Tag: Josh Pearson

LSU baseball lands prized infielder in the transfer portal

The No. 1 transfer portal class in the country just got even better with the addition of Daniel Dickinson from Utah Valley.

The No. 1 transfer portal class in the country just got even better with the addition of [autotag]Daniel Dickinson[/autotag] from Utah Valley.

Dickinson was a sophomore last year for the Utah Valley Wolverines and he was likely the best player on the team. The Wolverines finished the 2024 season with a 29-29 overall record and an 18-12 record in conference play. Out of the 58 total games last season, Dickinson started every game.

He finished the year with a .363 batting average with 14 doubles, two triples, 18 homers, and 53 RBI. He also stole 32 bases for the Wolverines. It is no secret that LSU’s depth on the infield was depleted. [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] is possibly the only starter returning from last year’s team.

There is still a chance [autotag]Michael Braswell[/autotag] comes back to LSU and [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] could be moved to an infield spot, but [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] has still been searching to attempt to fill holes on the roster. He has done just that by landing Dickinson.

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Former top LSU baseball recruit enters the transfer portal

The No. 2 ranked shortstop from Arizona in the 2023 recruiting class has entered his name into the transfer portal.

The No. 2 ranked shortstop from Arizona in the 2023 recruiting class has entered his name into the transfer portal after only one season on the bayou. [autotag]Ryan Kucherak[/autotag] appeared in 16 games for the Tigers last season and only had 12 at-bats. He finished the season 3-for-12 (.250) with two RBI.

LSU doesn’t have many infielders remaining from last season’s team. [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] are likely both going pro, [autotag]Ben Nippolt[/autotag] is out of eligibility, [autotag]Austen Roellig[/autotag] is headed to Utah, and all three catchers are gone with [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] and [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] graduating and [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] heading to Alabama.

That only leaves [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag], [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag], and possibly [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] (who is mainly used as an outfielder but appeared in 10 games at second base). Milam is 100% coming back unless he enters the transfer portal but the status of Braswell III and Pearson are both unknown at the moment. Both of them will likely hear their names called in the 2024 MLB D]draft but they both still have one more year of eligibility.

Either way, there is work to be done to fill some holes in the infield in the transfer portal.

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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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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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LSU baseball’s hot start leads to a win over North Carolina in regional final Game 1

LSU forced a winner-take-all game with an 8-4 win over UNC.

After beating Wofford on Sunday morning to remain alive in the Chapel Hill Regional, the Tigers got a rematch with the North Carolina Tar Heels with a chance to send it to a winner-take-all game tomorrow. LSU did exactly that with an 8-4 win.

[autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] continued the hot streak he started against Wofford as he put the Tigers on the board in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run homer to give LSU a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third inning, LSU tacked on another run as [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] hit an RBI single to extend the lead to 3-0.

In the top of the fourth inning, North Carolina got their first hit of the ballgame off of [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] with a double to put a runner in scoring position. An RBI single scored him and North Carolina cut the LSU lead to 3-1.

 

 

In the bottom of the fourth inning, LSU loaded the bases before [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] hit an RBI single, [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] hit a two-RBI single, and White scored on a groundout from Pearson to extend the lead to 7-1.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit a solo homer to extend the lead to 8-1.

In the top of the sixth inning, North Carolina scored a run on a passed ball to cut the lead to 8-2. After a couple of singles, Hurd was pulled from the game as [autotag]Justin Loer[/autotag] was called out of the bullpen. Loer walked the first hitter he faced to load the bases with two outs.

[autotag]Fidel Ulloa[/autotag] was then called from the bullpen. Ulloa struck out the next hitter on a 3-2 count to keep the score 8-2 LSU.

Hurd’s final line was 5.2 innings pitched as he allowed two runs on six strikeouts and zero walks. It was his best start since March 10th against Xavier. He came through when LSU needed him in this elimination game.

