LSU Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri has announced that senior left-hander Jared Poche will start against Texas Southern on Friday. Coach Paul Mainieri also had Poche start the regional opener last year. The Lutcher native is also one win away from tying Scott Schultz for most victories in school history.

After the LSU-Texas Southern game on Friday. It will be Southeastern Louisiana versus Rice. Tiger Rag Associate Editor James Moran says third-seeded Rice has a very good reliever in Glenn Otto, who has struck out 78 in 56.2 innings. But he says the Owls might not have enough starting pitching….
cut 19 (10) “….keep it going”
Rice does have a promising freshman pitcher by the name of Matt Canterino. The right-hander is 5-4 with a 3.92 ERA, but has 105 strikeouts in 91.1 innings.

Former LSU great Kevin Faulk has been named to the 2018 College Football Hall of Fame ballot. The all-purpose back was an All-American in 1996 and Faulk remains the school’s leading rusher with 4,557 yards and also has the most touchdowns in LSU history with 46. His 6,833 all-purpose yards is an SEC record.

LSU cornerback Saivion Smith has announced he’s transferring from the team. Smith was heading into his sophomore season after playing a reserve role last year. Scout-dot-com ranked Smith as the number one cornerback in the country in the 2016 class.

Louisiana’s top high school quarterback for Class of 2018, Parkway’s Justin Rogers, has verbally committed to TCU over LSU.

The LHSAA has announced that Alexandria will be the home of the girls basketball state championships for the next two years. The boys championship games will remain in Lake Charles.

LSU is considered a huge favorite to beat Texas Southern on Friday in the opening game of the Baton Rouge Regional. Tiger Rag Associate Editor James Moran says the SWAC champs are not very strong on the mound..:
Cut 18 (12) “over eight”
NO.2 seed Southeastern Louisiana takes on No. 3 seed Rice after the LSU game.

LSU’s Greg Deichmann is a semi-finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, as are UL-Lafayette’s Gunner Leger and Louisiana Tech’s Nate Harris.

In softball the Women’s College World Series gets underway today and the Tigers are set to face UCLA at 1:30 at USA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. No. 13 LSU is the second-lowest national seed of the eight teams that made to the WCWS, and it’s the third year in a row LSU has made an appearance at this tournament.

Parkway High School quarterback Justin Rogers, the state’s top high school QB prospect, plans to head to TCU instead of LSU. The four-star recruit plans to graduate in December and enroll in Fort Worth, Texas, for the spring semester.

The Bayou Bengals are losing cornerback Savion Smith after just one season in Baton Rouge. The five-star rated prospect was ranked as the NO. 1 cornerback in the 2016 class and was one of the biggest recruits in coach Les Miles’ final group of signees.

Former LSU baseball coach Smoke Laval has been fired after seven seasons with North Florida, according to Baseball America. The former assistant under Tiger legend Skip Bertman from 2002-2006 compiled a 237-160 record in his seven seasons at the Jacksonville, Florida school.

Lee Corso, the 81-year-old face of College GameDay, has agreed to a multiyear contract extension with ESPN. He’s been with the network since 1987.

LSU brings an 11-game winning streak into the Baton Rouge Regional, which begins Friday, with the Tigers hosting Texas Southern. Lefty Jared Poche is one of several seniors on this team and he believes the Tigers experience will pay off in regional play….
cut 18 (11) “…for the best”
Southeastern Louisiana is the number two seed in the regional and they have not won a game against the Tigers since 2008.

UL-Lafayette’s Gunner Leger and Louisiana Tech’s Nate Harris have been named Golden Spikes Award semifinalist. Leger is the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year, with a 10-2 record with a 1.97 ERA. Harris led the Conference USA in wins, saves and ERA, which was 1.90. Fans can vote on the award at Golden-spikes-award-dot-com.

Wide receiver Lance Moore has retired as a New Orleans Saint. Nine of Moore’s eleven seasons in the NFL were in the Big Easy. He signed with the Saints in 2005 and finished fifth in franchise history in receptions and fourth in touchdowns with 38.

The Sun Belt Conference announced the television selections for the first three weeks of the regular season. ULM will have a couple of primetime kickoffs to start the season. The Warhawks versus Memphis at the Liberty Bowl on Thursday, August 31st will kickoff at 7 PM. The next week ULM will have a 6 PM kickoff at Florida State and then host Southern Miss on September 16th at 6 PM.

UL Lafayette starts the season by hosting Southeastern Louisiana at 6 PM at Cajun Field on September 2nd. The Cajuns road game at Tulsa on September 9th will kickoff at 3 PM.

It’s LSU and Texas Southern on Friday at Alex Box Stadium to begin the Baton Rouge Regional. Senior Shortstop Kramer Robertson says they are not looking past the SWAC Tournament champions, even though they are 12-games below .500…:
Cut 16 (15) “those guys”
Tigers right fielder Greg Deichmann is also taking it one game at a time:
Cut 17 (11) “our best”
LSU and Texas Southern face off at 2:30pm Friday. Following that game No. 3 seed Rice will face No. 2 seed Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m.

