Tulane Recruiting Class of 25

Patrick Harkness • November 23, 2024

Tulane Green Wave Recruiting Class of 2025


Jon Sumrall (HC), Cole Heard (GM), Kyle Schexnayder (Offensive Recruiting Specialist), and Hunter Sims (Defensive Recruiting Specialist) so far are on pace for the best recruiting class in Tulane football history. Last year in such a short amount of time Jon Sumrall and Co still managed to get the 64th best recruiting class with a 48th ranked transfer class. That ranked as an all time high for Tulane recruiting with an average player rating of 87.15. Previous rankings from the Willie Fritz era 2023-76, 2022-76, 2021-81, 2020-70, and 2019-89. As of right now they are currently sitting at 15 hard commits, 8 defensive and 6 offensive and 1 long snapper. Hard commit is basically a verbal agreement nothing is official yet until they put pen to paper on December 4th or they can wait till February 5 2025 for the final and last day to sign with a collegiate football program. On 24/7 sports Tulane is currently ranked 75th out of the nation. ON3 has the Green Wave ranked 69th in the nation and 2nd in the AAC. With early national signing day (Dec 4) right around the corner let's get into the current players committed with scouting reports, potential flips that Tulane could snag, 2 guys I'm worried about that Tulane may lose, other uncommitted recruits that may be coming to Tulane, 5 guys who should/could be 4 stars when they update the rankings, and with the current state of LSU football could Tulane snag a player or two from the tigers.


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Class of 2025 Hard Commits (15)

  1. Micheal Igbinighene (CB) 5-10/180. 3 star/89 rating 24/7 sports- This guy has blazing speed (4.3 forty) and great hands. Will be great in the boundary and leave on an island. Senior year recorded 33 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 FF, and six pass break ups. Junior year recorded 5 interceptions. Dad was in the 1996 summer olympics, Mom was bronze medalist 1992 and gold in 1996, brother was a 1st rd pick in 2020. PEDIGREE!
  2. Jotavion Pierce (S) 6-2/185. 3 star/89- 4.6 forty. Through the first 5 games his senior year recorded 30 tackles, 6 INTERCEPTIONS, and 4 pass break ups. A great center fielder for the back end of the defense. A true ball hawking Free Safety. Junior year had 103 tackles, a sack, 2 FF, and 1 interception.
  3. Warren Roberts Jr (edge) 6-1.5/220. 3 star/88- Can play with the hand on the ground or standing edge. Will be a great fit for the Bandit position. A true attacking pass rusher who can get after the QB with speed and explosion from the first step. Aggressive play style and sure fire tackler.
  4. Juelz Baptiste (OT) 6-5/280. 3 star/87- Good size. Can move and set the edge. Has a good foundationand base when blocking. Stays with his blocks and is a good finisher.
  5. Antwaun Parham (WR) 6-3/195. 3 star/87- Tall physical receiver on the boundary. Has the ability to go up and catch 50/50 balls. A really talented basketball player as well. Runs a 4.5 forty and a 37" vertical. Plays faster on the field. Has descent agility and can make people miss.
  6. Joshua Brantley (ATH/QB/DB) 6-3/218. 3 star/86- Dual Threat QB with great athleticism. Has the ability to run with power and speed. Projected to make the transition to safety but things can change when camp starts. I could see him at Wide Receiver as well.
  7. Nikolas Alston (DT) 6-3/260. 3 star/86- Really good movement on the line. Impressive athleticism, can get off blocks and knows how to get after the ball for a DT.
  8. Oliver Mitchell Jr (WR) 6-1/175. 3 star/85- A true playmaking wide receiver with decent route running and good hands. Will be a nice gadget in the short and screen game. Reliable 3rd down move the sticks guy.
  9. PaLanding Drammeh (DT/NG) 6-2/300. 3 star/85- For a guy his size has good speed and tracking of the ball. Good build and can get off of blocks. High motor doesn't give up on plays
  10. Landon Hammond (CB) 6-0/160. 3 star/85- Good speed and acceleration (4.47 forty) ran track in high school. Landon needs to add some weight and strength. Has good ball skills. Willing to come up and lay a hit and can defend the run. He plays very physical.
  11. Cameron Roberts (TE) 6-6/215. 3 star/85- True receiving threat at the TE position. Has a little swagger to him. Physical with the ball after the catch. Can go up and catch 50/50 balls. Knows how to get open when the play breaks down. Needs to bulk up in order to be effective in the run blocking game. He has the ability and will to block. Descent speed and has ability to make sideline catches.
  12. Jay Beamon (QB) 6-2/205. 3 star/85- A pocket passing QB with a pretty deep ball with good accuracy. Isn't afraid to take a hit, keeps looking downfield while the defensive lineman closes in. Has some mobility to escape the pocket and improvise. He can definitely run the ball when needed. Nice zip on the ball in tight windows.
  13. Gabriel Lovorn (ATH/RB/TE/LB) 6-4/225. 3 star/84- A do it all athlete who has the ability to play on both sides of the ball. Coaches on twitter were calling him Taysom Hill 2.0! In high school they used him alot like Ty Thompson. Gadget player. Has good speed and ability to make people miss. Fights through contact and is hard to bring down. I like him better on offense than defense.
  14. Gresham Perry (IOL) 6-4/300. 3 star/82 rating ON3- Played LT in high school. Has a mean streak in him and has really good size. Plays with power. Leans a little too much while blocking but that's easily fixed and can get too straight up when blocking. He will get coached up but i can see him being a really good Offensive lineman down the road
  15. Jason Arredondo (LS) 5-10/240 no rating- Comes out of power house high school Bishop Gorman.


