Former LSU baseball star Paul Skenes has received the call to the big leagues. Skenes will pitch Saturday afternoon for the Pittsburgh Pirates in game two of a series against the Chicago Cubs. Last year’s number one overall pick has been dominant in Triple-A. In seven starts in Indianapolis, Skenes posted a 0.99 ERA and struck out 45 in 27.1 innings.

D-1 Baseball and Baseball America have released their Regional projections and they do not have LSU as one of the 64 teams in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers are at Alabama this weekend and they need to win at least four of their final six conference games to have a chance at receiving a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

D-! baseball has U-L Lafayette as a two-seed in the College Station Regional and Louisiana Tech as a three-seed Starkville Regional. Bulldogs coach Lane Burroughs says it’s questionable whether closer Ethan Bates will pitch this weekend. Burroughs says Bates didn’t feel great an outing against New Mexico State last Saturday.

The Saints have cut quarterback Kellen Mond. New Orleans quarterback room was crowded after drafting Spencer Rattler, so Mond ends up being the odd man out. Derek Carr is the starter and the other back-ups are second-year pro Jake Haener and journeyman Nathan Peterman.

The LSU softball team needed 14 innings to beat Alabama three to two and advance into the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Taylor Pleasants had the walk-off hit and Sydney Berzon was the winning pitcher after giving up two runs in the first inning. The Tigers take on Tennessee today.

Katelin Cooper drove in a pair of runs and Louisiana Tech softball defeated UTEP two to nothing in the Conference USA Tournament. Tech faces Western Kentucky this afternoon.

In the Southland Tourney…McNeese and Nicholls face each other in an elimination game today. A win for Southeastern today over UIW and they advance to the championship round.

Sterlington, South Beauregard and North Vermilion were among the winners yesterday at the state high school baseball tournament. They all advance to the championship round. Iowa’s season is over after losing to Lutcher five to nothing.

Baseball America and D1 Baseball both released their NCAA Tournament projections today and they both do not have LSU in the Field of 64. The Tigers resume nearly took a hit last night. LSU trailed Northwestern State five to two, but rallied to beat the Demons six to five. Coach Jay Johnson says he’s proud of his team….
cut 18 (14) “…have to win”
Winning this weekend’s series at Alabama will also be important.

Former LSU pitcher Paul Skenes is getting the call to the Big Leagues. Skenes will make his major league debut this Saturday for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Chicago Cubs. Skenes has made seven starts in Triple-A and has allowed just three earned runs. He was the number one pick in last year’s Major League Baseball draft.

LSU Football head coach, Brian Kelly said they’re not interested in buying players after the top two defensive tackles in the transfer portal committed to other schools. Kelly made the comments to WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge and also discussed the importance of recruiting players out of high school, retaining them and preparing them for the NFL. Tiger Rag Editor Todd Horne….
Cut 4 (07) “…the fall.”
Damonic Williams and Simeon Barrow were two players who visited LSU, but have committed to other schools, Oklahoma and Miami respectively.

It took 14 innings, but LSU softball beat Alabama in the SEC Tournament. Taylor Pleasants drove in the winning run. The Tigers will face top seeded Tennessee tomorrow.

At the high school baseball playoffs today…semifinal action…South Beauregard over Doyle six to one, Sterlington shutout Berwick ten to nothing, St. Charles Catholic blanked Menard one to nothing.

In a one-on-one interview with WAFB-TV sports director Jacques Doucet, football coach Brian Kelly says LSU is not in the market of buying players. Kelly’s comments come after the school missed out on signing two of the top defensive tackles in the transfer portal.

It’s believed Damonic Williams and Simeon Barrow received lucrative NIL deals in their decisions to commit to Oklahoma and Miami respectively.

Kelly says unfortunately there are some guys who are looking to be bought and they are not going to go out and buy players. The coach says there are very generous NIL opportunities through their collective, but they are interested in developing players for the NFL like they did with Jayden Daniels, Brian Thomas, and  Malik Nabers, who all went in the first round of the NFL draft this year.

