Tag: Jay Johnson

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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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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Alex Milazzo posts special letter he received from neighbor’s daughter

Some things are bigger than baseball.

[autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] has been a warrior for LSU baseball during his entire career. He has served as a catcher for LSU for five years and has appeared in 183 total games. This season, he appeared in 50 games and caught three out of the four regional games that the Tigers played in.

Unfortunately, the final game did not go the way any of us wanted it to as the season ended with a 4-3 loss to North Carolina to send the Tar Heels to the super regionals. When Milazzo finally got back home from the long road trip, he received a letter from the daughter of his neighbor.

Some things are bigger than baseball. There are still people in the players’ lives who look up to them as heroes and cheer for them no matter what. This girl has watched Alex for the past two years and enjoyed every step of the journey. What a letter to receive.

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LSU pitcher enters transfer portal after season ends in regionals

The Tigers are already seeing some postseason attrition in the transfer portal.

The 2024 baseball season has come to an end which means the transfer portal is wide open. Recently we found out that LSU will be losing some depth out of their bullpen as one of their pitchers has announced he is entering the portal.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher [autotag]Micah Bucknam[/autotag] announced on his Twitter account that he will be entering the transfer portal. He signed to LSU out of high school and he has appeared in 16 games over his first two seasons as a Tiger. As a freshman, he appeared in eight games and finished with a 0-0 record and an 11.57 ERA. This season he had a 0-0 record and a 7.00 ERA.

His last appearance of this season was on April 20 against Missouri when he went 0.2 innings and allowed one run on two hits. Bucknam is from Canada so it is possible he may head closer to home when he transfers.

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Jay Johnson proud of LSU baseball’s resiliency after season ends in Chapel Hill

Jay Johnson reiterated his pride in his team despite the season’s disappointing conclusion.

The LSU baseball team had a late lead against the North Carolina Tar Heels in a decisive regional final game on Monday night, but it couldn’t maintain it.

The Tigers fell 4-3 in extra innings as their season came to an end just short of a berth in the super regionals. After the disappointing loss, coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] explained how he was proud of the team’s resiliency despite a disappointing end result.

“Just as I said, I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of great teams and go a little further than this, but my heart is full right now,” Johnson said per On3. “Like I said, I’m sad. I’m really sad. You know, I’d give anything to practice on Wednesday and get ready for super regionals at home. But it’s because of these guys. The resiliency, you know, you coach long enough you can understand maybe why we were where we were a little better than the average person.

“But to come out of it, like nobody does that. (UNC) might win it. They have the pieces to win the national title. They’re built for the ballpark in Omaha. They do a terrific job coaching. And we’re right there.”

Johnson said the biggest frustration will be knowing how close LSU was to winning the regional and hosting a super regional in Baton Rouge.

“It’s that close. And when you’re on the road against a great opponent, it’s a small margin for error,” Johnson said. “But in terms of how I remember this, I’m good. I got all the peace in the world right now about what these guys did. And I’m so proud.”

Johnson still continued to reiterate his pride in the team, despite the disappointing finish.

“We held the trophy last year and I am as equally proud of my team and our program today as I was that day,” Johnson said. “And where we were in the middle of SEC play to right now is one of the most gratifying coaching years of my entire life. I love these guys: the achievement, the accomplishment, I mean that’s obviously what we’re here to do. Literally means nothing to me, I have a broken heart just simply because I wanted to go to practice Wednesday and I love these guys.”

The Tigers did a good job of salvaging what looked like was going to be a very disappointing national title defense campaign, earning a No. 2 regional seed after an impressive run to close the regular season and in Hoover.

But now, LSU is back to the drawing board as it looks to return to Omaha in 2025.

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LSU baseball infielder Austen Roellig enters transfer portal after redshirting in 2024

Austen Roellig didn’t make any appearances as he redshirted this season.

LSU saw a departure from one of its signees in the 2023 recruiting class as true freshman infielder [autotag]Austin Roellig[/autotag] opted to enter the transfer portal. The news of his decision was reported by On3.

A 5-foot-11 prospect from Etiwanda High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, Roellig ranked as the No. 11 shortstop and No. 37 prospect in the state of California coming out of high school. He also ranked as the No. 51 shortstop in the nation and the No. 234 overall player.

Roellig didn’t make any appearances as a true freshman for the Tigers, and coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] told the media in April that he was one of several players who would be taking a redshirt year.

Roellig will have four remaining years of eligibility at his next stop.

