Tag: Thatcher Hurd

LSU sweeps final non-conference weekend series against Samford

LSU finished off their non-conference slate with a sweep of Samford as the Tigers won 13-1 in the series finale.

LSU finished off its non-conference slate with a sweep of Samford as the Tigers won 13-1 in the series finale.

[autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] had another great start, going five innings and only giving up only one hit, allowing no runs, and finishing with seven strikeouts and two walks.

LSU got the party started in the bottom of the third inning when [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] hit a two-run Crews missile to right field to make it 2-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] scored on a passed ball and [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] scored on a [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] double play to increase the Tigers lead to 4-1 after five innings.

[autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] came in to pitch in the top of the sixth inning and gave up a run before [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag] closed the inning out to keep the 4-1 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the offense came to life. Tommy Tanks hit a GRAND SLAM to score Dugas, [autotag]Tre Morgan[/autotag], and Crews and make it an 8-1 game. [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] followed that with a single to score [autotag]Jordan Thompson[/autotag], [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] hit an RBI double to score Jones, and Kling decided to call ‘ball game’ when he hit a three-run homer to enforce the run rule as LSU won 13-1.

With the win, LSU moves to 15-1 on the season. Its next game will be against New Orleans on Tuesday night with the first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.

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Thatcher Hurd bites the Butler Bulldogs with run-rule shutout to cap off perfect weekend for LSU baseball

Thatcher Hurd used every pitch in his repertoire with a dazzling performance that gave the Tigers their third run-rule win of the weekend. 

[autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] had his best start of the young season so far as he was able to use every pitch in his repertoire against Butler on Monday night.

LSU once again used the long ball to carry them to a big, 11-0 victory over the Bulldogs. The Tigers’ offense came into the game averaging 15 runs per game, and this night was no different.

[autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] got the party started in the bottom of the first inning with a solo shot to center field and the rout was on from there. In the bottom of the second, LSU scored six runs as [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] hit a solo homer, [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] scored on a fielding error, Jobert scored on a [autotag]Tre Morgan[/autotag] RBI double, [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] scored on an RBI groundout from Crews, Morgan scored on a [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] RBI single and White scored on a Neal flyout to make it 7-0 LSU after two innings.

LSU tacked on a couple more runs in the fourth and fifth innings as Kling hit a long homer down the left field line in the fourth and [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] scored on a Crews groundout to make it 9-0 after five innings.

Hurd’s night finished after he went six innings allowing three hits and no runs on 11 strikeouts and one walk. It was his most dominant performance of the season so far. He carried the momentum he gained from the Texas game into this one and it showed.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, [autotag]Ben Nippolt[/autotag] hit a two-RBI double to center to increase the lead to 11-0, giving LSU a shot at another run-rule victory. [autotag]Blake Money[/autotag] came in to pitch the top of the seventh inning to close out the game. He worked a clean inning with two strikeouts and a flyout to secure the win.

With the win over Butler, LSU moves to 11-1 on the year. The Tigers will have a day off tomorrow before welcoming the Lamar Cardinals to town on Wednesday night. The first pitch for that contest is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.

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Gavin Dugas’ 9th-inning bomb lifts LSU past Texas in pitcher’s duel

Dugas broke a 0-0 tie in the top of the ninth as the Tigers survived a tough one in Austin.

LSU traveled to Austin, Texas, as champions of the Round Rock Classic and still holding the No. 1 ranking in the country. To escape with that ranking, it took all the Tigers had as a three-run bomb from [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] broke a 0-0 tie in the top of the ninth as LSU ultimately took a 3-0 win.

[autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] got his second start of the season trying to improve after struggling with his location in his first game. He showed some improvement as he went 4.2 innings against Texas, allowing zero runs on three hits, four strikeouts, and three walks. He is still working on his command, but not giving up any runs is a great start.

Through five complete innings, the score remained 0-0 as each team had three hits, but they couldn’t get any runs out of them. The Longhorns starting pitcher, Lebarron Johnson Jr. mowed through the LSU lineup as he pitched five innings allowing three hits on two walks and nine strikeouts.

Charlie Hurley came in to pitch for the Longhorns to start the sixth inning, but after walking [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag], [autotag]Tre Morgan[/autotag] reached on a fielder’s choice and [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] reached on a throwing error. David Pierce had seen enough. He made a call to the bullpen for David Shaw.

Shaw had a balk as soon as he came into the game but then struck out [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] to keep LSU scoreless. [autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] remained in the game to pitch for LSU heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.