With two runners on base and one out in the top of the seventh inning, [autotag]Kade Anderson[/autotag] was called in from the bullpen. Anderson pitched against Wofford this morning but he still had enough gas in the tank to throw some more. He struck out the first batter he faced but he hit the second batter to load the bases with two outs. The Tar Heels then hit a two-RBI single to cut the lead to 8-4. The next batter hit a pop-up and we headed to the bottom of the seventh with the Tigers still up by four runs.

In the top of the ninth inning, North Carolina loaded the bases against [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] but he was able to get out of the inning unscathed as the Tigers won 8-4. The final game of the Chapel Hill Regional will be played on Monday at a time to be determined.

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Griffin Herring hurls a gem against Wofford to keep LSU baseball’s season alive

After a rough start, LSU came back to win 12-6 and advances to the regional final against North Carolina.

LSU entered Sunday’s game facing elimination in Chapel Hill. The Tigers got a rematch against the Wofford Terriers who they beat in their first game of the regional. After a rough start, LSU came back to win 12-6.

[autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] got the start on the mound but things did not get off to the type of start he would like. Wofford greeted him with five runs in the bottom of the first inning to get out to a 5-0 lead. In the top of the second inning, the Tigers began to claw their way back into the game. [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] hit a sacrifice fly and [autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag] had an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-2.

In the top of the fourth inning, [autotag]Ashton Larson[/autotag] hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-3.

The Terriers answered with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth to extend their lead to 6-3. In the top of the fifth inning, LSU tied the ballgame as [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] hit a two-run homer and [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] hit an RBI single to tie the game 6-6.

In the top of the seventh inning, LSU took their first lead of the ballgame when Brown hit a sacrifice fly and [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] hit an RBI single to give LSU an 8-6 lead.

In the top of the eighth inning, the Tigers extended their lead as Pearson hit an RBI double and Neal hit a two-RBI single to extend the lead to 11-6.

[autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag] was the pitcher Jay Johnson called on to relieve Ackenhausen after his nightmare first inning. Herring was phenomenal. He finished the game after pitching 6.1 innings, giving up one run on five hits, seven strikeouts, and zero walks. [autotag]Kade Anderson[/autotag] entered the game to relieve him in the bottom of the eighth inning.

In the top of the ninth inning, [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] hit an RBI single and Pearson hit a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 13-6.

LSU advances to take on North Carolina in another elimination game on Sunday night at 5 p.m. CT.

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Watch LSU baseball’s Josh Pearson hit a 2-run HR to cut Wofford’s lead to a run

Josh Pearson doesn’t want the Tigers to go home.

[autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] hasn’t exactly been known for his power this season at LSU, but he found it when the team needed it the most.

Facing Wofford in an elimination game on Sunday, the Tigers fell behind 5-0 early and were trailing 6-3 in the top of the fifth when Pearson stepped to the plate with a runner on first and two outs.

He unloaded on a pitch, hitting his seventh home run of the season to score a pair of runs and cut the Terriers’ lead to just one run. A victory would put LSU in the regional final, where it would face North Carolina once again.

The Tigers also trailed in the first meeting between these two teams to open the regional but came back thanks to some timely home-run hitting. LSU will hope that will be the case once again as it looks to keep its season alive.

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Steven Milam walks it off to send LSU baseball to the SEC championship game

The Tigers move on to the SEC championship game on Sunday against the winner of Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt.

After starting the SEC tournament 3-0, LSU entered the single-elimination portion of the tournament with a rematch against South Carolina.

The game started out awful for the Tigers as the Gamecocks teed off on LSU and built an 8-0 lead going into the bottom of the fourth inning.

That is when the Tigers finally got on the board. [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] got the scoring started with an RBI single, [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] walked with bases loaded, [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] hit a two-RBI single, and [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit a two-RBI single to cut the lead to 8-6.

In the top of the sixth inning, South Carolina extended their lead with two more runs to make the score 10-6. LSU answered that in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot by Jones to cut the lead to 10-7.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, [autotag]Ashton Larson[/autotag] hit a sacrifice fly and Braswell III hit a solo shot to cut the lead to 10-9.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Ethan Frey entered the game to pinch hit for the Tigers and he led it off with a double. [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] laid a bunt down and an error by the third baseman led to [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] scoring from second base to tie the game at 10! Braswell then stepped up to the plate with a chance to walk it off against his old team, but this time he drew a walk.

