On a late night in the cold weather, the Tigers scrapped their way to a tough 18-17 victory over the Terrapins.  The game was not in hand until the final at bat for the home team Terrapins, who mounted a comeback which fell just short as they stranded two runners at the time of the final out, one of whom was standing on thrid base.  Ultimately, this game was decided by defense (both good and bad). 

The Tigers got off to a quick start at the plate last night, led by Triston Fowler, who crushed a long drive to center field.  Bennett Rudolph and Taylor Pittman swung the bat well, as did William Pitts who doubled down the third base line.

In the third inning, the Tigers went 3-up and 3-down, and it looked as though the Terrapins finally had their opportunity to take the lead.  However, the Tiger defense responded with its own 1-2-3 inning, with nice plays being turned in by R.J. Dantin and Taylor Pittman.  The whole team played tough defensively in the final inning, knocking down every ball to minimize the damage until the game was finally put away.

In the view of the coaches, hustle makes all the difference in these games.  We thought everyone played hard and it paid off with a victory against a very good team.  

The Tigers displayed sufficating defense last night against the Wildcats, propelling them to a 23-11 win in Game 2.  The score was actually not indicative of the defense's domination, as the Tigers held a 23-4 lead going into the top of the fifth inning, such that the team relaxed a bit to allow a seven-run outburst in the final inning after the game was well in hand.

Of course, anytime you rack up 23 runs, the offense is humming along as well.  The Tigers jumped out to a 14-0 lead after two innings, powered by big hits from Robert Lyon and Triston Fowler.  Up and down the lineup, the players all hit the ball well, and ran hard on the base paths.  The aggressive base running was a huge boost for the offense last night, and the hustle showed by all the players really paid off.

Defensively, Bennertt Rudolph, Taylor Pittman, and RJ Dantin all had great games.  Also, for the secod night in a row, Elizabeth Stevens and Cooper Hannah played very well at catcher.

If the Tigers can keep improving on defense, they will be a tough team to beat this year.

The Tigers faced another tough challenge from the defensive-minded Badgers last night, and came up with a beautiful performance in the field for a suffocating 12-4 victory.  With this win, the Tigers are off to a 3-0 start. 

It is hard to know where to start giving out praise for the defensive effort, as everyone contributed to the cause.  The coaches were especially proud of the outfield play, where Chavis Hoey, Cooper Hannah, Robert Lyon, Alijah Harris, William Pitts, Wes Rice and Elizabeth Stevens did not allow any balls to leak behind them.  The infield was sparkling as well, with some nice plays from Taylor Pittman (who nearly turned a double play) and Triston Fowler (who made some long throws from his short stop position to gun down runners at first).  Consistent as ever, Bennett Rudolph and RJ Dantin continued to anchor the team in the field, with Rudolph making so many plays look so easy.  

While the runs did not come as easily last night, the Tigers kept grinding at the plate, with yet another nice hitting performance from Fowler.  Harris and Dantin each hit the ball hard, but the hit of the night belonged to Stevens, who drove a ball deep into right field for a stand up double.

The team will need to keep up the same kind of effort they showed against the Badgers, as all the teams are continuing to improve. 

The Tigers had to rely heavily again on defense while the bats stayed cool for the second game in a row, holding on for an 11-6 victory over a pesky Tarheel team that would not give up.

In what is becoming an automatic feature in reporting on LSU, Triston Fowler blasted off once again at the plate, including a deeeeeeep ball to center field.  Fowler has gotten off to a really hot start offensively, and has also played consistently on defense at the shortstop position.

Defensively, the truth is the entire team deserves recognition for the way they played.  Two plays that stand out include a nice play in the outfield early in the game by Cooper Hannah, who not only made a nice stop, but completed the play with a strike to second base.  The other key play was turned in byTaylor Pittman, who threw a laser on a relay from short right field to home plate to prevent a run from scoring.

In games like this, hustle seems to make the difference.  Last night, Alijah Harris was outstanding in this area, hustling around the base paths to score after a throwing error.  On defense, Harris made his coaches proud by backing up a fellow outfielder and getting the ball back to the infield to prevent a runner from advancing past second base.  Additionally, Bennett Rudolph was all over the infield again last night, hustling after foul balls and taking a hard hit from Fowler while both were running after a fly ball (which Fowler caught). 