Potential Flips from other Schools (19)

  1. Talib Graham (Edge) 3 star/89- Seems to be fully committed to Ole Miss.
  2. Dante Core (CB) 3 star/87- Attended a camp back in the Willie Fritz era. Dante was committed to Auburn then he decommitted and Just announced he has committed to Ole Miss so may not be happening.
  3. Cooper Helmke (K) 5 star- Tulane was in the running but he committed to Boise State. Local product so a guy can dream.
  4. Kentez Allen (OL) 3 star/84- Currently committed to Colorado State.
  5. Nate Sheppard (RB) 3 star/88-Currently committed to Duke and local product Tulane was in the final 6. Was at a Tulane camp during the Fritz era.
  6. Lionel Prudhomme (OL) 3 star/87- Local product and currently committed to Arkansas. 
  7. Dylan Lewis (CB) 3 star/87- Currently committed to Tennessee. Tulane offered him on 1/23/24
  8. Caleb Bell (DL) 3 star/87- Also currently committed to Arkansas.
  9. Reshad Sterling (DL) 3 star/88- Local product and currently committed to Houston. Has visited Tulane during a game and visited June 20. He's going on a visit to Houston so that's not good but Tulane still very much in the running.
  10. Corey Amos (LB/Edge) 3 star/88- Currently committed to Ole Miss. De committed at one point during the year then re committed this may be another long shot. Visited back in June.
  11. Derrick Johnson (TE) 3 star/86- Local Product and just committed to Boston College. Visited June 21. With the commitment of Cameron Roberts they may have backed off.
  12. Xavier Newsom (Edge) 3 star/87- Currently committed to Buffalo. Visited Tulane 3/9/24.
  13. Tae’shaun Gelsey (WR) 3 star/88- currently committed to Florida. Visited June 20.
  14. Dennis Uzochukwu (DL) 3 star/88- currently committed to Georgia State but just recently picked up a Georgia scholarship. Should be ranked higher. Visited Tulane June 14.
  15. Nicolas Clayton (Edge) 3 star/89- currently committed to Wisconsin and visited Tulane June 13.
  16. Cole Allen (OL) 3 star/86- currently committed to Duke and visited Tulane June 13.
  17. Eddie Love (RB) 3 star/87- committed to ECU but visited June 13. They are going after Javin Gordon and Xavier Ford pretty hard so this is doubtful.
  18. Joeseph Skipworth (TE) 3 star/87- Tulane was in the running but committed to. Kansas and later flipped to Miss State. With Cam Roberts committed this is not likely.
  19. Jordan Scott JUCO (WR) 3 star/87- Currently committed to Arizona State


Potential Flips to other Schools (2)-Updated (1)

  1. Jotavion Pierce (S)- Just received an offer from Alabama and Oklahoma State, visited both. Can Jon Sumrall and Co hold onto the talented DB. Should be ranked higher.
  2. Antwaun Parham (WR)- Recently went on a visit to Notre Dame and NC State and both offered. He is gaining serious ground in the recruiting world. This one will hurt if Tulane loses him. Should be ranked higher than a 3 star. Had 28 catches for 598 yards and 4 touchdowns. (Announced on twitter he is fully commited to Tulane!)


