LSU gets run-ruled by the Demons, loses first midweek game of season
LSU gets run-ruled by the Demons, loses first midweek game of season
Who knew that Demons liked rain? In Tuesday's nonconference game against Northwestern State, LSU baseball held a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning, and then the rain came and washed the lead away. The Demons outscored LSU 13-1 after the rain delay as they run-ruled the Tigers at Alex Box Stadium.
Head coach Jay Johnson got a little creative with the lineup tonight as Jared Jones started at third base and Jake Brown started at first. Derek Curiel led off the game with a solo shot to put the Tigers up 1-0 early. In the bottom of the second inning, Josh Pearson followed that up with a solo shot of his own to make it 2-0 Tigers.
In the top of the third inning, we entered a weather delay for lightning in the area. After a rain delay that lasted an hour and a half, play resumed, and the Demons got hot. Northwestern State would go on to score six runs in the top of the third to take a 6-3 lead. Two runs were charged to Jaden Noot, two runs were charged to Cooper Williams, and two runs were charged to Connor Benge.
As I mentioned earlier, Coach Johnson decided to start Jones at third base to see how his defense would play at the hot corner. The experiment did not go well as the Demons scored two runs off of two errors by him, as they extended their lead to 7-3. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Jake Brown cut into the Northwestern State lead to make it 7-3.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Demons extended their lead, scoring three more runs to make it 10-3 Northwestern State. As we headed to the bottom of the sixth inning, the Demons had outscored LSU 10-1 since the weather delay.
In the top of the seventh, Northwestern State scored three more runs, and all of a sudden, we were on the brink of LSU getting run-ruled in their own house by Northwestern State as the score was extended to 13-3. LSU was unable to score any runs in the bottom of the seventh and the game ended with the Tigers losing 13-3.
With the loss, LSU drops to 34-8 overall and 12-6 in conference play. This weekend, LSU will welcome Tennessee into town in what should be one of the best matchups in the country. Game one is slated to start Friday at 6:30 PM CT.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Everything Jay Johnson said after LSU baseball's regional win vs. Little Rock
Everything Jay Johnson said after LSU baseball's regional win vs. Little Rock LSU baseball beat Little Rock on Monday night to win game 7 of the Baton Rouge Regional and punch its ticket to the super regional. LSU began the regional 2-0, cruising to shutout victories over Little Rock and Dallas Baptist. But Little Rock fought its way out of the losers' bracket and pushed LSU to the brink. The Trojans pulled off the upset on Sunday and looked on their way to a historic win on Monday, leading LSU 5-1 in the winner-take-all contest. But then LSU found life. Ethan Frey struck a three-run double, and Casan Evans started mowing down Little Rock hitters. At one point, Evans had nine straight strikeouts. The true freshman's stuff was electric. LSU is now two wins away from returning to the College World Series. All that stands between LSU and a trip to Omaha is West Virginia. The Tigers have the week to rest with the series not starting until Saturday. Before our attention completely shifts to the next round, here's what LSU baseball head coach Jay Johnson said after Monday's regional win. On Little Rock "First, I want to just say congratulations to Coach Curry and Little Rock. Tremendous run here these last couple of weeks. Massive hat tip, massive respect, absolutely took us to the mat," Johnson said. "I don't know that I've seen a better-prepared team, a more competitive team, or well-coached team at any point. I told the players, tonight is one of the best wins of my entire career, because of what they had to do to earn it." The grit of Monday's win "We won tonight because of character. And when I think about character, I think about Luis, I think about Ethan, and I think about Casan. And I've said this before, maybe in reference to them, but this is what an LSU baseball player is supposed to be and needs to be in all phases," Johnson said. On Ethan Frey and Luis Hernandez "You look at the offensive performance by Ethan, that's arguably the best game I've ever seen any one of my players play, considering the situation," Johnson said. "Luis, clutch. I mean, absolutely clutch. Sometimes you look at a player in the eye in the on-deck circle, and you go, this is about to be good. And special night tonight, great toughness catching four games in