The winner of the Baton Rouge Regional will face the winner of the Hattiesburg Regional.

The New Orleans Saints have signed wide receiver Lance Moore to a one-day contract which will allow him to retire as a member of the team he was with from 2006-2013. The 10-year-veteran left the NFL in August of 2016, but he took a procedural step Tuesday by inking a deal with the Saints.

LSU star golfer Sam Burns of Shreveport has announced he’s going pro, after helping the Tigers get to their 4th straight top ten finish in the NCAA Championship. The sophomore made it official on Twitter that he will be foregoing his final two years, but will always be a Tiger.

Parkway quarterback Justin Rogers is scheduled to announce his college decision this evening. The four star prospect’s in-state offers include LSU, Louisiana Tech and UL-Lafayette — but recruiting analysts expect Rogers will commit to TCU.

The LHSAA annual summer meetings in Baton Rouge begin today, and the most anticipated item on the agenda is the announcement of championship sites that will be awarded in eight sports.

LSU baseball hit the practice field this afternoon to get ready for Friday’s Baton Rouge Regional opener against Texas Southern. Coach Paul Mainieri has yet to decide who will start against the SWAC Tournament champions….
cut 19 (18) “…Friday”
Mainieri says he will announce a starting pitcher on Thursday.

Texas Southern comes into the Baton Rouge Regional with a 20-32 record. They have a team ERA over eight against nonconference opponents.

The other two teams in the Baton Rouge Regional are Southeastern Louisiana and Rice. The Owls have struggled on the mound as well as they have a team ERA of 5.10. The Lions are speedy on the base paths with 110 steals.

CBS has released a partial TV schedule for the upcoming season. Once again the network plans on a doubleheader for the Saturday that LSU plays Alabama, televising one game at 2:30 and the other at 7 PM. Which means the Tigers-Crimson Tide game could be televised at 7 PM, but we won’t know for sure until October. Also, CBS says it will televise the Arkansas-Missouri match-up on the Friday after Thanksgiving, so that means it’s likely LSU-Texas A-and-M in Tiger Stadium will be November 25th.

LSU-Alexandria stayed alive in the NAIA softball championships by beating Davenport, Michigan two to nothing. It’s the first time the Generals have ever won two games in the NAIA softball World Series. LSU-A will play again tomorrow afternoon.

LSU baseball will begin NCAA Regional play 2:30 pm on Friday at Alex Box Stadium by hosting SWAC Tournament champion Texas Southern. And if the Tigers win the B-R Regional they’ll face the winner of Hattiesburg Regional, which features Southern Miss and Mississippi State. Tigers Coach Paul Mainieri says one game at a time…:
Cut 17 (18) “to Omaha”
The other two teams coming to Baton Rouge are Southeastern Louisiana and Rice. The Lions take on the Owls at 7pm on Friday.

The news was not good for Louisiana Tech, McNeese State and UL Lafayette. Those three teams failed to make the NCAA Tournament.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the 49ers are working out former Saints safety Jairus Byrd today. Byrd missed 15 games in two seasons with New Orleans, after signing a six-year, $54 million contract prior to 2015.

Shreveport’s Sam Burns, a sophomore star golfer at LSU, will reportedly forego his final two years of college eligibility and turn pro after the Walker Cup in September. The No. 6 seeded Tigers fell two strokes shy of a playoff to get in the match-play portion of the NCAA Championship on Monday.

The big national news in the golf world is that Tiger Woods was arrested on suspicion of DUI in Florida; but he’s released a statement blaming a bad mix of prescription medication and not alcohol. The 14-time champ had back surgery five weeks ago and said he didn’t realize the medicine he was on when driving would affect him so strongly.

Former LSU baseball star Alex Bregman of the Astros went 2 for 5 with a two run home run during Houston’s 16-8 win over Minnesota. The ‘Stros now have the best record and are off to the best start in franchise history.

The LSU Tigers won their 12th SEC Tournament Championship, their sixth with Coach Paul Mainieri, with a four to two win over Arkansas yesterday. Freshman Eric Walker gave up one run over 7.2 innings, while Nick Coomes drove in two runs and Antoine Duplantis scored twice.

The Tigers have won 11 straight and they allowed just five runs in four SEC Tournament games. Tiger Rag Associate Editor James Moran says the way LSU is playing, they are a good bet to get to the College World Series, but anything can happen in baseball….
cut 18 (21) “….national champs”
LSU has been selected to host its 25th NCAA Regional.

The LSU softball team is heading to the Women’s College World Series for a third consecutive year after beating fourth seeded Florida State six to four. Senior catcher Shavanna Jaquish drove in four runs and Carley Hoover allowed one run in 3.1 innings of releif to get the win. Coach Beth Torina’s team lost the first game in this Super Regional Series, but came back to win the next two…
cut 30 (17) “…our university”
LSU’s first game in the W-C-W-S is Thursday at 1:30 against UCLA in Oklahoma City.

