Tag: Paxton Kling

Former LSU outfielder Paxton Kling reveals transfer destination

The sophomore from Roaring Springs, Pennsylvania, is heading back home.

Former LSU outfielder [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] recently announced his transfer destination. The sophomore from Roaring Springs, Pennsylvania, is heading back home as Kling has committed to playing for Penn State.

The Nittany Lions finished the 2024 season with a 29-24 record and went 12-12 in conference play. Despite their mediocre record and the struggles they faced this season, Penn State made some noise in the Big 10 conference tournament. They beat Illinois and then beat Michigan twice to advance to the conference championship game against Nebraska. Unfortunately, they came up short as they lost 2-1.

Kling was a recruit who arrived in Baton Rouge with a lot of hype surrounding him. People thought he could be the next [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag]. Defensively, I would say he was at that level. He is one of the best defensive center fielders in college baseball. The issue he had was slumping from the batter’s box.

Kling finished the 2024 season with a .222 batting average. That was a big drop from his .289 batting average in 2023. His slugging percentage dropped from .522 to .317 as well.

I still think he has the talent to be a star player. Baseball can be a cruel game at times. I hope he shines next season at Penn State.

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LSU baseball lands Auburn outfielder in the transfer portal

Another day, another tweet with a tiger emoji from LSU coach Jay Johnson.

Another day, another tweet with a tiger emoji from [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag]. As you all know, that is always good news. The good news is that LSU has landed another talented player out of the transfer portal.

LSU lost [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] to the transfer portal earlier but it looks like the Tigers have filled that spot as LSU landed Auburn outfielder [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] out of the portal. Stanfield spent his last two seasons as a starter for the Auburn Tigers and he had two productive years.

As a freshman, he finished with a .280 batting average with eight doubles, two triples, three homers and 22 RBI. Last season as a sophomore he finished with a .276 batting average with eight doubles, one triple, four homers and 25 RBI.

Stanfield could be a starter on day one for LSU as he brings SEC experience and a plethora of talent to Baton Rouge. Johnson has been killing it in the portal.

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LSU baseball outfielder Paxton Kling enters the transfer portal

After a promising true freshman season turned into a disappointing sophomore campaign, Paxton Kling is moving on.

Coming out of high school, [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] was one of the most sought-after recruits in the 2022 recruiting class. He was ranked as the No. 6 overall player in the class by Perfect Game and the No. 2 player from Pennsylvania.

People thought he may be the next [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag]. Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out for Kling in the Bayou, and on Tuesday, he entered the transfer portal.

It isn’t because of his ability defensively. Kling was one of the most impressive outfielders in the NCAA when it came to making web gems in the outfield. The issue was his production at the plate.

It was not as bad last season when he finished with a respectable .289 batting average in 57 games played. This season, his average dropped to .222. That is barely above the Mendoza line. His strikeouts jumped from 27 to 43 and his slugging percentage dropped from .522 to .317.

I hate that things did not work out for Paxton in Baton Rouge and I hope he can excel wherever he ends up.

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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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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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Heartbreak in Tuscaloosa as LSU baseball drops Game 1 to Alabama

Alabama walked it off on an error as it took the series opener 8-7.

Alabama walked it off on an error against LSU baseball as it took Game 1 on Friday night 8-7.

LSU took a trip to Tuscaloosa with the hopes of improving their chances of making a regional. [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] got the start on the mound for the Tigers in Game 1.

The Tigers got on the board early when [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] hit a solo shot in the top of the first inning to give LSU a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Tide hit an RBI Triple to tie the game 1-1. LSU would answer that in the top of the fourth inning when [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] and [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] both hit an RBI single to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead.

 

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Bama tied it back up with two runs of their own. In the top of the fifth inning, [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] hit a solo homer and [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit a sacrifice fly to give LSU a 5-3 lead.

In the top of the eighth inning, Milam added to the Tigers lead with a solo shot of his own to give LSU a 6-3 lead. Tommy Tanks followed that with an RBI double to extend the lead to 7-3.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Alabama hit a two-run homer and an RBI single to cut the lead to 7-6 as we headed to the ninth inning. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Alabama bunted with the bases loaded and down one run with two outs. [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] fielded the ball and threw it to first but the throw got away and two runs scored.

The Tide walked it off with an 8-7 win. Game 2 will be on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT.

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LSU baseball falls in Game 3, misses out on sweep against No. 1 Texas A&M

LSU’s hopes of a sweep against the top team in the nation were dashed by a nine-run fifth inning from the Aggies.