Uncommitted Recruits that may come to Tulane (29)

  1. Javin Gordon (RB) 3 star/86- Was committed to Duke and recently decommitted. Dec 4th he announces his commitment. Tulane has been cranking up the heat on Javin. He has visited Tulane and the Green Wave seem to be gaining serious ground.
  2. Xavier Ford (RB) no rating (should be ranked)-Tulane has also been firing up the heat for Ford. Will be visiting Tulane.
  3. Carl Jenkins jr (WR) 3 star/87- Offered 1/23/24
  4. Cameron White (Edge) 3 star/86- Offered 1/24/24
  5. Kamron Cullins (DL) 3 star/86- Offered 5/14/24
  6. Takaylen Muex (IOL) 3 star/86- Offered 1/31/24
  7. Darnell Williams (ATH) 3 star/84- Offered 5/10/24
  8. Shamar Fowles (WR) 3 star/84- Offered 1/25/24
  9. Colton Foster (WR) 3 star/82- Offered1/26/24
  10. Emile Picarella (QB)3 star/86-Tulane hasn't offered Emile. Currently the number 1 QB in LA. He has come in for a camp before the season started. He also stated Tulane is his favorite school a while back, that may have changed. 
  11. Hayden Delatte (LB/Nickel) no rating (Possible walk-on). Really rooting for this young man.
  12. Makin Lenard (RB) no rating-Announced on twitter he will be visiting Tulane against Memphis
  13. Christian Neptune (WR) 3 star/88- Hasn't visited Tulane so this may be a long shot.
  14. TI Mims Jr (WR) 3 star/86- Most likely going to Ole Miss but this kid is a highlight real
  15. Steven Ranel (DB) no rating- Visited Tulane 1/27/24.
  16. Joshua Lewis (DL) 3 star/87- Just recently decommitted from Missouri. Tulane was in the running before he committed to Missouri. Tulane seems to be the favorite again and he's a local product.
  17. Carde Smith (OL) 3 star/89- Just decommitted from USC but rumors are he may be going to Colorado.
  18. Abrum Lewis (OL) no rating- Tulane offered.
  19. Roger Brownstein (WR) no rating- Tulane offered.
  20. Bishop Burkhalter (LB) 3 star/85- Visited back in 3/30/23
  21. Kenyatta Fleet (DB) no rating- no offer
  22. Caleb Ricks (DB) no rating- no offer
  23. Rory Lambert (OL) no rating- no offer
  24. James Little (DB) 3 star/85- Visited Tulane 9/28/24 vs USF
  25. Jake Thibodeaux (K) 4.5 star- no offer
  26. Elliot Arnold (K) 5 star- Visited Tulane 11/10/24
  27. Preston Parker (WR) no rating- Tulane offered 1/26/24 and he visited 3/22/24
  28. Alan Grimme JUCO (OL) 3 star/85- Tulane offered 10/16/24
  29. Noah Remetich (OL) no rating- visited tulane 6/2/24 brother of OL Josh Remetich


Positional Breakdown

QB (1 commit) I would really like to see Tulane get another QB in this class. Ty Thompson may be gone next year. Emille Picarella preferably. He already said Tulane was his go to school.


RB  (0) Javin Gordon and Xavier Ford are the frontrunners. Have to at least get one with Shadie being gone next year.


WR  (2) Dontae Fleming, Phatt Watts, Yulkeith Brown will be gone. Mario Williams may enter the draft and with Antwaun Parham possibly going to Notre Dame you'd like to see Tulane get at least 4 receivers.   


TE (1) Reggie Brown will be on the way out and Cam Roberts is a good prospect to have in the room


IOL (1)  Caleb Thomas, Vincent Murphy, Josh Remetich will be leaving next year. Gabe Forston should replace Vince next season and Dominic Steward/Landry Cannon/Elijah Baker should replace Remetich. 


