To Be In The Kneaux: What Does It Mean In New Orleans Sports?

Chris Dodson • November 9, 2022

What does it mean to be ‘in the know’ in New Orleans when it comes to the sports scene? Well, it means a lot of things. For one, going forward, it means checking in with enthusiastic locals like the folks running In The Kneaux, even for those working in the industry. Dodson explains in this feature.

 

        First, I know stating New Orleans is unique is almost a waste of bandwidth…almost, except The Culture cannot be stressed enough. Everyone who has visited or is from here knows this and won’t let the rest of the world forget. It’s why people from all parts of the globe find a way to migrate here for a drink or twelve. Having covered multiple sports in several states for publications of varying sizes since college, and as someone born and raised mostly in southern Louisiana, I can definitively say that uniqueness extends to the sports coverage. The Houma-born fan in me hopes it stays that way.

 

        Now, not to get nostalgic, but if only the city still had a full-time, daily-run newspaper like back in the day. Perhaps the Green Wave and Pelicans would get more love outside of the Gulf South region. Sure, the Saints will sell pages of copy, content, and cold drink coozies all day long regardless of their record. This in turn will attract some advertisers but not at the rate it used to, so the wave of local beat reporters slowly drifted away, like the last drops of the Mississippi back into the gulf only to be replaced by AirBnB listings.

 

        Some returned in new roles but the decay of the daily paper has left a vacuum and it really hurt the little guys. Even high school sports coverage from the ‘big guys’ in print and television has dropped, for many reasons starting in the boardrooms. Thankfully, the most passionate fans have stepped into the void and have even broken some stories. Nick Underhill created a niche that now employs other aspiring reporters and prep coverage is almost all online and through high school-specific sources like JJ Marshall.

 

        After a few years of getting to be a fly on the wall writing for the rent and freelancing in New Orleans kitchens, it seems not having the news foundation hurt the city as a whole because stories get told by out-of-town tourist journalists. To quote the culture: They ain’t on dem beans. (H/t to Devin at Hold The Mayo Sports) Now, there are dozens of locals running the radio shows and podcasts, and many are plugged in in a way that would be impossible in bigger markets. It’s a blessing that adds a layer to the conversations between the bar rooms and barbershops. Zion even brought those blessings (and at the time, debates) to the churches that one Sunday.

 

        Still, you’ve really got to do something to get noticed nationally coming out of New Orleans. Respect is hard to come by as it is. Tulane is learning that the hard way right now and ESPN’s College Gameday show is already feeling the heat from the Texas-sized bad decision. It makes it harder for the non-Saints organizations to have their accomplishments noticed if they are not blasted on the front page through the city’s newsstands. It gets even more difficult if the Saints, Pelicans, and LSU are all rolling at the same time. Things get overlooked in crowded kitchens.

 

        But Tulane? The Ranked, I say Ranked Tulane Green Wave? I won’t do them like Gameday. Their story will not be buried here. I also won’t dare pretend to know more about Tulane Football than Maddy Hudak or Crissy Froyd. Anyone else talking over them when the subject is a Ranked Tulane is like putting mayo in coffee. Actually, after a very short booth review, extend that to football in general. I’m not breaking down defenses like it’s a True Detective case. They are, and more. So talking over those ladies when the topic is Tulane? It shouldn’t be done, (but sometimes curiosity, whiskey, and pickle-back chasers….) Did I mention they were capital ‘r’ Ranked? Pack Yulman and find out.

 

        So back to it. There is a reason The Ringer did an article on the Pelicans beat being the loneliest in the NBA. The shade was deserved then, and Mac’s Griffin Presser account kept the act going for a while. However, solutions to solve the lack of informed content are emerging and all of the local ventures (like In The Kneaux!) play a big part. The city is starting to speak up a bit more and some of the more vibrant personalities are getting noticed. Keep supporting those putting in the effort. It’s the “If you ain’t gonna hype you, who will?” mantra in full effect. Let’s break it down like a neworleans.football piece by Mr. Underhill, who has told his story on why he returned several times.