With runners on first and second and no one out, White stepped into the box. Tommy popped out to first base for out number one of the inning. The Bear stepped into the box after Tommy. Jones flew out to deep center but both runners advanced. With two outs the winning run was 90 feet away for Pearson. He grounded out to second base and we headed to extra innings.

In the top of the 10th inning, South Carolina attempted to steal home but the runner was thrown out for out number three…or so we thought. The umpires came together and ruled there was catcher interference by [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] therefore the run scored from third to give the Gamecocks an 11-10 lead. LSU then applied for a protest. The protest failed, [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] got tossed, and we headed to the bottom of the 10th with the score 11-10 Carolina.

Travinski drew a walk on a pitch clock violation to start the bottom of the 10th. Stevan Milam then hit a two-run walk-off homer to win the game 12-11!!

The Tigers move on to the SEC championship game on Sunday against the winner of Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt on Sunday at 2 p.m.

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Gage Jump leads LSU baseball past Georgia in SEC tournament opener

The Tigers kept their hot streak going with a 9-1 win over Georgia to open their run in Hoover.

LSU baseball entered the SEC tournament coming off of a sweep against Ole Miss. The Tigers kept that hot streak going with a 9-1 win over Georgia in the single elimination first round on Tuesday morning.

LSU drew first blood in the top of the first inning as [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] hit a two-RBI single to make it 2-0 Tigers. He followed that up with an RBI groundout in the top of the second to make it 3-0 LSU.

Georgia finally got on the board in the bottom of the second inning to cut the lead to 3-1. The score remained that way until the top of the fifth inning when an RBI single from [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] and an RBI single from [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] increased the lead to 5-1.

In the top of the seventh inning, [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] hit an RBI single to increase the lead to 6-1.

As we headed to the bottom of the eighth inning, [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag]’s day ended as [autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag] headed to the mound. Jump was phenomenal on short rest. He pitched seven innings and gave up only one run on four hits, seven strikeouts, and one walk.

In the top of the ninth inning, LSU tacked on three more runs as Milam hit a solo homer, Milazzo hit an RBI single, and [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] hit an RBI single to extend the lead to 9-1.

Herring remained in the game for the bottom of the ninth inning as he closed the game out for LSU. With the win, LSU advances to play Kentucky on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. CT in the double-elimination portion of the SEC tournament.

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LSU baseball earns win over Ole Miss in final SEC series of the regular season

LSU secured the series win with a 4-2 victory on Friday.

The Tigers entered the afternoon with a chance to win their final series of the regular season. LSU secured the series win with a 4-2 victory on Friday.

[autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] got the scoring started with a solo homer in the bottom of the first inning to give LSU a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the second inning, [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] added to that lead with an RBI single to score [autotag]Ashton Larson[/autotag] to make it 2-0 Tigers.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, LSU tacked on two more runs as [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] had an RBI groundout and [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] hit an RBI single to increase the lead to 4-0 Tigers.

 

 

In the top of the sixth inning, Ole Miss finally got on the board with a two-run homer off of [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] to cut the lead to 4-2. With two outs in the top of the seventh inning, the Rebels put runners on first and second base to chase Holman out of the game. Holman finished the game with 6.2 innings pitched and he gave up two runs on five hits, nine strikeouts, and zero walks. [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] entered the game and recorded the final out of the inning.

In the top of the eighth inning, the Rebels first two hitters reached a base with nobody out so [autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag] was called out from the bullpen once again. Griffin got two strikeouts and a groundout to get the Tigers out of the jam with the score still 4-2 LSU.

Herring stayed in to pitch the ninth inning for the Tigers and he flew through the inning with no issues to secure a 4-2 victory for LSU and a series win in the last SEC series of the regular season. LSU will go for the sweep on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.

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