Kelly also points out three LSU defensive lineman were drafted this year.

A huge come from behind win for the LSU baseball team last night as the Tigers rallied back from a three-run deficit to beat Northwestern State six to five. LSU was down 5 to 2 in the fifth inning and Coach Jay Johnson told his team they had to win this game. Jared Jones slugged a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth and Gavin Guidry pitched four shutout innings out of the pen. Johnson says it was a great victory…
cut 19 (14) “…good baseball game tonight”
LSU now heads to Alabama for a three-game series starting on Friday. The Demons return to Natchitoches to host UNO.

The 22nd ranked U-L Lafayette baseball team shutout Jackson State five to nothing. J-T Etheridge and four relievers combined on a three-hit shutout. Trey LaFleur and Jose Torres each drove in two runs.

McNeese run-ruled Southern 14 to four. Conner Westenburg drove in three runs for the Pokes. Houston scored in the bottom of the ninth to beat Nicholls five to four.

LSU football coach Brian Kelly told WAFB-TV’s Jacques Doucet that LSU is not in the market of buying players. That was Kelly’s response in failing to land their top two defensive tackle targets in the transfer portal. Kelly says some guys are looking to be bought. B-K also says they have plenty of N-I-L opportunities and LSU has a reputation of developing NFL players.

LSU women’s basketball will play Grambling State in December at the Brookshire Grocery Arena in Bossier City. It will give Lady Tigers star Mikalya Williams a chance to play at home.

U-L Lafayette softball oach Gerry Glasco and La Tech softball coach Josh Taylor were named coaches of the year in their respective conferences. Cajuns outfielder Mihyia Davis was named Sun Belt Player of the year.

At the Southland softball tournament….Alexa Poche hit a walk off homer as the Colonels defeated Houston Christian five to four. Nicholls takes on Southeastern Louisiana this afternoon.

The LSU Tigers host Northwestern State tonight in the final nonconference game of the year for the Bayou Bengals. The Tigers are 22-and-3 in nonconference play this year. Northwestern’s last win against LSU came in 2021.

22nd ranked U-L Lafayette hosts Jackson State. It’s the tenth meeting between the two schools and the Cajuns hold an eight to one advantage.

Also tonight….Nicholls is at Houston and McNeese hosts Southern.

At the high school baseball playoffs in Sulphur…Avoyelles Public Charter is heading to the Division Five select state championship gmae as the Vikings defeated Rapides six to nothing. They will play Family Community, who beat Grace Christian seven to six.

Tonight it’s the Division Four select semifinals….second-seeded Covenant Christian takes on 11th seeded Glenbrook and top seeded Opelouas Catholic plays fifth seeded Central Catholic.

The LSU women’s basketball program has announced it will play a game next regular season at Brookshire Grocery Arena in Bossier City on December eighth. The Lady Tigers will play Grambling that day and it allows for  Mikaylah Williams to play a game in her hometown.

The Sun Belt Conference named Cajuns outfielder Mihyia Davis as the Sun Belt Softball Player of the Year. Davis is hitting .421 on the season. Also from U-L Lafayette…Brooke Ellestad was named Newcomer of the Year as she leads the league with a .474 batting average. Gerry Glasco has been named coach of the year. The Cajuns are the top seed in the conference tournament and they’ll play Thursday.

Louisiana Tech’s Josh Taylor has been named as the Conference USA Coach of the Year. Taylor has lead the Bulldogs to a 31-20 record and a third place finish in conference play. Tech begins play in the Conference USA tournament play on Wednesday afternoon.

LSU will face Alabama tomorrow morning in the opening round of the SEC Tournament. If the Tigers can win, they”ll play top seeded Tennessee on Thursday morning.

It looks like Andrus Peat is not returning to the Saints. The former first round pick and longtime starter on the Black and Gold’s offensive line is reportedly signing with the Las Vegas Raiders. Peat is a three-time Pro Bowler and started 102 games over nine seasons in New Orleans, starting mostly at guard.

