a fielding error led to an unearned run to tie the game up at 1-1. Hurd was pulled from the game after five innings. He allowed one (unearned) run on four hits, nine strikeouts, and one walk. [autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] replaced him on the mound.

Ackenhausen was greeted by an RBI single in the top of the sixth inning to give Xavier a 2-1 lead. Their first lead of the weekend. In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Tigers were trailing by a run and attempting to make a comeback.

[autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag] was hit by a pitch and got to third base with two outs but a strikeout ended the game with him stranded at third. LSU won the series but failed to get the sweep as Xavier took game three 2-1.

With the loss, LSU drops to 14-2 this season. The Tigers will be back in action on Tuesday night as they host North Dakota State at 6 p.m. CT.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

LSU baseball’s Friday night game vs. Xavier delayed

Game 1 of the LSU vs. Xavier series will not start until 8 p.m. CT due to weather.

[autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] and the LSU baseball team are scheduled to play a three-game series against the [autotag]Xavier Musketeers[/autotag]. Game one was slated to start at 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday evening but it has now been delayed.

Game 1 of the LSU vs Xavier series will not start until 8 p.m. CT due to weather. Xavier will enter this game with a 7-6 record. [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] will get the start in Game 1, but he is not the pitcher I want to focus on for this series.

[autotag]Justin Loer[/autotag] is the guy I want to talk about for this series. Loer spent his last two seasons in the NCAA playing for the Musketeers and garnering an overall 8-3 record with a 2.43 ERA and seven saves over that stretch. Xavier is where Loer cut his teeth and learned even more about how to be a great pitcher.

Now, Loer is at LSU and has a chance at a national championship, but he may have never gotten the chance to play for the Tigers if not for Xavier.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Jay Johnson releases pitching rotation for this weekend against Xavier

Jay Johnson liked what he saw so much from the starters last weekend that he decided to run it back.

After going 3-0 last weekend in the Astros Foundation Classic, [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] has released his pitching rotation for this weekend’s games against Xavier.

Johnson liked what he saw so much from the starters last weekend that he decided to run it back. [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] will start on Friday, [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] will start on Saturday, and [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] will start on Sunday.

Holman enters Friday’s game with a 3-0 record and a 0.00 ERA. He transferred to LSU after spending a couple of seasons at Alabama and he has been phenomenal for the Tigers. His play has earned him Player of the Month honors by the NCBWA and Pitcher of the Week honors from the SEC.

Jump is a transfer from UCLA who did not get to play last season due to an injury. Johnson is trying to get Jump back into the swing of things as he ramps up his pitch count.

Hurd came into the season as the Tigers ace but he has not gotten off to a great start. He has a 1-1 record with a 6.75 ERA so far but he may be the best Sunday starter in college baseball.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

LSU baseball commit breaks high school record

As each day passes, the odds of Konnor Griffin coming to LSU diminish.

As each day passes, the odds of [autotag]Konnor Griffin[/autotag] coming to LSU diminish. Not because Griffin will be going to another college, but because there is a chance he could be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Recently, Griffin broke his school, Jackson Prep’s, record for the most stolen bases in a single season. In 14 games this season, Griffin has stolen a total of 41 bases. In that same span, Griffin has a .686 batting average with seven doubles, one triple, three homers and nine RBI.

This is a risk every college baseball coach in the country takes each year. You go out and recruit the best high school players in the country knowing that there is an off-chance these kids could get signed to MLB teams at the end of the day.

Despite that, [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] has been able to sign one of the best classes in the country every year. The transfer portal has helped with that as well. As much as I want to see Griffin in purple and gold, I think he will be drafted very early in the [autotag]2024 MLB Draft[/autotag].

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

LSU baseball holds on to take down Louisiana-Lafayette in Astros Foundation Classic

LSU moved to 2-0 in the Astros Foundation Classic on Saturday night.

Game 2 of the Astros Foundation Classic pitted LSU against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns. [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] got the start on the mound for the Tigers in this one as he had a great start.

Jump gave up only one hit and zero runs over five innings of work. Due to his injuries suffered while at UCLA, head coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] is still trying to get Jump back into the swing of things. This was a step in the right direction for him.

Just like Friday night’s game against Texas, runs came at a premium. LSU finally scored in the bottom of the fifth inning when the Tigers plated four runs courtesy of [autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag] scoring on a wild pitch, a [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] two-RBI single, and an RBI double by [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] to put LSU up 4-0.

In the top of the sixth inning, ULL got three of those runs back after a three-run homer off of [autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag] cut the lead to 4-3. In the bottom of the seventh inning, LSU got some breathing room courtesy of Travinski hitting a solo shot to make the score 5-3 Tigers.

[autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] and [autotag]Justin Loer[/autotag] did a great job getting the Tigers through the seventh and eighth innings as they pitched 2.1 innings, allowed zero runs, struck out five hitters, and only walked one.

Loer stayed in for the top of the ninth inning as he tried to close it out for LSU. He got a flyout and a strikeout from the first two hitters he faced and then the Ragin’ Cajuns hit a solo homer to cut the lead to one with two outs. The next hitter singled to put the tying run at first. Loer struck the last hitter out and the Tigers won 5-4.

LSU moved to 2-0 in the Astros Foundation Classic. The Tigers will take on Texas State at 3 p.m. CT Sunday as both teams look to go 3-0 in the Classic.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

Jay Johnson names new Friday night starter for Astros Foundation Classic vs. No. 14 Texas

Through two starts so far this season, Thatcher Hurd has struggled. Jay Johnson is changing things up.

As we entered the 2024 baseball season, [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] was riding a high of finishing off 2023 the best way possible, by pitching the World Series clinching game against Florida.

It appeared he had turned the corner for the Tigers and he was at his best. That plus a great off-season led to him being named the Friday night starter, or the Ace, for the Tigers in 2024. Through two starts so far this season, Hurd has struggled. He is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA as he had allowed seven runs in seven innings pitched. It would be more understandable if it was happening against some of the best teams in college baseball, but it was happening in games against VMI and Stony Brook.

On the other hand, [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag], the Alabama transfer has been incredible. He is 2-0 and has not allowed a run in 12.1 innings so far this season. For that reason, head coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] is going to have Holman on the mound for Game 1 of the [autotag]Astros Foundation Classic[/autotag] as the Tigers take on the Texas Longhorns.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

LSU baseball suffers first loss in 2024 against Stony Brook

Thatcher Hurd got the start on the mound and was credited with his first loss of the season.

[autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] got the start on the mound and was credited with his first loss of the season as Stony Brook beat LSU 5-2 Friday to end its perfect start to the season. Hurd was pulled from the game after giving up three runs over 4.1 innings on six hits, eight strikeouts, and four walks.

Stony Brook scored the first two runs of the game in the top of the second inning before LSU came back in the bottom of the inning and scored two runs due to an error in center field to tie the game at 2-2.

In the top of the fourth inning, Stony Brook scored again when a runner was walked home with the bases loaded to give them a 3-2 lead. Pitchers from both teams settled in as no one was able to score any more runs until the top of the eighth inning when the Seawolves scored two runs on an RBI double down the left field line to increase their lead to 5-2.

LSU was unable to score any runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Tigers lost their first game of the season and dropped to 5-1 overall.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.