 

        Look at how the national media treats New Orleans. I was hired by Forbes almost as soon as the Pelicans won the Zion Lottery. Andrew Lopez got his jump to ESPN the same night, just a few days after thoughts of leaving the industry altogether. He shared on the ESPN Daily pod the story of how that night unfolded and how he got to share it with an elementary school friend, Will Guillory of The Athletic now but formerly with the local paper. As long as the big names hire local talent, there should be some great content to balance out the less informed fly-by-night nonsense that generates headlines for all the aggregate sites.

 

        The big daily shows trying to attract eyeballs see New Orleans as a stepping stone. The teams here are normally just acting as a segue to more important drama in more relevant media markets. Locally, there have always been suspicions about where these slights came from, at least in some way. I know I did, and so did my late grandfather Old Man Dodson, especially since those same talking heads would talk up how the Superdome should always be in the Superdome rotation regardless of the Dome’s age.

 

        Case in point, non-Tulane edition. Pelicans Opening Night In Brooklyn. In The Kneaux and Pelicans Scoop was in the building. Same seat, wearing a pair of Nike Spike Fortys. When in Brooklyn, ya wear Sho Nuff’s Ya Dig…

 

        Anyway. National media. Hot take artist gotta eat. Fox Sport’s Nick Wright. Which, the Fox family of networks isn’t exactly known for promoting or broadcasting basketball. It isn’t part of their economy, so why promote it much unless it draws big Skip and Shannon talking Lebron and the Lakers ratings numbers. (ITK Fact Check: Even then Fox Sports 1 doesn’t ‘do numbers like that’ as the nephews say.)

 

        Brandon Ingram a piece? Yea for the future. But for a trade? That’s the conversation after the Opening Night win over the Nets you going with sir? Ingram and Zion Williamson will have friction eventually as they jostle to be the leading dog in the yard? That’s the milkshake you serving up, with a vague reference to the sources on the secondary shows? Do you Nick Wright. Gotta eat. I get it. However, 100 other people were in the room and didn’t get that impression. Those In The Kneaux in New Orleans know better than to swallow that microwaved fare from the Big Applebee’s of sports takes.

        Between Kyrie’s craziness, Ben Simmons’ back, and LeBron’s chase of Kareem, Kevin Durant is getting a slide as he ages into his mid-thirties. And the Nets are a mess, as we’ve seen play out. The tweets didn’t get much attention at the time (thanks Elon), but KD walked in about an hour before tip like it was a beer-league game. Ben was already on the court halfway through a warmup. The receipts are public. There was a weird vibe in the hallways like maybe the best player in the rec-league run couldn’t get a babysitter and the rest of the squad was worried.

 

        But why burn that bridge with the Nets early, right Nick? They are neighbors after all and it’s a long season. The NYC media mob might laugh with Frank Isola in the workroom (hilarious, btw) but we are all looking to scoop the competition. Might as well find a negative angle on the Pelicans in the meantime. They’ll be moving the team to Louisville in three segments and a commercial break according to a blogger guest from Cleveland…yawn.

 

        New Orleans is too small a village for sports secrets. The FedEx driver dropping off cases of unsold ruffles to Anthony Davis is going to tell his friends if the door gets answered with a smile, or if the gate isn’t even opened to make things easy. The bartender on the Bayou St. John is going to talk about writing those papers for the one-and-done draft pick, and have the old party pics to prove they at least knew each other. The list goes on. At least 12 Pelicans fans knew about Stan Van Gundy flying into the MSY before Woj sent the tweet.

 

        The Big Easy is also too small to get too scrappy. Sure, everyone in the industry has a job to do, a job they want, and the job with a salary that would make a few more headaches worthwhile, even with the drastic changes in how the job is done now compared to when we were all kids. Those days before Woj even went to Yahoo, much left dropped a bomb tweet. Those prime spots in the press box don’t come open often, though.

 

        It’s much easier to show folks around, that’s just the city my baby. Never know what you might learn. Even a rook to the room can throw up the Gem of Media Day and get a very personal, authentic answer from Garrett Temple. A few weeks later we both are sitting a few feet away from Steve Kerr, learning the ropes on how different PR teams run sessions one mic pass at a time. The shared successes of the community extends to Rel and the Pels 12 leaders getting their own affiliated podcasts, not to mention the feature spots on the local news channels.