To have a successful season, a team has to pick up some ugly wins win things aren't going your way.  The coaches are happy with the way the team gutted out win number four on the season.

The Tigers' problems at the plate continued last night, causing the team to have to rely heavily on the defense again.  Unfortunately, the defense sprung a few leaks, and the Tigers allowed the Yellow Jackets to score seven runs in the bottom of the last inning to tie the game, 15-15.  While ties are never satifying, this one was particularly hard to take given the big lead going into the last inning.  Of course, the Yellow Jackets deserve a lot of credit for continuing to play hard and make a great comeback.

Offensively, R.J. Dantin picked a good time to have a big night at the plate, hitting the ball hard to all fields to collect three nice hits.  Robert Lyon hustled all over the base paths last night, incluing beating out a throw to first that allowed an important inning to stay alive.

Defensively, Triston Fowler had several nice plays at shortstop, making some long throws to first.  Bennett Rudolph played tough at pitcher again last night, best demostrated by a play where when he managed to throw a runner out after taking a hard line drive to his arm.

The Tigers will need to charge up the bats and lock down on defense so the team can get back to their winning ways on Thursday.

In Monday night's game, the defense failed LSU down the stretch and resulted in a tie.  Last night, after looking shaky in the first two innings, the defense stiffened up to hold on for a close 16-12 victory over the Wolverines.  The victory was even more impressive considering the Tigers were short two players last night.

The Tigers looked as though they are beginning to emerge from a hitting slump, as several players had strong plate appearences up and down the lineup.  Bennett Rudolph connected on some key line drives, and Robert Lyon delievered with some of the power he flashed earlier in the season.  R.J. Dantin had another three-hit night (including a home run), and Triston Fowler, Alijah Harris and Elizabeth Stevens all hit the ball hard to drive in some much needed runs.  Chavis Hoey had his best hit of the year last night as well, banging a line drive up the middle for a solid single.

In the field, Fowler played another great game at shortstop, including an unassited put out at third to end the game.  Lyon played a good game at second base and in center field.  In fact, with the outfield down to only three players, the entire outfield played well and did an excellent job getting the ball back to the infield quickly.

In all, the Tigers showed a lot of grit in collecting their 5th win of the season to stay undefeated.  The coaches are looking for continued effort and improvement in what should be a challenging week of baseball.

The LSU Tigers showed last night that they can take a punch, with a tough Bulldogs team taking an early lead and playing solid defense.  However, the Tigers got their footing and clawed their way to a 15-6 victory. 

After a slow start, Alijah Harris really gave the Tigers a boost with a base-clearing single (Harris was able to use his unbelievable speed to reach second after a throw to home plate).  Robert Lyon and Trsiton Fowler both enjoyed a good nights at the plate, hitting the ball hard and hustling on the bases.  The coaches were particularly pleased to see William Pitts, Wes Rice and Chavis Hoey hit the ball so well last night, which proved to be the difference in the game.

In the top of the final inning, the Tigers were up by four runs and needed four more to put the game out of reach.  The Bulldogs quickly got two outs, including a nice play on a hard line drive back to the pitcher from Taylor Pittman.  With their backs against the wall and down to their last out, the Tigers started to scratch away, reaching base and advancing runners.  Needing only two more runs to put the game on ice, R.J. Dantin came to the plate and delivered with his third hit of the night to drive in two runs for the win.

In the field, the team returned to form from the third inning on, with Bennett Rudolph and Fowler leading the way.  Harris, Rice, Lyon, Pittman and Dantin all made nice plays last night to keep the Bulldogs in check until the offense could get going.

Whenver the Tigers get focused and turn up the effort, they become hard to beat.  The coaches are still looking for an entire game to be played on that level, and the team still has plenty of room for improvement over the next half of the season.

Not much went right for the Tigers last night as their unbeaten streak came to an abrupt halt at the hands of the Terrapins, who won 16-9.  The story of the game was defense, with the Terps playing tough in the field while the Tigers stumbled and bumbled their way through an off night.  Even still, the game remained tight until the Terps final at bat, when they posted seven big runs to put the game out of reach.

