4:45 LRN Sportscast May 18th

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports Joe Burrow, a graduate transfer quarterback from Ohio State, has chosen to continue his college career at LSU. Burrow will be eligible to play this season and he’ll have two years of eligibility left. That gives LSU four players who will compete to be the starting quarterback in the fall, unless one of them decides to transfer out.

DeMacus Cousins tells the Undefeated he’s open to going back to New Orleans, but in the end he’ll do what’s best for him. Cousins is rebhabbing from a torn Achilles tendon and he becomes an unrestricted free-agent in July. The four-time NBA All-Star believes he’ll be ready by the time NBA training camps open in September.

LSU baseball has a difficult test tonight as they’ll face Auburn pitcher Casey Mize, who could be the top overall pick in next month’s Major League Baseball Draft. Freshman Ma’Khail Hilliard gets the start for the Tigers, who are now 14-and-14 in the SEC after losing 11-4 to the War Eagles last night. First pitch tonight is at 6 PM.

Louisiana Tech continues its series with Old Dominion tonight as the Bulldogs will send right-hander Matt Miller to the mound. The Bulldogs won easily last night, 11-3 over the Monrachs. David Leal threw seven strong innings and freshman Steele Netterville finished a triple away from hitting for the cycle.

The Cajuns Hayden Cantrelle hit a walk-off homer last night as UL Lafayette beat ULM for the 23rd straight time on the baseball diamond, beating the Warhawks 4-3 in 10 innings. The Cajuns are now a game and a half ahead of Little Rock for first place in the Sun Belt West Division.

Nicholls State scored three runs in the ninth inning last night to beat Central Arkansas 5-4. UNO lost to Northwestern State six to three, so the Colonels are now just one game back of the Privateers for the eighth and final qualifying spot in the Southland Tournament.

At the SWAC Tournament….Grambling State will play tonight. A win for the Tigers and they advance into Sunday’s championship game.

11:40 LRN Sportscast

LSU will need a good start tonight from freshman Ma’Khail Hilliard if the Tigers are going to even up their series with Auburn. Auburn won last night 11-4 as LSU’s starter Zack Hess gave up five earned runs on six hits and three walks. Tonight, LSU faces the potential number one pick in next month’s Major League Baseball Draft, Casey Mize. He’s 9-3 with a 2.73. ERA. Hilliard has an 8.66 ERA over his last four starts. First pitch tonight is at 6.

The Ragin Cajuns dominance over ULM continued last night as UL-Lafayette’s Hayden Cantrell hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning for a four to three victory. That’s 23 straight victories for the Cajuns over the Warhawks.

Louisiana Tech won its 36th game of the season last night as the bulldogs thumped Old Dominion 11-3. David Leal earned the victory and freshman Steele Netterville and Parker Bates each drove in four runs.

And Grambling beat Alabama State 12-7 and they are one win away from reaching the SWAC Tournament Championship game.

DeMarcus Cousins told The Undefeated” he’s very open to returning to the Pelicans if the deal is right. Cousins is an unrestricted free agent this summer and he’s also rehabbing from a season-ending Achilles injury. Cousins says he’ll be ready for the start of training camp in fall.

Saints and Pelicans Owner Gayle Benson’s horse Lone Sailor runs tomorrow in the Preakness. Lone Sailor will run from the second post and is listed as 15-1 favorite. Kentucky Derby winner Justify is the big favorite to win the second leg of the Triple Crown.

The Cleveland Browns will appear on HBO’s 2018 Hard Knocks television series. Cleveland is coming off an 0-16 season and have the number one pick in Baker Mayfield. It’s also a chance for fans to learn more about former LSU wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who was traded to Cleveland and signed a long term deal with the Browns.

The NCAA Softball Regional begins today in Baton Rouge. the Tigers will host Fordham tonight at 5:30. The 21st ranked Cajuns take on Houston at three o’ clock. McNeese plays Baylor in the College Station Regional.