The LSU baseball team concludes a nine-game homestand tonight by hosting Northwestern State. It’s the final non-conference game for the Tigers who can not afford a loss as they try to beef up their NCAA Tournament resume. The Demons are coming off a series loss to Southland leader Lamar.

After a tough series loss at Troy, the Ragin Cajuns are home tonight to host Jackson State. U-L Lafayette now ranks 22nd in the latest D-! baseball poll. The Ragin Cajuns are 11 and 2 in mid-week games this year.

Also tonight, Nicholls is at Houston, McNeese hosts Southern and Tulane takes on UNO.

The 2024 LHSAA Baseball State tournament in Sulphur gets underway today. At 11 AM it’s the Divison Five select semifinals as top seeded Avoyelles Charter faces fifth seeded Rapides. The other semi-final matchup is Grace Christian against Family Community.

Louisiana Christian University is heading to the NAIA Regionals for the first time since 1987 after beating Texas A-and-M Texarkana nine to seven yesterday. The difference in this game was a four-run eighth inning by the Wildcats. L-C-U will find out its regional destination on Thursday.

The Southland Softball Tournament gets underway today in Hammond. Nicholls is the three seed and they’ll play the winner of today’s game between Texas A-and-M Corpus Christi and Houston Christian. McNeese and Southeastern Louisiana are the top two seeds and they’ll play tomorrow.

LSU is the eight seed in the SEC Tournament and the Tigers will play tomorrow morning against Alabama at Auburn. La Tech will take on UTEP in the Conference USA Softball tournament tomorrow.

The LSU baseball team won a series over top-ranked Texas A-and-M over the weekend. The Tigers had a chance to sweep but gave up nine runs in the fifth inning in a 14-4 loss to the Aggies. Coach Jay Johnson says they held down a powerful A-and-M offense as long as they could
Cut 16 (15) “..from us.”
Six more SEC games are left, and the Tigers are 9-15 in the SEC. The goal for LSU is to get to at least 13 wins to give them a shot at an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.

In the D-1 Baseball poll, Tennessee is the newly ranked number one team. Texas A-and-M fell to third. Alabama fell out of the Top 25. The Crimson Tide lost a series to Mississippi State.

The Ragin Cajuns are down to 22 after losing a series to Troy.

Lafayette native Brian Hernandez, from Acadiana High School. rode Mystic Dan to a win at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Brent and Sharilyn Gasaway from Shreveport are among the co-owners. Sharilyn Gasaway says Mystik Dan’s greatest strengths are of course his speed, but he’s also very calm.
Cut 10 (07) “..150,000 people plus”
Mystik Dan may not go for the Triple Crown. Gasaway says the Kentucky-bred horse has not fared well on two weeks rest. The next leg of the triple crown is the Preakness is May 18th.

A cornerback LSU was looking at in the transfer portal has committed to Alabama. DaShawn Jones played in ten games for Wake Forest last season and had a team-high three interceptions.

The semifinals of the high school baseball playoffs begin tomorrow in Sulphur….IN Division Five select, Avoyelles Charter plays Rapides, In non select division four, Oak Grove battles DeQuincy, and in Division Four select, Opelousas Catholic versus Central Catholic.

The LSU baseball team gave up nine runs in the fifth inning yesterday and lost to top ranked Texas A-and-M 14 to 4. But the Tigers won the first two games of the series by identical scores of six to four. Coach Jay JOhnson says they got great pitching performances from Gage Jump, Luke Holman, Griffin Herring and Christian Little and some clutch hitting…
cut 17 (17) “…we’re doing that”
LSU is now 9-and-15 in the SEC. If they are able to win their final two SEC series against Alabama and Ole Miss, that could be enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament.

The Ragin Cajuns won a wild game over Troy 14 to 13 in ten innings to salvage one game of the series against the Trojans. Conor Higgs home run in the tenth inning was the difference. U-L Lafayette has a two game lead over Troy for first place in the Sun Belt.

