The 2018 LSU Tigers baseball team represented Louisiana State University (LSU) during the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Tigers played their home games at Alex Box Stadium as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They were led by head coach Paul Mainieri, in his 12th season at LSU.
Previous season In 2017, the Tigers won the SEC's Western Division with a record of 52–20–0, 21–9–0 in conference play. They qualified for the 2017 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament and defeated Arkansas in the final, 4–2. They qualified for the 2017 NCAA Division I baseball tournament as the SEC champion, and were selected as the No. 4 overall national seed. The Tigers were selected as hosts of the Baton Rouge regional, which included Rice, Southeastern Louisiana, and Texas Southern. The Tigers swept through the Regional, defeating Texas Southern, 15–7, Southeastern 11–6, and Rice 5–0 advancing to the Super Regional where they hosted conference rival Mississippi State. After a 4–3 comeback victory in which they trailed 3–0 in the bottom of the eighth inning, LSU beat the Bulldogs 14–4 the following night to advance to their 18th World Series. The Tigers defeated Florida State in their opening game 5–4, but then fell to overall number one seed Oregon State 13–1 placing them on the brink of elimination. The Tigers once again beat Florida State 7–4 to earn the right to face Oregon State once again, needing to win twice. LSU advanced to the finals winning 3–1 then 6–1 eliminating the Beavers. In the championship, LSU faced conference rival Florida. The Tigers lost a close Game 1 4–3 then were defeated 6–1 the following night to finish national runners-up, while the Gators earned their first national championship.
Personnel
Roster 2018 LSU Tigers roster Pitchers 10 – Eric Walker – Sophomore 18 – Austin Bain – Senior 21 – Nick Storz – Freshman 26 – AJ Labas – Freshman 27 – Matthew Beck – Sophomore 28 – Devin Fontenot – Freshman 29 – Nick Bush – Sophomore 30 – Trent Vietmeier – Freshman 32 – Taylor Petersen – Junior 35 – Clay Moffitt – Junior 37 – Will Reese – Sophomore 38 – Zach Hess – Sophomore 40 – John Kodros – Freshman 41 – Caleb Gilbert – Junior 43 – Todd Peterson – Sophomore 47 – Brandon Nowak – Junior 49 – Cam Sanders – Junior 52 – Ma'Khail Hilliard – Freshman Catchers 7 – Hunter Feduccia – Junior 20 – Braden Doughty – Freshman
Infielders 3 – Hal Hughes – Freshman 4 – Josh Smith – Sophomore 5 – Jake Slaughter – Sophomore 13 – Nick Coomes – Senior 16 – Brandt Broussard – Junior 17 – Chris Reid – Junior 25 – Bryce Jordan – Junior Outfielders 2 – Daniel Cabrera – Freshman 8 – Antoine Duplantis – Junior 9 – Zach Watson – Sophomore 23 – Nick Webre – Freshman 24 – Beau Jordan – Senior
Reference:
Coaching staff Name Position Seasons atLSU Alma mater Paul Mainieri Head coach 12 Florida International University (1980) Alan Dunn Associate head coach 7 University of Alabama at Birmingham (1991) Nolan Cain Assistant coach/recruiting coordinator 5 Louisiana State University (2009) Micah Gibbs Director of player development 3 Louisiana State University (2010) Sean Ochinko Volunteer Coach/Hitting Coach 1 Louisiana State University (2017) Travis Roy Strength and conditioning coordinator 3 Louisiana State University (2012) Nate Fury 2 Louisiana State University (2014) Leon Landry Undergraduate Assistant Coach 1 Louisiana State University (2010) Jamie Tutko Video coordinator 2 Saint Leo University (2011)
Reference:
Schedule Legend LSU win LSU lossBoldLSU team member