 

        So, Nick. A point. All of the local writers and reporters know that Ingram is happy here. So does the guy who sells BI the durags on Canal St. The front office knows they’d have to face down some furious fans if they tinkered with this Pelicans squad too much in the next few seasons. Willie Green might lead a locker room mutiny if Griff even considers a B.I. trade.

 

        This city does not mind slowing down to enjoy the blessings whenever they come. Soak it all in while you can as long as you can. The storms are surely coming. Just don’t know when. Not sure if the alert from Zion Williamson was aired but just a reminder to heed The Warning: Beware of which weather forecaster you’re listening to. They aren’t all sitting in the same studio.

        To address some concerns. The Smoothie King Center is not the worst arena in the NBA. The stadium and revenue are not the issues, sorry not sorry Kendrick Perkins. Some say those choppy waters will come with the luxury tax bills come due. I doubt it. Will Gayle Benson pay a luxury tax as high as the Golden State Warriors? Never. The same can be said for 28 other ownership groups. The bottom ten, going by Forbes valuations, couldn’t afford it if they wanted to.

 

        Benson ain’t bottom-10 NBA owner broke, she has billions to the Buss Family millions, but not too many people are Warriors rich either. At some point it becomes cheaper in the longer term to buy a team or expansion franchise, just ask Seattle and Oklahoma City about the sale and Harden trade. Extremely large luxury taxes bills are only justified if there is a championship at the end. That’s a hell of a bet. I’ll play Powerball and the free pools on the gambling apps. The $2 ticket is in my price range.

 

        The media landscape around Crescent City sports is shifting like the coastal marshlands. The Saints have a full scrum covering the team. Pick the folks you like and roll with them like a Mardi Gras float. Don’t troll the ones you don’t. It’s a bad look. As for the Pelicans. Christian Clark, Will Guillory, Andrew Lopez, Oleh Kosel, Shamit Dua, the Aforementioned Rook Mr. Reed. Myself. No one asks more questions or spends more time around the team, especially the ‘Big 3’ who travel to all away games. If you’re wondering why a question didn’t get asked during the media session broadcast, hop in the mentions or blast it out in the Spaces.

 

        Someone will likely provide an answer, perhaps even Antonio Daniels. Podcasting personalities like the folks running In the Kneaux are the next addition to the roster. New Media outlets are getting access. Lee Anderson went to the Jordy Culotta Show to give some Zion Williamson updates “Straight From the Horses Mouth.” Now we got Ron traveling over for some games, sitting next to the Boot Krewe team. The Pels12 and fans with the energy to keep their shows going have friends in the building too. Stewards see a lot when the bowl is closed. (Pro tip: Young journos should learn to make friends with the staff. If nothing else, you get more on the media meal plate.)

 

        The Smoothie King Center faithful also watch more Pelicans film than some of the other teams in the division. We sometimes get to sit with the scouts and it makes for great press box chatter. But the fans are watching with a different level of investment. It is obvious and there is something that can be learned from it. The fans are turning the game from last night back on to break down how Naji can help Zion on the defensive end as a way of relaxing and winding down from work.*

 

        Yes, some have gone to that level of defending Z in a debate. Ya’ll get wild at the Mid-City Yacht Club. Some get Eye Of The Tiger fiesty on podcasts and always seem to turn up in Chris Connor’s Spaces. Love it. Getting in those feelings is ok. It’s safe in here, mostly. Don’t bring up The Legend of Luke Babbitt though, it crumbles the convo like old expired Tate’s. IYKYK.

 

        Do strap in for a wild ride through the rest of the year and the end of your favorite team’s season. Find a few new people to listen to along the way. The excitement around Tulane, the Saints, the Pelicans, and LSU will help bring the community back together it a way that only sports in NOLA can. Take some time to support the undefeated Delgado Dolphins men’s hoops team with national championship aspirations or head down to see Loyola University, the defending NAIA Champs.

 

        You never know who you might run into. No matter what city, the best way to be In The Kneaux, is to be in the building. In between, we can argue about all-time great teams, top 10s, or whether NASCAR is as much of a sport as PickleBall…

*(For those wondering: When I relax, I am the anti-Brandon Ingram. I turn off most basketball and head to soccer. Work is still work after so many hours and the World Cup is just around the corner. Fuck Qatar’s Cup and FIFA.)