In the top of the ninth inning, Neal and Thompson walked to start the Tigers off with a runner in scoring position and no outs. [autotag]Ben Nippolt[/autotag] followed that with a strikeout for LSU’s first out. The Longhorns then brought in Andre Duplanter II to face Dugas.

Dugas, the man who embodies everything it means to be an LSU Tiger, had two runners on base with one out as he did what he does best. Dugas hit a three-run bomb to left field to put the Tigers on top 3-0 in the top of the ninth inning.

[autotag]Christian Little[/autotag], the transfer from Vanderbilt, was tasked with closing out the win for LSU. Little got Guillemette to foul out to Nippolt for out number one, He got O’Dowd to fly out to Jobert for out number two, and he got Powell to ground out to secure the 3-0 victory for the Tigers.

With the win, LSU moves to 7-1 on the season. The Tigers will be back in action this Friday as it welcomes Butler into Alex Box Stadium. The first pitch for that game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.

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Thatcher Hurd struggles but Tre Morgan hits for the cycle in run-rule win over Southern

The Tigers overcame an early 4-0 deficit with 18 consecutive runs.

Despite falling behind early in the game, the Tigers managed to bounce back in a big way against Southern on Tuesday night thanks to a monster game from Tre Morgan. He hit for the cycle in order and totaled eight RBI in an 18-4 win as the game ended after seven innings thanks to the run rule.

UCLA transfer [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] got his first start on the mound in an LSU uniform, and it did not go as planned. Going into the season, coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] said that Hurd had some work to do because he was struggling with accuracy. That showed big time against the Southern Jaguars.

Hurd only lasted two full innings before being pulled after giving up four runs on six hits, three walks and three strikeouts. That rough start had the Tigers down 4-0 going into the bottom of the third inning. That’s when the LSU bats showed up big time.

After [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] was hit by a pitch and [autotag]Brayden Jobert[/autotag] was walked, [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] hit an RBI double to right field to score Crews and cut the lead to 4-1.

Morgan then hit Dugas with the “Anything you can, do I can do better,” as he hit a two-RBI double to left field to cut the lead to 4-3. Then, [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] hit a two-run shot to left to give the Tigers their first lead of the ball game.

[autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] came in to pitch for Hurd in the third inning and he continued on the mound until the middle of the 6th inning. Little was given the job of stopping the early bleeding and he did his job very well.

He finished the game going 3.2 innings, and he only allowed one hit with six strikeouts and one walk.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, after [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] was hit by a pitch and Crews walked, Jobert finally got a good swing on a pitch as he hit a three-run shot to left field to make it 8-4 Tigers after four innings.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, LSU put up five more runs as [autotag]Jordan Thompson[/autotag] scored on a wild pitch, Morgan hit a three-RBI triple to left field to score Dugas, Jobert and Crews, and Jones hit an RBI single up the middle to score Morgan to make it 13-4 after five innings.

Freshman [autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag] made his first appearance of the season as he came in to get the final out of the sixth inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, Thompson scored on a groundout by [autotag]Ethan Frey[/autotag]. [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] followed that with an RBI single to left field to score Stevenson and make it 15-4 before Morgan hit a three-run bomb to make it 18-4.

With that homer, Morgan completed the cycle. He hit a single, double, triple, and a homer in that order. Morgan’s cycle was the first cycle for LSU since Mikie Mahtook in 2010 against Alcorn State.

Morgan finished the game 4-for-5 with eight RBI.

Herring stayed in to pitch the seventh inning as he tried to end the game in a run rule. The first batter he faced roped a double to the left field line and he was removed from the mound after that as [autotag]Garrett Edwards[/autotag] came in to pitch for the Tigers. Edwards got three outs in a row without allowing a run to close things out.

LSU will be back in action this weekend in the Round Rock Classic as the Tigers take on Kansas State on Friday at 2 p.m. CT.

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No. 1 LSU vs. Southern: How to watch, stream, preview for first baseball midweek contest on Tuesday

The Tigers return to The Box on Tuesday afternoon to take on Southern.

The preseason No. 1 Tigers baseball team impressed in its opening series over the weekend, sweeping Western Michigan by a combined score of 24-5 to begin the season 3-0.

LSU will be back in action at Alex Box Stadium on Tuesday night for its first midweek contest of the season against the Southern Jaguars. [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag], a transfer from UCLA, is set to get the start on the mound in what will be his first appearance with the Tigers.

Southern is also 3-0 after winning each of its contests at the Cactus Jack HBCU Classic against Jackson State (5-4), Grambling (4-3) and Texas Southern (11-1, seven innings). LSU holds a 58-3 all-time record against Southern with the last loss coming in 2019. The Tigers won both games in this series last year.

