LSU Baseball: Takeaways From an Impressive Weekend in "The Box"
Last Week’s Results (3-1)
Feb. 22 (Thu.) – NORTHERN ILLINOIS (W, 10-2)
Feb. 23 (Fri.) – STONY BROOK (L, 2-5)
Feb. 24 (Sat.) – NORTHERN ILLINOIS (W, 5-2)
Feb. 25 (Sun.) – STONY BROOK (W, 18-10)
This Week’s Schedule
Feb. 28 (Wed.) – at Rice, 7 p.m. CT (ESPN +)
March 1 (Fri.) – vs. Texas at Astros College Classic, 7 p.m. CT (Houston Astros Social Media Channels & Space City Home Network)
March 2 (Sat.) – vs. UL Lafayette at Astros College Classic, 7 p.m. CT (Houston Astros Social Media Channels & Space City Home Network)
March 3 (Sun.) – vs. Texas State at Astros College Classic, 3 p.m. CT (Houston Astros Social Media Channels & Space City Home Network)
Tigers Update
· LSU won three of its four games last week, and the Tigers this week are ranked No. 2 in the nation by Baseball America and USA Today, and No. 3 in the country by D1 Baseball.
· Junior right-hander Luke Holman fired seven shutout innings Saturday in a win over Northern Illinois … Holman limited the Huskies to two hits with no walks and eight strikeouts … he needed only 77 pitches in the efficient seven-inning outing, recording 50 pitches for strikes … after hitting the lead-off batter with a pitch in the third inning, Holman retired 10 consecutive NIU hitters, and after allowing a one-out single in the sixth, he retired five straight batters to complete his outing … Holman is 2-0 this season with a 0.00 ERA in 12.1 innings … he has recorded one walk and 18 strikeouts, and he’s limiting opponents to a .125 batting average.
· Sophomore outfielder Paxton Kling helped lead LSU to the 3-1 mark last week, batting .667 (6-for-9) with one homer, three RBI, five runs, six walks, three hit-by-pitches, two steals and a .789 on-base percentage … batting in the lead-off spot in the lineup, Kling reached base in all six of his plate appearances on Sunday versus Stony Brook with two singles, two walks and two hit-by-pitches … over the course of LSU’s four games, Kling reached base 15 times in 19 plate appearances, and he completed the week by reaching base nine consecutive times.
· LSU’s win on Saturday over Northern Illinois was the 100th victory for coach Jay Johnson as the Tigers’ head coach … now in his third season in Baton Rouge, Johnson is the fastest coach to earn 100 wins at LSU, accomplishing the feat in just 140 games … entering this Wednesday’s game at Rice, Johnson has a 101-40 (.716) record at LSU, including leading the Tigers the 2023 College World Series title.
· LSU blasted five home runs in its win over Northern Illinois on Thursday, marking the first five-homer game for the Tigers since June 4, 2023, in the NCAA Regional versus Oregon State in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
· Second baseman/outfielder Josh Pearson launched two home runs in Thursday’s win over Northern Illinois, marking the third two-homer game of his career … he also hit two dingers versus Nicholls and at Mississippi State during the 2022 season.
· Senior left-hander Nate Ackenhausen earned a relief win on Thursday over Northern Illinois, limiting the Huskies to one run on two hits in 3.2 innings with three walks and six strikeouts.
· Junior third baseman Tommy White collected a team-best six RBI in the Tigers’ four games last week, and he unloaded his first homer of the season Thursday versus Northern Illinois … junior shortstop Michael Braswell III also collected six RBI last week, as he was 3-for-7 at the plate in three games with one triple, one homer and three runs.