a row, really proud of him for that, and maintaining massive offensive production," Johnson said of Hernandez. On the environment of Alex Box Stadium "I want to echo what the players said about the environment tonight was special. Like, maybe the super regional a couple of years ago, I don't ever remember it like that. And it's been great. I mean, that was like another bar. And the thing I'm most grateful for is maybe in those nervous moments for them, I felt like they really lifted the team," Johnson said. "They kept going. You know, they kept supporting the players. And that's all I care about. And baseball is not a game to be played, designed to be played perfectly all the time. And the fans here, they love LSU no matter what." Did LSU feel pressure? With top seeds falling across the country, Johnson was asked if that added any pressure to LSU. Johnson said he didn't even turn on the TV in his office on Monday. Johnson said he called the team in earlier than usual, too. "The approach today was a little bit different. I actually brought something back from my past. I did it at Arizona when we'd host and we'd play really late games. I actually brought them in early in the day as kind of like a, hey, this is a checkpoint type deal. And they didn't need any motivation today. It was actually pretty cool. I actually just wrote on the board the lineup. I wanted everybody to know the lineup early. I wanted everybody to know the pitching plan and the guys on the bench. And next to each name, I wrote down what their job was tonight. And it was pretty cool to actually see the game play out the way that it did," Johnson said. Bringing Anthony Eyanson out of the pen Johnson said the decision to pitch Eyanson in game 1 was because he knew that would give Eyanson a chance to pitch in relief if needed on Monday. When LSU was losing on Sunday, Johnson said he looked to Eyanson and the transfer said, "I got it." Twenty-four hours later, Eyanson took a walk to the bullpen to warm up. "He doesn't take very long to get ready," Johnson said, "I mean, the dude's like a ridiculous athlete, ridiculous physical condition," Johnson said the decision to use Eyanson out of the pen in the SEC Tournament was to prepare him for a moment like this on a bigger stage. The importance of Jared Jones' home run "Yeah, that's probably the most excited I've been, at least in this season. He had a big homer as a freshman against Alabama in a crazy game that we'd kind of come back in like that. So I just love him," Johnson said. "He hadn't had a good couple of weeks here, but we were working today, and there was just like one of those good coach moments where somebody is, you know, you can tell how hard they're fighting themselves because they care so much. And they want to be the guy for the team. Wasn't about him or his performance. He's way past that. Like, he's been such a great leader this year. And just the work that was put in today mentally and physically," Johnson said. "That was a huge deal." On the lineup change Johnson went with a different lineup than he had the first three games of the regional. The starting nine was the same, but there was a new order. "I just operate by this. When do you take a risk? You take a risk when you have a lot to gain. We had a chance to play a super regional at home, two wins to go to Omaha, seven more to win a national championship, maybe eight. It was time to take a risk. And then you don't just do it to do it. There's never a decision in this program made just because I want to make a decision," Johnson said. I'll walk you through the whole thing. So Derek Curiel is the engine of this offense. That's what he is. He's the engine of this offense. And how he plays inspires the team," Johnson said, "And then it's Ethan Frey, one of the best hitters in the country right now, and I wanted to get him up as much as we possibly could." Johnson went on to say he moved Milam up to No. 3 thanks to Milam's quality ABs throughout the regional.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Southeast Spotlight: Five biggest June visits