Louisiana Tech fell out of first place in Conference USA after losing two of three to New Mexico State. Saturday was a really tough loss. La Tech led 9-2 in the seventh inning and had a four-run lead in the ninth inning and ended up losing 16 to 15 in 13 innings. The Bulldogs trail Western Kentucky by a half a game. Tech hosts Western Kentucky this weekend.

ULM was swept by Georgia Southern.

Nicholls two games out of first place in the Southland after winning a series against U-I-W. The Colonels have won all four of their road Southland series this season.

UNO took two of three from Southeastern Louisiana and they are in third place in the Southland.

Conference softball tournaments start this week. LSU is the eight seed in the SEC Tournament and they will face Alabama on Wednesday morning.

The Southland Tournament will take place in Hammond. The McNeese Cowgirls are the top seed, Southeastern is the two seed. Nicholls is a three seed and they’ll play Tuesday night at 6 PM.

The LSU baseball team took down top ranked Texas A-and-M last night six to four to begin a huge three game series. The Tigers fell behind two to nothing, but took the lead with a four-run sixth inning. Josh Pearson had the big hit, a two-run double. Griffin Herring was money out of the bullpen as he got the final seven outs for his fourth save of the season.

Louisiana Tech won its seventh straight last night, an 18 to 4 win over New Mexico State. The Bulldogs hit seven home runs. Cole McConnell and Jorge (George) Carona each hit two home runs.

The 18th ranked Ragin Cajuns were on the wrong end of a blowout as Troy trounced U-L Lafayette 16 to 5. Andrew Herrmann suffered the loss as he gave up six runs in two innings, but only two of them were earned.

Georgia Southern downed ULM 12 to 4, UNO edged Southeastern four to three, McNeese over Texas A-and-M Corpus Christi seven to three, while Nicholls and Northwestern State lost.
_______________________________________________________________
Two former LSU receivers sign with new NFL teams. Odell Beckham Junior has reportedly signed with Miami, after catching 35 passes in Baltimore last season. While DJ Chark agrees to a deal with the Chargers. He had 35 catches in Carolina last year. And former LSU linebacker and Atlanta Falcon Deion Jones has signed with the Bills.

Two of LSU’s top targets at defensive tackle in the transfer portal have committed to other schools. Damonic Williams is heading to Oklahoma and Simeon Barrow is heading to Miami.

1st year ULM coach Bryant Vincent is trying to build a winner in Monroe. He says he saw progress in the spring…
cut 20 (19) “….we practice’
ULM opens the season against Jackson State.

There are three SEC weekends left and the postseason begins now for the LSU Tigers who need to get hot to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. LSU is 7-and-14 heading into this three-game set against top ranked Texas A-and-M. LSU Tiger great Todd Walker says there’s still time left to turn things around…
cut 27 (16) “…all out”
The Tigers will need a good outing from sophomore left hander Gage Jump. In his last two starts, Jump has allowed one run on five hits, one walk and he has 20 strikeouts. First pitch tonight is at 7 PM.

The Ragin Cajuns and Louisiana Tech enter this weekend’s play in first place in their respective conferences. Both are on the road. The Bulldogs are at New Mexico State while the Cajuns visit Troy, who is three games back of U-L Lafayette in the Sun Belt.

A couple of former LSU Tigers have signed with new NFL teams. Odell Beckham Junior has reportedly signed a one-year deal with Miami, while Alexandria native DJ Chark is headed to the Los Angeles Chargers. Chark had 35 catches for 525 yard and five touchdowns last season.

LSU football has missed out on one of their defensive tackle targets in the transfer portal. Damonic Williams who had two standout seasons at TCU has committed to Oklahoma.

New ULM Warhawks football coach Byrant Vincent says that he saw progress during spring practice. Vincent is trying to lead the Warhawks to their first winning season since 2012 and it will take a lot of work…
Cut 19 (14) “…do things.”