The NCAA Baseball Regional pairings will be unveiled at 11 AM. There’s a lot fo anxiety on the campus of McNeese, Southeastern, Louisiana Tech and UL Lafayette. All are on the bubble after failing to win their respective conference tournaments. D-1 baseball and Baseball America has S-L-U in, but not the other schools.

The LSU Tigers will face South Carolina at noon in the semi-finals of the SEC Tournament. The Bayou Bengals were off yesterday and this will be their third game in the tournament, while the Gamecocks will play their fifth game in as many days. South Carolina advanced to the semis with a 3-1 win over Kentucky yesterday. The other semi-final match-up today is Florida versus Arkansas. The Razorbacks routed Mississippi State nine to two yesterday, while the Gators also beat Mississippi State yesterday 12-3.

In the Sun Belt Tournament…the Ragin Cajuns sufffered a heart breaking loss. UL Lafayette was up 5-1, but gave up five runs in the ninth inning to Georgia Southern who ended up beating the Cajuns 7-to-6 in 11 innings. Rough outing for Dylan Moore, who gave up four runs. So UL Lafayette will have to wait if they will receive an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.

All three Louisiana teams in the Southland Tournament have been eliminated. UNO beat Southeastern Louisiana 7-to-4, and top-seeded McNeese fell to Houston Baptist 5-4. And then the Privateers were sent packing when they lost to Sam Houston State 7-1. McNeese and Southeastern Louisiana are on the bubble to make the NCAA Tournament.

In softball, Florida State took Game 1 of its Super Regional Series with LSU by scoring two runs in the sixth inning to beat the Tigers 3-1. LSU will look to even up the series at 2 PM in Tallahassee.

The Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District approves funding to develop a master plan on renovating the Superdome. Saints officials say a master plan will also begin discussions for a long-term agreement between the state and the two professional franchises owned by Tom Benson. The teams’ existing lease agreements with Louisiana end in 2025.

The red hot LSU baseball team is enjoying a day off in Hoover, Alabama today after beating Kentucky 10-0 to advance to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. The game ended in the middle of the seventh inning thanks to the league’s mercy rule in tournament play. The Fighting Tigers have scored 10 plus runs in four consecutive SEC games, which is the most LSU has done since 2000.

LSU will take the field tomorrow at noon. They’ll play either Kentucky or South Carolina. Those two teams are playing each other now and the winner advances.

The top two seeds in the Southland Conference Tournament were eliminated today. UNO defeated second-seeded Southeastern Louisiana seven to four. The Privateers were led by Hezekiah Randolph who homered and drove in three runs.

And Houston Baptist knocked off top-seeded McNeese Five to four. So now we’ll wait to see if both McNeese and Southeastern receive at-large bids. The NCAA unveils the regionals on Monday.

The Ragin Cajuns baseball team begins play in the Soun Belt Tournament tonight when they face Georgia Southern. Because of all of the weather related problems in Georgia, it’s just a single-elimination tournament. Gunner Leger will start for UL Lafayette.

After playing just nine games during his rookie season, Saints defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins says a big goal for him in 2017 is to stay healthy. The former first round pick says if he does play in all 16 games, defensive tackle can be a big strength for this team….
cut 18 (25) “…of everyone”
Rankins recorded four sacks and a forced fumble, even though he played just a half a season.

The LSU baseball team faced the SEC Pitcher of the Year last night, but it didn’t matter. The red-hot Tigers scored five runs in the 2nd inning and five more in the 5th inning off of Sean Hjelle and ended up run ruling Kentucky 10-0 in seven innings. LSU shortstop Kramer Robertson completed the scoring with this three run blast….
cut 30 (14) “…10-nothing Tigers”
That’s Chris Blair on the LSU Sports Radio Network. Alex Lange was also sensational as he pitched seven shutout innings, allowed six hits and struck out seven. He moved past Ben McDonald to number two on LSU’s all-time strike out list. The Tigers are off today and they’ll play either South Carolina or Kentucky tomorrow at noon.

UL Lafayette finally gets a chance to play in the Sun Belt Tournament tonight. Heavy rain in Georgia has pushed back the start of the tournament and it’s now single elimination. The Cajuns who are on the bubble to make the NCAA Tournament, can win three straight games this weekend to receive an automatic bid. UL Lafayette faces Georgia Southern tonight.

In the Southland Tournament…UNO, Southeastern and McNeese are all battling to avoid elimination today.

Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas had an impressive rookie campaign, 92 catches for 1,137 yards and nine touchdowns. All three numbers broke Saints rookie records. Following an OTA session, Thomas said he can still take his game to another level….
cut 17 (13) “….stuff like that”
Thomas says he’s also added 10 pounds.