2018 LSU Tigers Game Log Regular season (33–23) February (5–4) Date Opponent Rank StadiumSite Score Win Loss Save Attendance OverallRecord SECRecord February 16 Alex Box StadiumBaton Rouge, LA 7–6 Bain (1–0) Vierling (0–1) None 12,844 1–0 – February 17 Notre Dame No. 10 Alex Box Stadium 5–10 Hess (0–1) Kmet (1) 12,223 1–1 – February 18 Notre Dame No. 10 Alex Box Stadium 3–11 Boyle (1–0) Peterson (0–1) Belcik (1) 10,384 1–2 – New Orleans No. 15 Alex Box Stadium 14–6 Hilliard (1–0) Griffin (0–1) None 10,154 2–2 – February 23 No. 19 Texas No. 15 Alex Box Stadium 13–4 Hess (1–1) Kingham (1–1) None 11,102 3–2 – February 24 No. 19 Texas No. 15 Alex Box Stadium 10–5 Beck (1–0) Elder (1–1) None 12,038 4–2 – February 25 No. 19 Texas No. 15 Alex Box Stadium 1–11 Henley (1–0) None 10,762 4–3 – February 27 Grambling State No. 14 Alex Box Stadium 10–3 Hilliard (2–0) Escano (0–1) None 10,262 5–3 – February 28 No. 14 Pat Kenelly DiamondHammond, LA 4–5 Koestler (2–0) Peterson (0–3) Tassin (2) 3,101 5–4 – March (13–7) Date Opponent Rank StadiumSite Score Win Loss Save Attendance OverallRecord SECRecord March 2 Alex Box Stadium 8–1 Hess (2–1) Jacob (0–2) None 10,346 6–4 – March 3 No. 14 Alex Box Stadium 7–0 Gilbert (1–0) Taubl (0–2) None 11,007 7–4 – March 4 Southeastern LA No. 14 Alex Box Stadium 4–2 Hilliard (3–0) Granier (1–1) Bain (1) 10,990 8–4 – March 6 No. 13 Alex Box Stadium 8–2 Snyder (1–2) 9,924 9–4 – March 7 at Louisiana No. 13 Lafayette, LA 3–410 Stoelke (1–0) Bain (0–1) None 5,499 9–5 – March 9 No. 13 Alex Box Stadium 2–4 Rees (2–0) Hess (2–2) Thomas (5) 10,686 9–6 – March 10 Hawaii No. 13 Alex Box Stadium 5–1 Gilbert (2–0) DeMiero (1–1) None 10,866 10–6 – March 11 Hawaii No. 13 Alex Box Stadium 14–1 Hilliard (4–0) Pouelsen (2–1) None 10,334 11–6 – March 14 No. 16 Alex Box Stadium 9–4 Labas (1–0) None 10,456 12–6 – March 16 No. 24 Missouri No. 16 Alex Box Stadium 4–2 Hess (3–2) Montes (3–1) Bain (2) 10,334 13–6 1–0 March 17 No. 24 Missouri No. 16 Alex Box Stadium 6–12 Gilbert (2–1) None 10,747 13–7 1–1 March 18 No. 24 Missouri No. 16 Alex Box Stadium 7–5 Hilliard (5–0) Toelken (2–2) None 10,141 14–7 2–1 March 21 No. 15 Alex Box Stadium 10–4 Labas (2–0) Solesky (1–2) None 10,319 15–7 – at No. 5 No. 15 Hawkins FieldNashville, TN 2–4 Fellows (4–0) Hess (3–3) King (2) 3,136 15–8 2–2 March 24 at No. 5 Vanderbilt No. 15 Hawkins Field 6–2 Gilbert (3–1) Raby (2–3) None 3,211 16–8 3–2 March 25 at No. 5 Vanderbilt No. 15 Hawkins Field 0–17 Hickman (5–0) Hilliard (4–1) None 3,399 16–9 3–3 March 27 No. 19 Shrine on AirlineMetairie, LA 1–3 Harris (1–1) Labas (2–1) Stoelke (6) 8,732 16–10 – March 29 Mississippi State No. 19 Alex Box Stadium 10–1 Hess (4–3) Pilkington (1–4) None 10,532 17–10 4–3 March 30 Mississippi State No. 19 Alex Box Stadium 1–4 Small (2–2) Gilbert (3–2) Gordon (2) 11,132 17–11 4–4 March 31 Mississippi State No. 19 Alex Box Stadium 4–0 Hilliard (6–1) Billingsley (2–2) Bush (1) 11,133 18–11 5–4 The game was suspended during the eighth inning due to rain and continued at 10:00 a.m. on March 25 prior to the start of the game scheduled for that day. April (8–8) Date Opponent Rank StadiumSite Score Win Loss Save Attendance OverallRecord SECRecord April 3 No. 21 Alex Box Stadium 10–1 Labas (3–1) Taylor (2–4) None 11,258 19–11 – April 5 at No. 21 Olsen FieldCollege Station, TX 4–1 Hess (5–3) Kolek (3–4) None 4,818 20–11 6–4 April 6 at Texas A&M No. 21 Olsen Field 2–9 Doxakis (5–1) Gilbert (3–3) None 5,761 20–12 6–5 April 7 at Texas A&M No. 21 