The Tigers got off to a good start at the plate, with R.J. Dantin hitting a three-run homer in the first inning to help put the Tigers up 5-3.  Thereafter, the action was sparse, with Triston Fowler and Taylor Pittman sprinkling in hits, including a long double to right center from Fowler.  Otherwise, the Tigers did not get the ball out of the infield, which showed in the box score as the Tigers failed to reach double figures for the first time this year.

The defense was like fire and ice last night, with an unbelievable number of bad plays spoiling some really good plays.  Fowler made several tough plays at shortstop, including a terrific hustle play beating out a runner to third base which resulted in a collision - and an out.  Fowler also threw out a runner at home plate, with Dantin applying a nice tag to save a run in the top of the third.  Dantin recorded an unassisted double play on a pop fly to first base, and Bennett Rudolph accomplished the same feat on a pop fly back to the pitcher's mound.

In the end, however, the defense was nowhere near as solid as it has been in games past.  This was the first time the team had played at the Hillbrook field since the first game of the season, and it was the first time they played at 7:00 since that time as well.  Perhaps now that the players has this game under their belt, they can get comfortable and return to playing Tiger baseball.   

The Tigers bounced back from their first loss of the season last night in impressive fashion, playing the kind of defense that has made the team so successful all year to secure a 14-6 win over the Badgers.  In a battle of the two toughest defensive teams in the league, LSU played one of its best games of the season in the field, while getting enough offense to keep pressure on the Badgers all game long.

There were so many great defensive efforts last night, its hard to know where to start.  In the outfield, Cooper Hannah and Taylor Pittman made great plays and great throws, including Pittman throwing a strike to second base from the fence which nearly resulted in an out.  In the infield, Bennett Rudolph and Triston Fowler had fantstic plays, and Robert Lyon played his best game of the year at second base.  At first base, R.J. Dantin also had a great night making plays with his glove and his arm.

On offense, the team hit better across the board, with Rudolph and Dantin coming through with big home runs to lead the way.  Alijah Harris, Fowler, William Pitts, Chavis Hoey and Wes Rice all hit the ball well last night, and Hannah had his best hit of the year on a drive to center field.

The Tigers play again on Saturday at Eastway to make up a rainout against a much-imporved Wildcats team.  If the team can continue to sharpen its play over the next few games, the Tigers will be a tough out in the upcoming tournament. 

It has been a rough ride of late for the Bayou Bengals, losing two games in a row for the first time this season.  On Saturday, the Tigers had only 8 players and it showed, as they fell 20-5 to the surging Wildcats.  On Tuesday, the Tigers had a full cast, but continued to have trouble at the plate and played sloppy on defense at the wrong times, allowing the Tarheels to sneak away with a 13-11 victory.

There was not much to crow about in these losses, but there were a few bright spots, with Triston Fowler hitting a couple of towering shots in Tuesday's game, and R.J. Dantin staying consistent at the plate with several hits.  Robert Lyon and Bennett Rudolph have also chipped in with some timely hitting, and Taylor Pittman continues to show the kind of difference-making hustle that the coaches preach.

Despite the recent setbacks, the Tigers have secured first place heading into the playoffs.  However, unless the bats can wake up so the Tigers can start scoring again, it could be a short run.  That said, the coaches have been pleased with the way the team has handled adversity, including an impressive comeback to make it close on Tuesday.  Perhaps this is exactly the kind of wake-up call the team needed heading into the post season, and the players will be ready to go when the time comes. 

After dropping the final game of the season to the Yellow Jackets, the Tigers regrouped on Monday to bounce the Wolverines from the playoffs with a 19-9 victory.  While the defense was adequate, there were still several errors that the offense had to overcome to secure the win.  Fortunately, the bats came back to life to extend the season.

In fact, every single Tiger player had a hit in the game.  Cooper Hannah, William Pitts, Chavis Hoey and Wes Rice may have enjoyed their best night at the plate collectively, providing much needed base runners.  Bennett Rudolph and Taylor Pittman each hit the ball hard, with Pittman delivering a big hit up the middle late in the game.  Triston Fowler continued to anchor the offense in the clean-up position, and R.J. Dantin had a couple of hits including an electrifying home run that ended with a slide into home just under the tag of the Wolverine's catcher.

The Tigers play again on Wednesday night against either the Bulldogs or the Terps.  Regardless, the team will have their work cut-out, but if the hustle stays at as high a level as it was last night, they will be tough to beat.