Latest news with #SkipBertman
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
What is LSU baseball's record in the College World Series?
What is LSU baseball's record in the College World Series? On Saturday in Omaha, LSU baseball opens its 20th appearance in the College World Series. The Tigers start play against a familiar foe in Arkansas at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN inside Charles Schwab Stadium. Among its peers in the SEC, LSU holds the best record in the College World Series with a 46-29 overall record. Since they won their first game in the tournament in 1991, the Tigers have won seven national championships. During LSU's 1991 run to its first national championship under Skip Bertman, it defeated Florida 8-1 inside Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium. Since then, the Tigers brought their total of national championships to seven. They hope to replicate their success from 2023 for the second title under head coach Jay Johnson. He led an LSU team with Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews to the program's most recent national championship. For Johnson, this is his fourth trip to Omaha as a head coach. Prior to leading LSU to two appearances, Johnson made two College World Series trips as Arizona's head coach. In 2016, Arizona made it to the CWS final before losing to Coastal Carolina. In 2021, Arizona went 0-2 and was eliminated in two games.
American Press
28-05-2025
- Sport
- American Press
Scooter Hobbs column: Do game times matter in the NCAA tourney
Before you wonder aloud why little old me would ever get in an verbal tussle with Skip Bertman, be advised that I once won an argument with the LSU legend himself, the coach who basically invented college baseball. No, I don't mind re-telling the story. It was in Omaha, of course, and at the time Bertman had won zero national championships. He was a big believer in what he called the 'marble' game, the key contest you needed to win to get the upper hand in the College World Series. The Tigers were 1-0 and would play their second game the next day as we media gathered around Bertman during practice at an Omaha high school. I mentioned to him that this would be marble game. No, no, he corrected me, the third game is the marble game. A year earlier that was correct, when the bracket was still an eight-team free-for-all that meandered about like Chutes and Ladders. But this particular year, the CWS bracket had changed to a pair of four-team brackets, with the double-elimination survivors from each meeting in a winner-take-all championship. With the new bracket, I pointed out, the winner of the second game would be the last unbeaten in its half of the bracket and would have two chances to win the one game it needed to get to the championship. Bertman raised up that index finger (as only he could) and started to say something before going silent. You could see the wheels turning, then he took a deeper breath and paused before pronouncing. 'We are changing the marble game,' he announced. 'Good work.' It was probably my proudest moment in this screwy profession is all it was. Especially with a handful of colleagues as eye witnesses. Bertman eventually won five national championships over the next 10 years, and while I'm not taking any of the credit, I'm not discounting it either. I should have quit while I was ahead. I never did win him over on another sticking point, mainly the time a regional host should play its first game. The hosts have first dibs on first-day starting times. It's not a dead-lock guarantee — the networks now have veto power — but it's rare when hosts don't get their wish. Bertman experimented both ways, but mostly liked to play the afternoon game, giving his team more time to recuperate before the next day's second round began. I argued that the few hours extra rest was offset by three hours in a sticky, broiling late-May Louisiana sun. A minor sticking point, perhaps. It's not like you'd need long johns and ear muffs for the night game, where likely as not at least four or five innings would be in broad daylight. When he came to LSU current coach Jay Johnson agreed with me, apparently, but consulted with Bertman about the matter. I wasn't in on the discussions. And what do you know? Bertman — mea culpa alert — was right all along. When he was at Arizona as a host No. 1 seed, Johnson wanted to play the late game. 'It was because it's a billion degrees (in Tucson), and you just hope the first two teams melt out there in the sun,' Johnson said. I'd counter that it's not the heat, it's the humidity that evens our blister meter from the high desert. 'Here, I did a lot of research, talked to Skip about what he preferred,' Johnson said. And that's why the Tigers will open the Baton Rouge regional at 2 p.m. against Arkansas-Little Rock. Humidity is a factor — not the sticky kind, but what Les Miles used to call a 'good, stiff dew.' You may know it as 'rain,' often accompanied by lightning this time of year. The combination — persistent lightning strikes in the area more than precipitation — has been a huge factor in many past Baton Rouge regionals. 'You have to play the games in order,' Johnson said. 'If you were to get disrupted (by weather), having the first (game) done is probably an advantage for your team.' Hard to argue with that. Maybe I'd suggest that a Friday night opener is a better guarantee for a full house, and the longer those fans tailgate, the happier they generally are. But if Johnson really wanted an advantage, he'd have requested a 9:55 p.m. start time. LSU is 4-0 this season in weather-delayed games that finished after midnight. * Scooter Hobbs covers LSU athletics for the American Press.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Reports: Former LSU baseball head coach emerging as a candidate at ULM
Former LSU baseball head coach Raymond "Smoke" Laval is reportedly showing interest in the same role at Louisiana-Monroe, which he held in the early 2000s. The veteran coach currently works for the East Coast Sox youth baseball program. Following his departure from LSU in 2006, Laval led North Florida for six seasons and was let go in 2017, his last head coaching role. Advertisement Laval entered his first stint with the Tigers as an assistant in 1984, working under Skip Bertman and helping the team win national championships in 1991 and 1993. He left for his first head coaching job at Louisiana-Monroe for the 1994 season and led the program to three Southland Conference titles. Following Bertman's retirement, Laval returned to Baton Rouge as the legendary head coach's replacement. He guided the Tigers to a 210-109-1 record, an SEC title, and two College World Series appearances. Following a 35-24 season, he resigned. While none of the reports are confirmed, hearing Laval's name tossed around in the Louisiana baseball scene is nothing new. Laval had a tough exit from LSU after his disappointing final season, but following up Bertman was always going to be tough. Laval's successes with LSU shouldn't be overlooked. Given his history with two of the best college programs in the state, Laval's return would bring a new sense of nostalgia to both schools. This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Ex-LSU baseball coach Smoke Laval looking to get back in the game