Olsen Field 1–3 Kilkenny (7–0) Hilliard (6–2) None 6,288 20–13 6–6 April 10 Alex Box Stadium 2–0 Labas (4–1) Leal (2–2) Bain (3) 10,647 21–13 – April 13 Tennessee No. 23 Alex Box Stadium 9–3 Hess (6–3) Crochet (2–5) None 10,848 22–13 7–6 April 14 Tennessee No. 23 Alex Box Stadium 14–5 Hilliard (7–2) Stallings (4–3) Gilbert (1) 10,578 23–13 8–6 April 15 Tennessee No. 23 Alex Box Stadium 9–7 None 10,451 24–13 9–6 April 18 at Tulane No. 18 Turchin StadiumNew Orleans, LA 9–10 Johnson (2–2) Beck (1–1) None 5,000 24–14 – April 20 No. 18 Founders ParkColumbia, SC 0–11 Hess (6–4) None 6,952 24–15 9–7 April 21 at South Carolina No. 18 Founders Park 4–11 Hill (4–4) Hilliard (7–3) None 7,982 24–16 9–8 April 22 at South Carolina No. 18 Founders Park 6–8 Bain (1–2) Bridges (2) 7,141 24–17 9–9 April 24 Lamar Alex Box Stadium 8–0 Labas (1–1) Campbell (1–7) None 10,027 25–17 – April 26 at No. 8 Ole Miss Swayze FieldOxford, MS 3–14 Rolison (6–3) Kodros (0–1) None 8,062 25–18 9–10 April 27 at No. 8 Ole Miss Swayze Field 5–2 Hilliard (8–3) Feigl (7–3) None 11,861 26–18 10–10 April 28 at No. 8 Ole Miss Swayze Field 8–9 Ethridge (2–1) Gilbert (3–4) Caracci (8) 12,152 26–19 10–11 May (7–4) Date Opponent Rank StadiumSite Score Win Loss Save Attendance OverallRecord SECRecord May 4 No. 6 Arkansas Alex Box Stadium 4–5 Loseke (2–1) Bush (0–1) Reindl (5) 10,776 26–20 10–12 May 5 No. 6 Arkansas Alex Box Stadium 6–4 Murphy (5–4) Peterson (2) 10,948 27–20 11–12 May 6 No. 6 Arkansas Alex Box Stadium 7–5 Labas (6–1) Beck (1) 10,932 28–20 12–12 May 9 Alex Box Stadium 13–37 Wesley (3–4) None 10,436 29–20 – May 11 Alabama Alex Box Stadium 7–5 Kodros (1–1) Medders (0–4) Peterson (3) 10,685 30–20 13–12 May 12 Alabama Alex Box Stadium 1–6 Walters (3–5) Hilliard (8–4) None 11,153 30–21 13–13 May 13 Alabama Alex Box Stadium 7–3 Bush (1–1) Rukes (1–3) None 10,758 31–21 14–13 May 15 No. 28 Alex Box Stadium 9–5 Beck (2–1) Pigott (1–1) Bain (4) 10,872 32–21 – May 17 at Plainsman ParkAuburn, AL 4–11 Tanner (5–4) Hess (6–5) Greenhill (5) 2,988 32–22 14–14 May 18 at Auburn No. 28 Plainsman Park 6–2 Hilliard (9–4) Mize (9–4) Peterson (4) 3,746 33–22 15–14 May 19 at Auburn No. 28 Plainsman Park 5–14 Mitchell (2–1) Labas (6–2) None 3,568 33–23 15–15 Postseason (6–4) Date Opponent Rank StadiumSite Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record SECT Record May 22 vs. (9) Mississippi State (8) Metropolitan StadiumHoover, AL 8–5 8,072 34–23 1–0 May 23 vs. No. 2 (1) Florida (8) Metropolitan Stadium 3–4 Mace (4–0) Hilliard (9–5) Byrne (13) 6,710 34–24 1–1 May 24 (8) Metropolitan Stadium 6–412 Gilreath (0–1) None 7,197 35–24 2–1 vs. No. 2 (1) Florida (8) Metropolitan Stadium 11–07 Beck (3–1) Leftwich (4–5) None 8,945 36–24 3–1 May 26 vs. No. 9 (4) Arkansas (8) Metropolitan Stadium 2–1 Hess (7–5) Bush (2) 10,381 37–24 4–1 May 27 vs. No. 7 (2) Ole Miss (8) Metropolitan Stadium 1–9 Rolison (9–4) Gilbert (3–5) None 14,126 37–25 4–2 Date Opponent Rank StadiumSite Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record Regional Record June 1 vs. (3) San Diego State (2) Goss StadiumCorvallis, OR 6–4 Fontenot (3–0) 3,589 38–25 1–0 June 2 at No. 1 (1) Oregon State (2) Goss Stadium 1–14 Hess (7–6) None 4,009 38–26 1–1 June 3 (1) (2) Goss Stadium 9–5 Beck (4–1) Vasquez (6–2) None 3,533 39–26 2–1 at No. 1 (1) Oregon State (2) Goss Stadium 0–12 Abel (4–1) None 3,915 39–27 2–2
All rankings from Collegiate Baseball.
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Record vs. conference opponents
Rankings
References