OT (1) It's Rashad Greens last year and Derrick Graham may go to the draft so you'd like to see Tulane get at least one more offensive tackle. Juelz Baptiste will be a great addition to this room and hopefully Tulane can get one more


Edge/Bandit (1) Mathew Fobbs White returns for Tulane so Warren Roberts will have someone of his prototype to learn from. Don't be surprised if Roberts gets some playing time next year


DL  (2) Tulane will be losing Patrick Jenkins, Adin Huntington, Terrel Allen, and Javon Carter. This is going to hurt for Tulane to lose so much talent. You have to get at least 4 recruits to fill this room out or get help in the transfer portal. Tulane also has three Juniors so look for next year to have another heavy defensive line recruiting class.


LB  (1) Fan favorite Tyler Grubbs will be leaving Tulane next year. Luckley Jesus Machado will be coming back from a medical redshirt. But Gabe Lovorn looks to come in and help out the room. Would like to see them add another like Bishop Burkhalter or Hayden Delatte as a walk-on and let him develop.


CB (2) Micah Robinson, Jonathan Edwards, and Caleb Ransaw (NFL draft) will all be gone and that will definitely hurt. True freshman Jayden Lewis and Javion White (nickel) have been getting alot of playing time this year so they should help the blow. But the two guys they have now are great additions and will be good corners down the road. I would like to see at least one more get added to the class or get a transfer.


Safety  (2) Jalen Geiger will be leaving but Jack Tchienchou is starting now and should be a great player. Despaine returns and Kevin Adams has been getting alot of time as well. I'm a little worried about Jotavion Pierce leaving so at least one more recruit at their safety position would make me feel better. Josh Brantley projected as a safety.


Kicker  (0) Need to find a kicker with Jacob Barnes leaving


Punter  (0) Will Karrol returns


LS (1)


5 guys who should/could be 4 stars when they update rankings

  1. Jotavion Pierce (Safety)
  2. Micheal Igbinoghene (CB)
  3. Antwaun Parham (WR)-Espn has rated him a 4 star
  4. Warren Roberts Jr (Edge)
  5. Juelz Baptiste (OT)



Possible flips from LSU

With the recent struggles of LSU and the decommitment of the number one player in the nation and number one rated QB Byrce Underwood the Tigers recruiting trail may get a little derailed. With such a big time QB leaving this may have others wanting to leave as well plus it doesn't help that they have been struggling on the field under Coach Brain Kelly who may be on the hot seat. Tulane may be able to get their hands on a couple local products that are currently committed to the Tigers and who knows maybe even the transfer portal later on with players already on the team. These are probably long shots but I do not underestimate this Tulane staff. 


  1. Aidan Anding (CB) Ruston, LA 4 star/92- Can current Tulane commit Josh Brantly and high school teammate convince the star corner to come to NOLA. Committed 8/24/24. Tulane offered him on 2/21/24
  2. JT Lindsey (RB) Alexandria, LA 4star/91- I would personally love this flip. I'm a huge fan of JT. Top 5 RB in the nation and Harlem Berry the 2nd best running back in the nation is currently committed to LSU as well, Berry is from Metairie. JT has been committed since April to LSU. Lindsey visited Tulane back in April.
  3. TaRon Francis (WR) Edna Karr/New Olreans, LA 4 star/90- Committed October 24. Tulane offered TaRon on 12/12/23. He's a big physical fast receiver standing at 6-2/200.
  4. Jhase Thomas (S) Destrehan, LA 3 star/89- Committed 7/13/24. Tulane offered Jhase back on 5/7/23. Tulane offered back in 2022. This dude is just an Athlete, can fly all around the field with great ball skills (used to play receiver) and was a track star.
  5. Phillip Wright (WR) Destrehan, LA 3 star/88- Committed 8/9/24. Tulane offered back in 2022. Good at creating separation down field and has game changing runs after the catch. Can we say Jet sweeps and screen game extraordinaire.
  6. Brett Bordelon (OT) Newman/New Orleans, LA 3 star/88- Has been committed since 2022. Good height and size. Will be a Mauler in the run game.


Wave Watch will be dropping a video/pod on this so stay tuned!


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This is Patrick Harkness and you can find me on X @rolldatwave and @TheKneaux everywhere


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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
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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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