06:45 LRN Sportscast May 18

LSU’s problems on the road continued last night and so did Zach Hess’s issues as he gave up five runs in three innings as the Tigers went on to lose 11-4 to Auburn. A two-run home run by Jake Slaughter was the only highlight for LSU, who fell to 14-14 in the SEC and 3-13 on the road. The Tigers face one of the top pitchers in college baseball tonight, nine-game winner Casey Mize.

Louisiana Tech had little trouble beating Old Dominion last night as the Bulldogs pounded the Monarchs 11-3. Parker Bates and Steele Netterville each hit home runs and each drove in four runs. The Bulldogs are now 19-9 in Conference USA.

The Ragin Cajuns won their 23rd straight game over ULM as Hayden Cantrelle hit his third home run of the season as UL Lafayette defeated the Warhawks four to three in ten innings. Little Rock lost, so the Cajuns have a game and a half lead over the Trojans for first place in the Sun Belt West.

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Grambling improved to 2-0 in the SWAC Tournament with a 12-7 win over Alabama State last night in New Orleans. Rafael Ramirez had a couple of doubles and drove in four runs. Grambling plays again at six o’ clock tonight and if they win, they advance to the championship round.

In the Southland Conference, Nicholls kept its hope alive for making the Southland Tournament by scoring three runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to beat Central Arkansas 5-4. Kyle Knauth doubled to tie the game and then scored the game winning run on a fielder’s choice. Northwestern State doubled up UNO 6-3. Ridge Heisler won his sixth game of the year. McNeese pitching gave up 20 hits in a 12-5 loss to Lamar. And 22nd ranked Houston doubled up Southeastern Louisiana six to three.

In softball, the LSU regional gets underway today. At three o’ clock it will be UL Lafayette versus Houston and then at 5:30 it’s the Tigers versus Fordham.

McNeese is at the College Station Regional, where they’ll face off against Baylor.

4:45 LRN Sportscast May 17th

Big game for the LSU baseball team tonight as they begin a series at Auburn. The Tigers are 3-and-13 on the road this season, which is hurting their chances of getting into the NCAA Tournament. Zach Hess will start on the mound tonight. He’s six and four with a 4.24 ERA. The sophomore right-hander says the key for him is throwing first pitch strikes…
cut 18 (17) “….this weekend”
Tanner Burns starts for Auburn tonight. He’s 4-4 with a 3.36 ERA.

In other action…Louisiana Tech hosts Old Dominion as the Bulldogs are on the bubble to make an NCAA Regional. Same with the Cajuns, who host ULM. Grambling faces Alabama State in the SWAC Tournament tonight. And in the Southland, Northwestern State is at UNO.

Former SEC and Conference USA Commissioner Mike Slive has passed away at the age of 77. He was the founding commissioner of Conference USA and then led the SEC for 13 years. During that time the Southeastern Conference expanded to 14 schools, started the SEC Network and Slive played a big role in creating the college footbal playoff.

In college football recruiting news…Rummel Quarterback Chandler Fields has committed to the Ragin Cajuns. He’s listed as a three-star quarterback by 24-7 sports, the 37th best player ranked in the state for the Class of 2019.

In college basketball…Louisiana Tech has signed guard Kalob Ledoux, who will transfer in from McNeese State. The six-foot-three combo guard from Port Barre led the Cowboys in scoring the last two seasons. He’ll have to sit out the 2018-19 season, because of NCAA Transfer rules.

11:40 LRN Sportscast May 17th

LSU needs a good showing at Auburn over the next three days to help secure a spot in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. The latest projection from Baseball America has the Tigers as a three-seed in a regional hosted by Stetson. Zack Hess will start on the mound tonight for the Tigers. Hess says the team understands the urgency to play well at Auburn….
cut 17 (18) “…right now”

Baseball America has Louisiana Tech among the first four teams out of their bracket. The Bulldogs begin a series tonight in Ruston against Old Dominion, who has the worst record in Conference USA.

The Ragin Cajuns are also on the bubble and they begin a three-game series against in-state rival ULM. The Warhawks are trying to get the Sun Belt Tournament.