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LSU pitcher Thatcher Hurd discusses postseason success following UNC win

Here’s what Thatcher Hurd had to say following his best start of the year.

After transferring from UCLA, LSU pitcher [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] made a name for himself during last year’s title run.

He returned to LSU this spring and struggled in the regular season. But with LSU’s back against the wall in a regional elimination game, Hurd was back in the postseason form we saw last year.

Hurd joined the ESPN broadcast after the game and discussed what made him effective against the dangerous North Carolina lineup.

“I’d the regular season definitely didn’t go the way I was hoping or planned, but I’ve been working. I put in a lot of work with my delivery, starting to feel things sync up. What an awesome environment, kind of what you play for,” Hurd said.

Hurd said earlier in the year, he “over tinkered” with his delivery, but now he’s getting back to what comes naturally.

Hurd allowed just two runs over 5.2 innings of work. He struck out six, but the key numbers were Hurd keeping UNC’s walk and homer total at zero.

On the year, Hurd has a 6.55 ERA in 44 innings. But his outing vs UNC was, by far, his best of the year. The 5.2 innings were the most pitched by Hurd in 2024 and it was his first start this season where he didn’t allow a walk.

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Thatcher Hurd explains his struggles earlier this season for LSU baseball

When LSU needed him the most in the Chapel Hill Regional in an elimination game, Thatcher Hurd pulled through big time.

In what was supposed to be a season where [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag]’s draft stock was supposed to sail through the roof and he was in line to be the Ace of the rotation, things did not go as planned.

Hurd finished the regular season with a 2-4 record and a 6.55 ERA. After making six starts and struggling, he was sent to the bullpen for most of the season. Yet when LSU needed him the most in the Chapel Hill Regional in an elimination game, he pulled through big time.

Hurd started against North Carolina and went 5.2 innings and only allowed two runs on six hits, six strikeouts, and zero walks. He earned the victory to keep the Tigers season alive and give them a shot at hosting a Super Regional next week.

After the game, he dished out answers on what happened to cause his struggles this year.

Sometimes as an athlete, you can overthink things. You can try to be too perfect in certain aspects. Hurd tried to tinker with his delivery a little bit in an attempt to become a better pitcher and it bit him. That happens. Hopefully, that is all behind him now.

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Josh Pearson compares LSU baseball going all-in to blackjack at the team hotel

Outfielder Josh Pearson was one of the heroes of Sunday’s two regional games.

Outfielder [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] was one of the heroes of Sunday’s two regional games. Pearson went 4-for-8 with two homers and six RBI at the plate.

After LSU’s 8-4 win over North Carolina, Pearson was asked about the teams’ ability to claw their way back into games. The Tigers never trailed in the win over North Carolina, but they were down 5-0 in the first inning against Wofford. LSU was able to fight their way back into the game and win 13-6.

With their back against the wall, LSU pushed all of their chips to the middle of the table and went “all-in.” That mantra worked out.

“We know that we’re always in the fight. I think coach might have brought that up cause we’ve been playing blackjack a little bit at the hotel,” Pearson said. “I mean, I’ve been down to one chip at the hotel and made my way back so that’s the mentality. We just gotta stay there and stay at it.”

See the full quote in the clip below. LSU now advances to a winner-take-all Game 7 against North Carolina on Monday night at 5 p.m. CT.

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Dominoes fall for LSU baseball to host super regional with win in Chapel Hill Regional

If the Tigers can take two in a row against North Carolina, they’ll host a super regional at The Box.

Going into the Chapel Hill Regional this weekend, LSU applied for a hosting bid for the super regional. The only way LSU would get to host is if the Tigers won the Chapel Hill Regional and Arizona was upset in the Tucson Regional.

One of those feats has already been accomplished. The Arizona Wildcats had a matchup against Grand Canyon University in their first regional game and they lost 9-4. That sent them to an elimination game where they faced off against Dallas Baptist, the No. 2 seed in the regional. The Wildcats were shut out 7-0 and their season ended.

There will not be a matchup of [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] against his former team in the Super Regional and there also will not be a Super Regional in Tucson, Arizona. One domino has fallen and now the only domino left is LSU winning the Chapel Hill Regional.

LSU lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels 6-2 in the winner’s bracket game on Saturday to fall into the loser’s bracket. The Tigers defeated Wofford to stay alive but LSU will have to beat North Carolina two games in a row to keep the dream of returning to Alex Box Stadium alive.

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