“I thought the entire (season-opening) weekend (vs. Western Michigan) was great, a really good model for what we want to establish going forward,” coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] said in a release. “We had really good starting pitching, really good defense and we were excellent in situational hitting. I really liked the amount of guys that contributed to winning as well. We’re looking forward to facing a very good Southern team that played extremely well over the weekend. We’d love to see a big Mardi Gras crowd at ‘The Box’ on Tuesday.”

Here’s everything you need to know to follow Tuesday night’s game.

Predicting LSU baseball’s starting pitching rotation in 2023

Here’s how we expect LSU’s mound rotation to look this spring.

The undisputed No. 1 team in college baseball this year, the LSU Tigers, are getting ready to rock once again.

Here, we are going to take a look at my prediction for LSU’s starting pitching rotation before Game 1. All of this is subject to change, and I could be very wrong, but these are my opinions.

The one thing we know for certain is that [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] will be the Friday night starter. He will be the ace on this team. There is a chance LSU could have three starting pitchers from the transfer portal being their top three guys in the rotation.

We will have to wait to find out on Feb. 17 in the season opener against Western Michigan. For now, here’s how we expect the rotation to look.

4 Tigers baseball players named to top 100 impact transfers

LSU added some premier talent in the portal this offseason.

Four LSU Tigers have made D1Baseball’s list of top-100 impact transfers, and three of them landed in the top 10.

Let’s start with the two that have received the most fanfare so far, [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] and [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag]. White is the reigning ACC Freshman of the Year with selections to the All-ACC First Team and ACC All-Freshman Team, and he broke the NC State school record for most home runs in a season.

Skenes is an anomaly. He can play in the field or as a starting pitcher. Skenes finished last season with a 10-3 record as a starting pitcher with an ERA of 2.73. In 85 innings pitched, he had 96 strikeouts and 30 walks.

[autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound pitcher that transferred from UCLA. He pitched 34 innings for the Bruins last season and finished the year 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA, 48 strikeouts, and 10 walks.

[autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] is a transfer from Vanderbilt where he played two seasons and was a combined 4-4 with a 4.65 ERA, 95 strikeouts, and 39 walks in 81 innings pitched. The future is bright for these guys on the Bayou.

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LSU has the No. 1 transfer class in the nation, per Baseball America

The Tigers have been very active in improving the roster since the end of the 2022 season.

It has been an interesting offseason for [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] and the LSU baseball team.

The Tigers have had players join the team by way of transferring and by graduating high school, but a few of the guys that were committed to playing for LSU were then picked up in the 2022 MLB draft.

Baseball America recently made a list of who they thought had the best 25 transfer classes in all of college baseball, and LSU came in at No. 1. The class features right-handed pitcher [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] of Vanderbilt; third baseman [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] of North Carolina State; right-handed pitcher [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] of UCLA; right-handed pitcher/utility player [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] of Air Force; and infielder [autotag]Ben Nippolt[/autotag] of Virginia Commonwealth.

Here is the breakdown from Baseball America.

With a .362 average and 27 home runs as a freshman a season ago, Tommy White showed that he’s already one of the best hitters in college baseball, period, and more than good enough to set aside question marks about his defensive viability.

Paul Skenes is an accomplished power hitter in his own right, with a .367/.453/.669 career slash line at Air Force with 24 home runs, and there is optimism about his ability to handle the defensive rigors of catching in the SEC. It will be interesting to see how that is balanced with his time on the mound, where he features a mid-90s fastball that touches the high 90s, a swing-and-miss mid-80s slider and a high-80s changeup that flashes plus.

Infielder Ben Nippolt, a late addition to the class from VCU, had a .430 on-base percentage and walked more than he struck out last season, but perhaps more valuable to the Tigers is his ability to play just about anywhere on the infield.

Right-hander Thatcher Hurd had a 1.06 ERA in 34 innings last season and looked like one of the best freshman arms in the country right up until a back injury ended his season prematurely. If he’s fully healthy and ready to go, his fastball that touched 96 mph last season and a low-80s slider that had a 56% whiff rate should get plenty of outs once again.

Right-hander Christian Little had moments of excellence at Vanderbilt, but now pitching coach Wes Johnson will look to bring that out of him more consistently. His stuff certainly stacks up, including a fastball that averaged over 94 mph and touched 98 last season.

We are a long way away from baseball season in the spring, but there are plenty of reasons to be excited about baseball at The Box this year.

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