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Late Rally Sparks Another Tiger Comeback Over Vols

By David Billiot Jr • April 4, 2026
Friday Evening Recap For the third consecutive game, the LSU Tigers decided to be the Cardiac Cats. That’s nothing new for an LSU baseball team, but considering the struggles of this team in 2026, the mid-game deficits have seemed scarier than normal. Tennessee’s new Friday night ace Landon Mack was phenomenal and he had the Tiger offense in a pretzel. Through 7 innings, he struck out 10 and was mowing LSU hitters down. They only mustered together 3 hits, one of which was a Jake Brown solo homerun, representing the only damage Mack allowed. He finished his outing by retiring 14 straight hitters, which makes Josh Elander’s decision to not send him back out in the 8th inning with 96 pitches that much more confusing. He was showing no signs of slowing down. Hindsight is 20/20, though, and the Tigers went full-on attack mode with the Volunteer bullpen. A 5-run 8th inning flipped the game on it’s head and LSU never looked back. Coming off of his strange outing vs Kentucky, Casan Evans was pretty good from the very beginning. It was two pitches and two swings that resulted in the only damage that he sustained. Both were mistake pitches that were left in hittable spots and Tennessee hitters deserve credit for taking advantage of them. Aside from that, Evans was very good, despite not making it through the 6th inning. There was some shakiness in the 7th from the bullpen, but Santiago Garcia ended up receiving the win to bring his record to 1-0. Deven Sheerin’s second save of the season closed out a massive victory on the road in Knoxville, as the Tigers took game 1 by a final score of 7-5. Pitching Casan Evans got off to a great start in the 1st. Despite a 2-out single to the open part of the field due to the shift, he struck out two for a pretty easy inning. A leadoff single in the 2nd was quickly erased by a 6-4-3 double play turned by Steven Milam and Seth Dardar. Another groundout to Milam would retire the side in order. Tennessee made their first dent in the 3rd when Levi Clark hit a belly-high fastball out to left-center to tie the game at 1-1. Evans would retire the next two hitters to end the inning. The 4th is where he would find the most trouble. After a flyout to start the inning, the Vols would get a bloop single, followed by a Reese Chapman bomb to right-center field to give them their first lead of the game. Another deep flyout and a strikeout would end the inning there. Evans walked the leadoff hitter in the 5th, but then struck out three in a row to prevent any further damage. The Friday night ace would see the end of his night in the 6th after a walk and single put two runners on with 1 out in the 6th. He hung in to get a lineout, but with 2 outs, Jay Johnson would walk out to make the change. Final line: 5.2 IP / 6 hits / 3 runs / 6 Ks / 2 BBs / 90 pitches (62 strikes, 69%) Danny Lachenmayer was called upon for the third time in the last four SEC games, showing the inflated level of trust that the coaching staff has found in him. He came in to face a lefty Tyler Myatt and struck him out on 4 pitches to do his job. Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 1 K / 0 BBs / 4 pitches (3 strikes, 75%) Mavrick Rizy entered to start the 7th and was in the strike zone immediately, recording a 4-pitch strikeout, but then lost it and walked the next hitter on 5 pitches. A jam shot would roll right in to no man’s land with Dardar playing up the middle, putting runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. Omar Serna would get charged with an inexcusable passed ball to allow both runners to move up. Rizy came through with a massive strikeout with the infield drawn in, but then allowed another walk after a 2-2 count to load the bases. Final line: 0.2 IP / 1 hit / 1 run / 2 Ks / 2 BBs / 24 pitches (11 strikes, 46%) Jay would call upon Santiago Garcia with 2 outs and bases loaded and left-handed hitting Blake Grimmer coming to the plate. Four straight balls would walk in a run to extend Tennessee’s lead to 4-1. Garcia was able to find the zone against Chapman, striking him out to prevent further damage. Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 1 K / 1 BB / 10 pitches (4 strikes, 40%) A 5-run 8th inning for LSU took them from down by 3 runs to up by 2, Jay turned to Deven Sheerin to try and get the final 6 outs of game. He recorded back to back flyouts to Chris Stanfield to start the inning, but even those were nerve=racking as he temporarily lost both in the sunsetting sky. A single and a walk put the tying run on base with 2 outs, but the junior got his first strikeout and let out a primal yell afterwards. After Stanfield added an insurance run in the top of the 9th, Sheerin returned in the 9th to close out the game. Despite a 2-out solo homerun to make it 7-5, he struck out the side with two of them looking to slam the door and record his second save of the season. Final line: 2.0 IP / 2 hits / 1 run / 4 Ks / 1 BB / 41 pitches (28 strikes, 68%) Hitting Derek Curiel’s 8th inning grand slam was, to no one’s surprise, was the Magic Moment of the game. Just when it looked as if LSU was going to waste a huge opportunity, the star sophomore did what stars do and changed the game with his one swing. He also singled earlier in the game and was the only Tiger to record multiple hits tonight. Curiel finished 2-4 with the 4 RBI and scored that one time. Chris Stanfield hit his second homerun of the game to add insurance in the 9th, but that was not his biggest at bat of the night. He was up second in the 8th and after Mason Braun drew a walk to lead off the inning, the senior outfielder laid off a few good breaking balls to draw the second walk of the inning, which eventually led the bases. Not many players could have held back from chasing all of those pitches and that game would have been completely different if he struck out in that moment. Stanfield finished 1-3 with the homerun, walk, RBI on the homerun, and also scored twice. Jake Brown and Seth Dardar both finished with identical lines. They went 1-4 with solo homeruns. Brown hit his in the 3rd inning to start the scoring for either team. Dardar’s came immediately following Curiel’s grand slam for back to back blasts. His actually ended up being the difference in the game, as it made the score 6-4, because Tennessee hit the solo homerun in the 9th for their fifth run. Although he went hitless, Mason Braun deserves to be noted for 2 walks. He finished 0-2 and also struck out twice, but one of the walks was the only one that Landon Mack allowed and the other was to lead off the big game-changing 8th inning. Up Next LSU and Tennessee will return tomorrow evening for game 2. First pitch is for 5 pm central, as the Tigers look to follow up their first SEC series win with their first road SEC series win of 2026. With today’s win, LSU is now 21-10 overall and back to .500 with a 5-5 conference record. Tennessee drops to 19-11 overall with a disappointing SEC record of 3-7. William Schmidt (4-1) will take the mound for the Tigers to make his second consecutive game 2 start. He is coming off of the win vs Kentucky in which he threw 5.1 scoreless innings. The Volunteers will answer with Tegan Kuhns, who had been their Friday night ace up until last weekend. The potential 1st round pick in this July’s draft has not had the season he expected, but is still very talented. He’s off to a 1-3 start in 2026 with his 4.08 ERA. Although he’s struck out 46 hitters in 35.1 innings pitched, he’s allowed 34 hits. LSU would love to strike first, as the trajectory of Tennessee’s early conference season is in a tailspin at this current moment. If the Tigers can come out hot, they will put a lot of pressure on the Volunteers. Follow me on X for much more @DCBilliotJr
An LSU Tigers baseball player in a yellow jersey yells and pumps his fist in celebration while wearing a purple helmet.