June has become arguably the most important month in the recruiting calendar, with prospects crisscrossing the country on official visits and lining up announcement dates. Rivals national recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman looks at five Southeast prospects who are taking key visits this month. Advertisement MORE: Clemson climbing with top targets after star-studded official visit weekend CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Rivals Five-Star heading back to Indy | Rivals Five-Star roster | Schedule/info LAMAR BROWN - Texas A&M, June 13 Brown is coming off his first official visit to Miami, which made a huge splash in his recruitment as a July 10 commitment approaches. Brown will hit Texas, Texas A&M and LSU next – the final visits before locking in his college commitment. Advertisement No program has been pushing the in-state Tigers harder than the Aggies, which get Brown back for a fourth visit this off-season on June 13. Texas A&M has legitimate traction with the five-star defensive lineman. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH TEXAS A&M FANS AT TANK JONES - Alabama, June 20 Jones logged official visits to both Auburn and Miami so far with the latter making a strong push for the blue-chip defender. Jones has upcoming official visits planned to Texas A&M and Oregon, but the biggest stop on deck is a return to Tuscaloosa scheduled for June 20. Alabama has made Jones its top priority since Kalen DeBoer and Kane Womack landed in T-Town. As a summertime decision looms, the Crimson Tide get the final crack at Jones. We view Alabama as the team currently leading for the five-star edge defender. Advertisement SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH ALABAMA FANS AT TRISTEN KEYS - LSU, June 20 The nation's top receiver logged an official visit to Miami this weekend and will hit Auburn, Alabama and back to LSU before finalizing his college plans before his senior season. The five-star from Mississippi made an early call in favor of the Tigers, who are working feverishly to hang onto the elite pass-catcher's commitment. LSU is playing with a lead and getting Keys for his final visit looms large toward its chances of inking this year's No. 1 pass catcher. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH LSU FANS AT CEDERIAN MORGAN - Alabama, June 20 Morgan has logged official visits to Colorado and Georgia with some pivotal stops on the horizon. The second-ranked receiver in the Rivals250 will hit Florida, Auburn and Alabama before a July 2 commitment. Advertisement Since the beginning of this recruitment, the Iron Bowl programs have been pegged as the teams to beat. His last stop will be back in Tuscaloosa, as the Crimson Tide aim to separate even more with the in-state blue-chipper. BRALAN WOMACK - Ohio State, June 20 Womack wrapped up his first official visit to Florida, which made a massive impression on the top-ranked nickel defender in the Rivals250. The Gators, along with Auburn and Texas A&M, are working to play catch-up with the Buckeyes, who have been standing on a sizable lead for the past few months. Womack returns to the Shoe again on June 20 and since last summer, Ohio State has been the team to beat. Ryan Day and Tim Walton aim to seal the deal during Womack's final official before an August commitment. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH OHIO STATE FANS AT
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
ESPN forecasts Auburn football's 2025 College Football Playoff outlook
ESPN forecasts Auburn football's 2025 College Football Playoff outlook How high is Auburn's national championship odds heading into the season? After two years of solid recruiting in both the high school ranks and in the transfer portal, it appears that the Auburn Tigers are set up for a breakout season in year three under Hugh Freeze. How much will the Tigers improve in 2025? ESPN takes a crack at projecting the Tigers' season using their Football Power Index. ESPN's early-season outlook shows updated playoff odds, projected wins, and projected output from both offense and defense. The Auburn Tigers begin the season with a 14.8 rating in the FPI, which measures a team's true strength on a net points scale; expected point margin vs average opponent on neutral field. Their 14.8 score places them at No. 14 in the category dominated by the SEC. The Texas Longhorns have the highest FPI score at 28.5, nearly two full points more than No. 2 Georgia (26.6). The Tigers also rank in the top 25 in College Football Playoff odds according to the FPI. Their 21.4% chance ranks No. 18 in the country and is a significant improvement over its 2024 projection, which was 13.5%. Auburn has a 2.5% chance to make the national title game and a 1.1% chance to win its first national title since 2010. As far as projected win totals go, Auburn's line is set at 7.5, the same as the 2024 projection. The Tigers are starving for more wins in 2025, as they have failed to win more than eight games since 2019 and have won six or fewer games every season since. The 7.5 line gives the Tigers a chance to exceed expectations and get back to their traditional winning ways. Auburn football's journey to the College Football Playoff begins Friday, Aug. 29, at Baylor. The game will get the primetime spot of 7 p.m. CT on FOX. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
