Tag: Riley Cooper

Blake Money and Riley Cooper reportedly sign with the Orioles

Riley Cooper and Blake Money were drafted by the Orioles in the 12th and 13th rounds of the MLB draft.

Two members of the LSU pitching staff last season have now reportedly signed with the Baltimore Orioles.

[autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag] and [autotag]Blake Money[/autotag] were drafted by the Orioles in the 12th and 13th rounds of the MLB Draft, and now they will move on to play baseball at the next level.

Money had an up-and-down career while at LSU. He came in as a freshman out of the bullpen in 2021 and had a 1-2 record with an 8.68 ERA. He improved that in his sophomore season when he was one of LSU’s starters as he went 2-4 with a 5.31 ERA.

Last year, Money went back to the bullpen for LSU and appeared in 20 games going 1-0 with a 5.97 ERA.

Cooper was one of Jay Johnson’s biggest grabs out of the transfer portal in 2021. Cooper signed with Johnson and the Arizona Wildcats out of high school and he followed Johnson to the Bayou. Cooper appeared in 32 games last season for LSU and had a 5-3 record with a 4.38 ERA.

He played a huge role down the stretch as he pulled the Tigers through a lot of tough situations in Omaha.

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Riley Cooper electing to turn pro, will sign with Orioles

Riley Cooper will not return to LSU, leaving a hole at the backend of the bullpen.

One of LSU’s top bullpen arms decided to turn pro.

The Baltimore Orioles selected [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag] in the 13th round of the 2023 MLB Draft. Cooper saw his stock shoot up over the last month of the season where he emerged as Jay Johnson’s most trusted reliever.

Cooper followed Johnson to LSU from Arizona in 2021 and posted a 4.20 ERA as a sophomore.

But Cooper went on a tear to close his career with a 2.63 ERA over his last 32.2 innings. He appeared five times in the College World Series and allowed just one run. Every aspect of his arsenal improved and the Orioles likely see something in his attacking style.

It does leave some questions about the backend of LSU’s pen. Some thought Cooper would return to LSU entering the draft, but now LSU will need to find a new shutdown man.

The Tigers have already pulled several good relievers from the portal and have some options in-house too. [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag], for one.

Cooper was one of 13 LSU players to be drafted.

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Baltimore Orioles take LSU pitcher Riley Cooper in 13th round of 2023 MLB draft

The Tigers’ Omaha bullpen hero went to the O’s with the 391st pick.

LSU pitcher [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag] became the third Tigers reliever to hear his name called during Day 3 of the 2023 MLB draft Tuesday.

The lefty was selected in the 13th round by the Baltimore Orioles with the 391st pick. Cooper is the second LSU player the Orioles drafted, joining right-hander [autotag]Blake Money[/autotag], who they took in the 12th round.

An Arizona transfer who followed coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] to Baton Rouge, Cooper was one of the primary bullpen pieces the last two seasons, leading the staff in appearances in 2022 and 2023.

As a junior this season, he played in 32 games, pitching 61.2 innings with a 5-3 record, 4.38 earned run average and a 63-to-20 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He also recorded three saves.

Cooper played the hero for the Tigers in Omaha this year, earning a save as LSU avoided elimination against Wake Forest and a win as it outlasted Florida in extra innings to take Game 1 of the championship series.

With one more year of eligibility, Cooper has the option to return to Baton Rouge for his senior season if he doesn’t like his offer from Baltimore.

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Why this LSU baseball national title is more special than the rest

You can’t define this team with one play, which makes LSU’s title run all the better.

Championship runs are often boiled down to a single moment. One great play that stands out.

It’s shown over and over again on the stadium big board and finds its way into every preseason hype video until the end of time.

It comes naturally. You recognize it right away and say, “That was special.”

For LSU on its way to winning the 2023 College World Series, there wasn’t just one moment. You can’t define this team by one play or one player.

On the surface, it looks simple. The program with the most national titles in the last 30 years added another trophy to the case with a team led by the top two MLB draft prospects. Nothing about that is a Cinderella story. It’s LSU doing what LSU expects to do.

But it wasn’t that simple.

You can ask five LSU fans what their favorite moment from this College World Series was and you could get five different answers.

Maybe it’s Tre Morgan charging a bunt down the first-place line to throw a Wake Forest runner out at home and preserve a 0-0 tie in an elimination game. Or it’s [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] hitting a walk-off home run later that night.

It’s [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] making a leaping grab in left, taking a walk-off hit away from the best player in the country not on LSU.

It’s [autotag]Ty Floyd[/autotag] punching out 17 batters for the best start of his career or [autotag]Cade Beloso[/autotag], the homegrown fourth-year senior, hitting the winning homer in extra innings.

Some might point to [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag], who became a dominant force out of the bullpen, flipping the script on what we thought about that unit all year.

It’s [autotag]Jordan Thompson[/autotag], who played the worst game of his life on Sunday only to be the spark on Monday.

It’s LSU facing rivals Oregon State, Tennessee and Florida over the last month and sending them all home, avenging losses of previous teams.