Former SEC and Conference USA Commissioner Mike Slive has passed away at the age of 77. He ran the Southeastern Conference from 2002 to 2015 and during that time revenues jumped from 96-million dollars to 456-million dollars. Slive helped establish the SEC Network and the college football play and the league expanded to 14 schools during his tenure.

The Pelicans Anthony Davis is a finalist for MVP and Defensive Player of the year awards. LeBron James and James Harden are the other finalists for MVP, while Davis’ competition for Defensive Player of the Year is Joel Embiid and Rudy Gobert. The awards will be given out June 25th.

In NFL news, the Saints have reportedly released special teams contributor and reserve linebacker Michael Mauti.

The Manning Passing Academy announced its first ever football clinic and camp for women and girls this summer. It will take place the weekend of June of 25th and 26th on the Nicholls campus. The Manning family says they want to provide women and girls with the same opportunity to learn the game as they’ve done for boys for the last 23 years.

06:45 LRN Sportscast May 17

LSU baseball wraps up the regular season with a three game series that starts tonight against 24th ranked Auburn. The Tigers are 14-13 in the SEC and it’s believed LSU has to finish with at least a .500 record in league play in order to receive an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. But LSU is 3-and-13 away from home this season. Coach Paul Mainieri says his team needs to change its losing ways on the road…
Cut 16 (15) “job done”
Auburn is 13-and-14 in the SEC. First pitch is at 6 PM.

Former SEC and Conference USA Commissioner Mike Slive has passed away at the age of 77. He was the founding commissioner of Conference USA and then led the SEC for 13 years. During that time the Southeastern Conference expanded to 14 schools, started the SEC Network and Slive played a big role in creating the college footbal playoff.

After winning a series versus the best the team in Conference USA, Louisiana Tech hosts the worst team in the league for a three game series starting tonight. Old Dominion is just 7-19 in league play, 15-and-34 overall. Tech is 18-9 in league play, which is good for third place.

The Ragin Cajuns head into the final series of the season tonight against ULM with a half game lead over Little Rock for first place in the Sun Belt West. UL Lafayette has won 22 straight games against the Warhawks. Coach Tony Robichaux says what has happened in the past will not have a factor on the next three games…
cut 30 (09) “…doing any research”
ULM is trying to secure a berth in the Sun Belt Tournament. They trail UT-Arlington by one game for the final spot.

At the SWAC Tournament in New Orleans, Grambling advanced to the winners bracket with a 14-5 win over Mississippi Valley.

11:40 LRN Sportscast May 16th

Former Alabama Q-B and current ESPN College football analyst Greg McElroy said on an Alabama radio station that he hopes Ohio State graduate transfer quarterback Joe Burrow decides to play at LSU. McElroy added he would love to see LSU with a quarterback in his lifetime. LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger has tweeted out a graphic that said LSU is the only school in the SEC to have seven quarterbacks drafted in the last 20 years, Josh Booty, Rohan Davey, Matt Mauck, JaMarcus Russell, Matt Flynn, Zach Mettenberger and Danny Etling.

Back to Burrow, he’s expected to visit North Carolina this week and make a decision soon on whether to continue to his college career at LSU, Cincinnati or North Carolina.

In other college football news…Alabama and Texas have agreed to a home-and-home series in 2022 and 2023. The Tigers are scheduled to visit Austin next year and Texas would return the trip to Baton Rouge in 2020.

LSU baseball finished off its home schedule last night with a nine to five win over Northwestern State. Senior Austin Bain had three hits and also earned his fourth save. Matthew Beck pitched three shutout innings for his second win of the year. Meanwhile, freshman pitcher Nick Storz is done for the season with shoulder problems.

ULM outscored McNeese State 10 to seven. Despite the loss, Joe Provenzano became the school’s all-time hits leader as he has 248 for his career.

Southeastern Louisiana outscored South Alabama 12 to 9. In the process, the Lions broke the school’s record for most stolen bases in a season with 127.

The Ragin Cajuns edged Tulane seven to six. Todd Lott hit two solo home runs and UNO upset Southern Miss 14-9.