Massive Comeback Gives LSU First SEC Series

By David Billiot Jr • March 30, 2026
Sunday Afternoon Recap LSU had to have it. They had to have this series, which meant they had to have this game. Putting themselves directly behind the 8-ball with a loss on Friday night set up an uphill battle. An uphill battle that appeared to be too tall to climb after a disastrous start to the game on Sunday. Since the postgame on Friday night, we had been saying that the importance of Casan Evans battling through 6 innings in game 1 would truly have. In their first weekend without Cooper Moore, the Tiger pitching staff was going to be challenged. The performances of William Schmidt and Zac Cowan in game 2 put them in about as good of a position as they could have hoped for, which allowed Jay Johnson to call upon Gavin Guidry to start on Sunday. There is no one on the roster that is trusted more by Jay, so it was no surprise to see his name listed as starting pitcher about 90 minutes before first pitch. It was surprising just how much Guidry struggled, though. Control was an issue from the very first pitch. It wasn’t much better for a few guys that came after him, either, putting LSU in a deep hole. The pitching rapidly improved with Deven Sheerin and the stabilization on the mound allowed the offense to get to work and complete the comeback. Following a horrid game on Friday night, the Tiger lineup showed signs of life yesterday in game 2. Despite only scoring in 3 innings, they put up crooked numbers in each of them and that was a step in the right direction. Well, today was a gigantic leap in the right direction, because the offense went crazy. Jay described the performance of his team after the game as “zero quit”. After just one hit in the first time through the order, they picked things up in a hurry during the second trip through. Once they got going, there was no slowing them down. LSU scored in 5 of their final 6 at bats, with three of those times being 4+ runs. It was big swing after big swing, something we have rarely seen this year. Time will tell if this was truly the breakout game that they had been looking for or just an anomaly, but either way, they showed up when they were needed the most. Pitching It could not have been a worse start for Gavin Guidry. Needing as much length as you can possibly get from every pitcher that stepped on the mound today, a 39 pitch 1st inning was less than ideal. After an infield single to start the game, followed by a stolen base, he recorded a flyout for the first out. Guidry then issued three straight free passes to give Kentucky their first run since Friday night. A strikeout and an 0-2 pitch count would get him just one pitch away from escaping with minimal damage, but he’d lose him to give up his 3rd walk and bring in another run. A wild pitch would make it 3-0 before Guidry recorded a strikeout to finally get out of the 1st. Jay sent him back out for the 2nd, but it wasn’t much better. He recorded a flyout to start the inning, but then the hit barrage from the Wildcat bats got started. Guidry gave up a single, double, and then a walk, and was out of the game with the score 4-0. Final line: 1.1 IP / 3 hits / 6 runs / 2 Ks / 4 BBs / 48 pitches (24 strikes, 50%) Santiago Garcia took over after Guidry and immediately gave up a base-clearing double that made the score 6-0. He fought back for a flyout and a groundout, but the Tigers were already in deep trouble. Back for the 3rd, Garcia would walk the leadoff hitter and then LSU nearly turned a rare double play that doesn’t involve Steven Milam, but Zach Yorke was unable to scoop Seth Dardar’s low throw. A 4-pitch walk would be the end of the junior LHP’s day. Final line: 1.0 IP / 1 hit / 1 run / 0 Ks / 1 BB / 20 pitches (7 strikes, 35%) Connor Benge entered with runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out, coming off of a good outing on Tuesday where he put out a fire. His job got even tougher after a passed ball on Omar Serna allowed both runners to move up, which set up a sacrifice flyout to centerfield to make it 7-0 and that would be all for Benge. Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 0 Ks / 0 BBs / 5 pitches (2 strikes, 40%) Cooper Williams took over and was able to end the inning with a lineout. He returned in the 4th for another good inning. Despite a 1-out walk, the lefty struck out Kentucky’s 3 and 5-hole hitters, along with a nice defensive play by John Pearson on a slow roller. Final line: 1.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 2 Ks / 1 BB / 23 pitches (13 strikes, 57%) After a fantastic outing by Mavrick Rizy on Friday where he threw 80% strikes, it was the opposite story today. He struggled from the very beginning and walked two of Kentucky’s worst hitters in their lineup, as per batting average. Their 7-hole hitter Will Marcy came in with a .200 average, while 9-hole hitter Carson Hansen was at .227 and Rizy walked them both with a strikeout between them. Following the second walk, his day was over. Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 2 runs / 1 K / 2 BBs / 18 pitches (8 strikes, 44%) Jay had to call upon Deven Sheerin far earlier he would have liked, especially considering that was the last of his “top” arms that was completely fresh for the weekend. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and only 1 out, Sheerin was being asked to come through in a huge spot with the Tigers having closed their deficit to 7-6. With the infield drawn in, Steven Milam took a ground ball and fired home to nab a potential run for out number to. Sheerin then had the next hitter down 0-2, but was struggling to finish him off with four straight foul-offs. Luke Lawrence eventually slapped a ball the other way off of the left field wall to drive in both runs. Bell followed with an RBI single and just like that, LSU was back down 10-6. From that point on, the big righty was nails. Sheerin struck out three in a row going in to the 6th, which ended up being the first 1-2-3 inning of the day for the Wildcats. After recording two outs to start the 7th, which made for 6 retired in a row, he hit a batter and that would be the end of the day. His ability to battle past the early hiccups played a massive role in bridging the gap to the end of the game for the bullpen. Sheerin earned the win to extend his record to 3-0. Final line: 2.1 IP / 2 hits / 1 run / 3 Ks / 1 BB / 1 HBP / 50 pitches (35 strikes, 70%) Danny Lachenmayer entered with two outs in the 7th for what was his second appearance of the weekend. This one was the biggest spot he has been in as a Tiger, though, and he delivered. He recorded a flyout to end the threat and preserve the 11-10 lead that LSU had just taken. He returned for the 8th, but gave up a base hit with to the open part of the field with the infield shifted. Final line: 0.1 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 0 Ks / 0 BBs / 5 pitches (3 strikes, 60%) Grant Fontenot entered and despite his shaky performance on Tuesday, he has been pretty good for the past month. After recording a flyout, he initiated a 4-6-3 double play that was beautifully turned between Dardar and Milam. Back in the 9th and now pitching with a 7-run lead, Fontenot cruised. Despite a 1-out single, he struck out two, including the final hitter of the game to clinch the game and LSU’s first SEC series win of the season. Final line: 2.0 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 2 Ks / 0 BBs / 22 pitches (15 strikes, 68%) Hitting Set h Dardar was not only the offensive MVP of the day, but he was the best player at the plate for LSU all weekend. Today, his 6th inning 3-run homerun on to the roof of the Marucci hitting facility gave the Tigers their first lead after they fell behind 7-0 after the top of the 3rd. That wasn’t all for Dardar, as he also doubled and finished 3-5 with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. His defense was impeccable all weekend. Jay has been searching for someone to take over the second base position and, as of now, the local kid has done just that. The other giant swing of the day belonged to John Pearson. A 2-out grand slam in the 3rd brought the Tiger back to within just 2 runs and brought both LSU and Alex Box Stadium back to life. Speaking of players taking control of positions, the sophomore has done just that at 3rd base. He has also shown big strides of improvement defensively, garnering praise from Jay after the game. Pearson finished 1-4 with the 4 RBI and a run scored, while also walking once. Derek Curiel had himself a huge day and was a part of every single big inning. He scored 3 runs and those came in the 3rd when LSU closed the deficit, in the 6th when they took the lead, and then in the 8th when they extended it way out of reach. He hit his second homerun of the year, a beautifully struck backside blast on a pitch that was on the outer half of the plate. Curiel finished 3-5 with 3 RBI, the 3 runs scored, and a walk. It wasn’t his first time leading off this season, but Chris Stanfield has not been in that position very much. Today, he may have shown why he should stay there. The senior went 4-5 and also drew a walk. He doubled and had two opposite field singles. One of those was immediately following when he fouled a ball right off of his knee and went down to the ground in major pain. Jay told us after the game that when he went out to check on his leader, Stanfield looked at him and said that he was ok and was going to come through. He did just that, lining a base hit to right field and driving in a run. He also walked and scored twice. Jake Brown didn’t drive in a single one of LSU’s 17 runs and the importance of that can not be overstated. I have mentioned multiple times in the past week that it is imperative that other players step up, because opposing teams are not going to allow Brown to beat them. Why would they? Pitchers have not given him much to hit and he’s had to work with what he’s given in many of these games. Despite the “quiet” day by his standards, Brown finished 2-5 with a couple of singles and scored 3 runs. Zach Yorke may not have driven in a ton of runs, either, but he was very active by getting on base four times. He finished 1-3, but he drew 3 walks and scored twice. Up Next LSU will stay home and welcome Southern for a midweek matchup on Tuesday. First pitch is for 6:30 pm central. The Tigers improved to 19-10 (4-5 SEC) with the win today. The Jaguars will come to Alex Box with a record of 10-16. They took 2 of 3 in a series with Prairie View A&M at home this weekend. Their common opponents with LSU include both Grambling, who Southern beat, and two games with McNeese, in which they split. Follow me on X for much more @DCBilliotJr
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