After LSU baseball took the first two games of the series against No. 1 Texas A&M, the Aggies rallied to take Game 3 by a score of 14-4.

LSU scored first as [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning to get the Tigers out to an early 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third inning, [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] hit an RBI single to increase the LSU lead to 3-0.

In the top of the fifth inning, everything went south for LSU. The Aggies plated nine runs to take a 9-3 lead. Four runs were charged to [autotag]Sam Dutton[/autotag], three to [autotag]Justin Loer[/autotag] and two to [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag].

 

 

In the top of the ninth inning, the Aggies hit a grand slam and then a solo homer to increase their lead to 14-3. In the bottom of the ninth inning, [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 14-4 but that is all LSU could get.

LSU will be back in action on Tuesday night as the Tigers take on Northwestern State. With the wins this weekend, LSU has gone from a team on the verge of not making the SEC tournament to a team that is solidly in the tournament.

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LSU baseball wins 1st conference series against Missouri

Jay Johnson and the LSU Tigers finally got the monkey off of their backs this season.

[autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] and the LSU Tigers finally got the monkey off of their backs this season. LSU won Game 3 against Missouri 6-2 to secure their first conference series win of the year.

Missouri drew first blood in the bottom of the third inning when an error led to two runs for them. The score remained that way until the top of the fifth inning when [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] hit a two-RBI double to score [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] and [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] and tie the game 2-2.

In the top of the sixth inning, [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] walked with the bases loaded to extend the LSU lead to 3-2. In the top of the seventh inning, [autotag]Ashton Larson[/autotag] hit a solo homer to extend the lead to 4-2.

 

In the top of the eighth inning, Braswell hit an RBI double to extend the lead to 5-2, and in the top of the ninth inning, Milazzo scored on a throwing error to give LSU a 6-2 lead.

LSU will be back in action on Tuesday night against Nicholls.

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LSU baseball run-rules Missouri in Game 1

Gage Jump finished the game with seven innings pitched, and he allowed only one run on three hits, 14 strikeouts and one walk.

This is the LSU team we have all been waiting on this season. The offense was smashing the ball and the pitching was on point as LSU opened its road series against Missouri with a 12-1 run-rule win in Game 1.

[autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] got the start on the mound for the matchup and was great. Jump finished the game with seven innings pitched and he allowed only one run on three hits, 14 strikeouts and one walk.

LSU started the scoring in the top of the first when [autotag]Ashton Larson[/autotag] hit an RBI double to score [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] and make it 1-0 Tigers.

In the top of the second inning, [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] hit a solo homer to increase the lead to 2-0. The Tigers then broke the game wide open in the top of the third when they scored six runs. [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] hit a solo homer, [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit a three-run homer, [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] hit an RBI double, and [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] hit an RBI double to extend the lead to 8-0.

In the bottom of the third, Missouri scored a run to cut the lead to 8-1. In the top of the fourth inning, LSU scored three more runs. [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] hit a two-run homer and Travinski scored on a wild pitch to increase the lead to 11-1.

In the top of the sixth inning, Jones scored on a fielder’s choice to increase the lead to 12-1 as the Tigers looked to win via the run rule. Game 2 of the series will be Saturday at 4 p.m. CT.

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LSU baseball gets back in the win column against McNeese on Tuesday night

After falling out of the baseball polls for the first time in a year, the Tigers bounced back with a blowout win on Tuesday.

After falling out of the baseball polls for the first time in a year, the Tigers looked to get some good news. They got just that with a 16-0 victory over McNeese.

[autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] got the scoring started in the bottom of the first inning with a solo homer. [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] followed that with an RBI single and [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] cleared the bases with a three-RBI triple to give LSU a 5-0 lead.

In the bottom of the second inning, [autotag]Mac Bingham[/autotag] was credited with two RBI via a bunt single to increase the lead to 7-0.

In the bottom of the third inning, Jones homered once again. This time it was a two-run shot that extended the lead to 9-0.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, [autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag] hit a two-run homer to right field to increase the LSU lead to 11-0. [autotag]Ben Nippolt[/autotag] was then hit by a pitch with bases loaded to score another run and a wild pitch resulted in [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] scoring to give LSU a 13-0 lead. Jones then hit his third homer of the night as his three-run bomb gave LSU a 16-0 lead.

LSU will be back in action on Friday night when they take on No. 4 Tennessee in Knoxville.

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