11:40 LRN Sportscast May 15

Final home game of the year tonight for the LSU baseball team, who hosts Northwestern State at Alex Box Stadium. Freshman Daniel Cabrera comes into the contest swinging a hot bat. The Baton Rouge product is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week after going 10-of-13 from the plate in four games with two doubles, one triple, two homers and 10 RBI. The Demons David Fry comes into the game hitting .346 with 11 homers and 50 RBIs and he’s 22 for 51 in his last 12 games.

Ohio State graduate transfer quarterback Joey Burrow visited LSU this past weekend and there’s a report he could visit North Carolina this weekend. Burrow also visited Cincinnati. The Bearcats current head coach is Luke Fickell, a former defensive coordinator at Ohio State.

There are reports that Pittsburgh Steelers minority owner David Tepper will purchase the Carolina Panthers for two-point-two billion dollars. That is a record of course when it comes to the purchase of an NFL team. The Previous record was one-point-four billion dollars when the Buffalo Bills were sold in 2014.

Lone Sailor, which is owned by Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson, will race in this Saturday’s Preakness Stakes. So far only seven other horses, including Kentucky Derby winner Justify, are set to run in Maryland. Lone Sailor ran eighth in the Kentucky Derby. But trainer tom Amoss believes a smaller field and a drier track will help Lone Sailor.

4:45 LRN Sportscast May 14th

After taking two of three from Alabama, LSU’s RPI didn’t improve much. It’s up to 50 and the Tigers remained unranked in most of the college baseball polls. LSU hosts Northwestern State tomorrow night.

Louisiana Tech sophomore centerfielder Parker Bates has been named Conference USA Co-Hitter of the Week. For the week, Bates drove in seven runs, including four 4 RBIs yesterday as the Bulldogs beat Southern Miss to take the series.

Saints Coach Sean Payton says as of right now there are no plans to sign a veteran running back to take the place of Mark Ingram, who is suspended for the first four games for violating the league’s P-E-D policy. Payton says they have guys on their roster that can fill the void of Ingram’s absence, including sixth-round pick and former Louisiana Tech running back Boston Scott….
Cut 17 (14) “runner first”
A ruling today from the US Supreme Court makes sports betting possible nationwide, but legal sports betting in Louisiana is a long way from happening. Legislation was defeated in the current regular session that would have given Louisiana voters a chance to vote on whether they want to legalize sports betting in this state. The bill was killed because there are many legislators who oppose an expansion to gambling. But Metairie Senator Danny Martiny authored the measure and said the decision to keep sports gaming out of Louisiana is a missed chance for additional revenue for the state….
cut 8 (10) “….rely one”
UL Lafayette and LSU with once again meet in an NCAA Softball Regional. The Tigers are the host school and they’ll play Fordham at 5:30 on Friday. The Cajuns and Houston are the other two teams in the regional.

11:40 LRN Sportscast May 14th

Before Sunday’s game against Alabama, LSU baseball Coach Paul Mainieri called it a must win after losing the night before. The Tigers are on the bubble when it comes to making the NCAA Tournament and a series loss to Alabama, who has the worst , would not have been good for their tournament resume. Nick Bush pitched six strong innings and Daniel Cabrera drove in four runs. The Tigers are now 14-13 in the SEC heading into the final series at Auburn. The coach says a series victory against Auburn should be enough to receive an at-large bid…
cut 20 (17) “…hasn’t ”

Louisiana Tech took two of three from 9th ranked Southern Miss. The Bulldogs are in third place in the Conference USA standings.

The Saints had a chance to evaluate all of their draft picks this past weekend during a three-day rookie mini-camp. Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen is excited about first-round pick Marcus Davenport…
Cut 18 (17) “to develop”

The US Supreme Court has ruled that sports betting can happen in every state, not just in Louisiana. But that doesn’t mean sports betting parlors will begin popping up in Louisiana. Legislation that would have asked voters in the fall whether they want to legalize sports betting in Louisiana was defeated in the current regular session.

And the for the eighth time since 2000, the UL Lafayette softball team will compete versus LSU in the Baton Rouge Regional. Houston and Fordham are the other two teams.