Nowhere in that did I mention [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] or [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag], two of the greatest players in LSU history who spearheaded the title run.

That’s why this one is so special. We watch sports for those individual moments. The ones that get the crowd stomping and make viewers at home leap off the couch.

Baseball, in particular, is built around this. It doesn’t have the unflinching momentum of a football game or the quick back and forth of a basketball game. Because of that, the biggest moments on a baseball field fall with even more thunder. Tension builds and builds until something special happens.

An LSU had a whole lot of special happenings in Omaha.

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Reactions from LSU’s historic loss to Florida in Game 2 of the College World Series final

There will be Monday baseball in Omaha after the Tigers just didn’t have it in Game 2.

There was no championship celebration for the Tigers in Omaha on Sunday afternoon.

After surviving in 11 innings in Game 1 against Florida in the College World Series final Saturday night, the Gators stole the show in Game 2. Coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s team set a College World Series record for runs in a game in a 24-4 win to force a decisive Game 3.

The Tigers were able to preserve some arms Sunday, and they will have both [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] and [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag] available for Monday night’s game. The X-factor will be [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag], who could be able to pitch in some capacity despite only having three days’ rest.

It will be interesting to see how (if at all) coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] chooses to use him.

While LSU looks to bounce back and capture its seventh national title on Monday night, here’s how Twitter reacted to the disappointing loss.

Ty Floyd throws a masterpiece as LSU beats Florida in extra innings to take Game 1 of the College World Series final

Ty Floyd waited until Game 1 of the College World Series final to have his most masterful performance of the season.

[autotag]Ty Floyd[/autotag] waited until Game 1 of the College World Series final to have his most masterful performance of the season.

Floyd worked eight full innings and allowed three runs on five hits, one walk, and 17 strikeouts. Those strikeouts tied a College World Series record for the most strikeouts in a nine-inning world series game, and a go-ahead home run from Cade Beloso in the 11th inning ultimately gave the Tigers a 4-3 win in extra innings

Beloso got the Tigers started in the top of the first with an RBI single to score [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] and give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

[autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] hit a solo homer in the top of the third inning to give LSU a 2-0 lead over the Gators.

The Gators cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI groundout to make it 2-1. In the bottom of the fifth, the Gators tied the game on an RBI groundout. In the bottom of the sixth, the Gators took the lead on a solo homer by BT Riopelle to give them a 3-2 lead.

In the top of the eighth inning, [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] hit another tank to left field to tie the game at three.

In the top of the eleventh inning, Beloso hit a belly bomb to right field to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead!

[autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag] got a flyout and two strikeouts to win the game for the Tigers. LSU is now one win away from a national championship.

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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.

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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Why Jay Johnson trusted Riley Cooper to finish elimination game against Tennessee on the mound

Cooper was fantastic in relief of Nate Ackenhausen, tossing three shutout innings to finish the game.

While a lot of the talk surrounding LSU’s 5-0 elimination game win over Tennessee in the College World Series on Tuesday night — rightfully — centers around the performance of starter [autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag], [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag] deserves just as much credit.

Coming in as a reliever to finish up the game, Cooper was the only bullpen arm the Tigers had to use on Tuesday. He was fantastic, throwing three innings while allowing only a pair of hits and no runs.

LSU had other options with [autotag]Blake Money[/autotag] and [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] both getting warm in the bullpen, but coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] said he ultimately went to (and stuck with) Cooper because he felt Cooper was the most similar to Ackenhausen, who had been dominating.

“Blake had been throwing the ball really, really well,” Johnson said, per On3. “He was definitely part of the plan tonight. I didn’t think they were seeing Nate well, and I think Riley is about as comparable and close to Nate as possible and I wanted to stay with that look because they were in between.

“And, you know, when you’re pressing a little bit, when you’re in an elimination game, and you’re trying to chase runs late, he’s the type of pitcher that if you give him an inch he can take a mile, and he did what he did tonight.”

Tuesday night’s game went about as well as possible for the Tigers, who preserved most of their arms heading into Wednesday’s rematch against Wake Forest. If they can win that game, they may be able to get Paul Skenes back for a decisive if-necessary game on Thursday.

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PHOTOS: LSU shuts out Tennessee to stay alive in College World Series

The Tiger beat the Volunteers yet again to avoid elimination.

With the Tigers’ backs against the wall on Tuesday night in the College World Series, relief pitcher [autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] stepped up.

In his first start of the season, he exceeded all possible expectations, tossing six shutout innings with seven strikeouts. [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag] finished things off in relief, allowing LSU to preserve many of its arms.

Runs were hard to come by for either side, but a two-run bomb from Dylan Crews in the ninth inning all but sealed a 5-0 LSU win. Now the Tigers advance to the semifinal round, where they will face off against Wake Forest once again.

LSU needs to win twice in a row, while the Demon Deacons only need one victory.

Here were the photos from Tuesday night’s win as the Tigers keep their season alive in Omaha.