After an 8-4 loss to Southern Miss on Sunday, the LSU Tigers were back on the field this afternoon facing the Golden Eagles for the Hattiesburg Regional championship. Ma’Khail Hilliard got the start for the Tigers, while Tanner Hill took the mound for Southern Miss. Coach Jay Johnson is 2-1 all-time in regional competition, leading Arizona to the College World Series in 2016 and 2021, while bowing out early in 2017.

Should the Tigers win they will face either Ole Miss, the conference rival which likely kept LSU from hosting a regional, or Arizona, Johnson’s previous employer. Either way, the stories will write themselves.

The Rebels and the Wildcats got off to a late start due to another rain delay in Coral Gables.

In other early action, Auburn advances after beating UCLA 11-4. East Carolina topped Coastal Carolina 13-4, and Louisville got past Michigan 11-9.

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In other news for the Tigers, former LSU All-America linebacker Bradie James is one of 80 players to appear on the 2023 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

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Southeastern Louisiana’s first appearance in the NCAAs since 2017 was a brief one. The Lions fell to Auburn and UCLA in the Auburn Regional by a combined score of 35-9 and finished 30-31 this season. Their loss to Auburn was their first in seven elimination games during the postseason.

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The Ragin Cajuns run in the College Station Regional did not last as long as they had hoped as U-L Lafayette was eliminated on Sunday afternoon by T-C-U. The Cajuns scored a first-inning run and that’s it in a six to one loss to the Horned Frogs. Coach Matt Deggs says his team ran out of gas…

Cut 16 (15) “…to em.”

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Meanwhile over in the Austin Regional, Louisiana Tech lost to Air Force in an elimination game nine to seven. Jake Greiving hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning off of Kyle Crigger to snap a seven-seven tie. The Bulldogs finish with a 43-21 record.