2022 LSU Tigers baseball team

2022 LSU Tigers baseball
2022 LSU Tigers baseball
NCAA Hattiesburg Regional, 2–2
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Western Division
Record	40–22 (17–13 SEC)
Head coach	Jay Johnson (1st season);
Assistant coaches	Dan Fitzgerald; Jason Kelly; Marc Wanaka;
Home stadium	Alex Box Stadium
	Seasons ← 2021 2023 →

The 2022 LSU Tigers baseball team represented Louisiana State University in the 2022 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Tigers played their home games at Alex Box Stadium.

2022 Southeastern Conference baseball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Eastern
No. 9 Tennessee ^x‍†‍‡‍^y	25	–	5	.833	57	–	9	.864
No. 21 Florida ‍‍‍^y	15	–	15	.500	42	–	24	.636
Georgia ‍‍‍^y	15	–	15	.500	36	–	23	.610
Vanderbilt ‍‍‍^y	14	–	16	.467	39	–	23	.629
South Carolina ‍‍‍	13	–	17	.433	27	–	28	.491
Kentucky ‍‍‍	12	–	18	.400	33	–	26	.559
Missouri ‍‍‍	10	–	20	.333	28	–	23	.549
Western
No. 3 Texas A&M ^x‍‍‍^y	19	–	11	.633	44	–	20	.688
No. 4 Arkansas ‍‍‍^y	18	–	12	.600	46	–	21	.687
No. 25 LSU ‍‍‍^y	17	–	13	.567	40	–	22	.645
No. 7 Auburn ‍‍‍^y	16	–	13	.552	43	–	22	.662
No. 1 Ole Miss ‍‍‍^y	14	–	16	.467	42	–	23	.646
Alabama ‍‍‍	12	–	17	.414	31	–	27	.534
Mississippi State ‍‍‍	9	–	21	.300	26	–	30	.464

x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament Rankings from D1Baseball

After the season, pitcher Eric Reyzelman was picked in the 5th round of the MLB Draft by the New York Yankees.^[1]

Previous season

The Tigers' season was marked with inconsistency, as the team began the year 15–3 in non-conference play, but then struggled against their early SEC competition, going 1–8 through their first three series. The Tigers finished their SEC schedule 12–9 after the rough start, yet went one-and-done in the SEC tournament after losing their opener to Georgia, going winless in the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2005. Still, the Tigers earned a berth in the NCAA tournament, where they won the Eugene Regional by beating regional host Oregon despite losing their opening game. After advancing to the Knoxville Super Regional, the Tigers' season ended after losing to No. 3 overall seeded Tennessee in two games. The Tigers finished 2021 38–25 overall, 13–17 in the SEC, with a final ranking of 18 in both the USA Today Coaches' and D1 Baseball Polls.

Preseason

SEC Coaches poll

The SEC coaches poll was released in February at the SEC Media Days.

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
Media poll (West)
1	Arkansas	5
T-2	Ole Miss	4
T-2	Mississippi State	4
5	Alabama
6	Texas A&M
7	Auburn

Preseason All-SEC teams

The preseason All-SEC teams was revealed in February at the SEC Media Days.

Personnel

Roster

2022 LSU Tigers roster^[2]

Pitchers

0 – Jason Bollman – Junior
9 – Ty Floyd – Sophomore
21 – Bryce Collins – Sophomore
22 – Eric Reyzelman – Sophomore
28 – Devin Fontenot – Graduate Student
30 – Trent Vietmeier – Graduate Student
32 – Trey Shaffer – Graduate Student
33 – Michael Fowler – Sophomore
34 – Cale Lansville – Freshman
35 – Paul Gervase – Junior
38 – Riley Cooper – Sophomore
40 – Grant Fontenot – Freshman
43 – Garrett Edwards – Sophomore
44 – Blake Money – Sophomore
45 – Samuel Dutton – Freshman
47 – Jacob Hasty – Sophomore
48 – Will Hellmers – Sophomore
49 – Javen Coleman – Sophomore
50 – Grant Taylor – Freshman
52 – Ma'Khail Hilliard – Senior

Catchers

20 – Alex Milazzo – Sophomore
25 – Hayden Travinski – Sophomore
26 – Tyler McManus – Graduate Student

Infielders

1 – Brennan Holt – Freshman
4 – Cade Doughty – Sophomore
13 – Jordan Thompson – Sophomore
14 – Jacob Berry – Sophomore
16 – Collier Cranford – Sophomore
17 – Will Safford – Sophomore
18 – Tre' Morgan – Sophomore
24 – Cade Beloso – Junior
29 – Luke Leto – Freshman
37 – Connor Simon – Freshman
53 – Jack Merrifield – Sophomore

Outfielders

3 – Dylan Crews – Sophomore
7 – Giovanni Digiacomo – Junior
8 – Gavin Dugas – Junior
10 – Brody Drost – Sophomore
39 – Josh Pearson – Freshman
41 – Josh Stevenson – Freshman

Utility

5 – Drew Bianco (INF/OF) – Junior
6 – Brayden Jobert (OF/1B) – Sophomore

Coaching Staff

2022 LSU Tigers coaching staff^[2]
Name	Position
Jay Johnson	Head coach
Dan Fitzgerald	Assistant coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Jason Kelly	Pitching Coach
Marc Wanaka	Assistant coach
Tyler Nordgren	Director of Operations
Jamie Tutko	Director of Video and Scouting

Schedule and results

2022 LSU Tigers baseball game log

Regular season (37–18)

February (7–1)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SEC record
February 18	Maine	No. 8	Alex Box Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	W 13–1	Blake Money (1–0)	Brett Erwin (0–1)	None	SECN+	11,036	1–0
February 19	Maine	No. 8	Alex Box Stadium	W 17–8	Javen Coleman (1–0)	Noah Lewis (0–1)	None	SECN+	10,816	2–0
February 20	Maine	No. 8	Alex Box Stadium	W 21–6	Ty Floyd (1–0)	Jordan Schulefand (0–1)	None	SECN+	10,303	3–0
February 23	at Louisiana Tech	No. 8	J. C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park Ruston, LA	L 6–11	Cade Gibson (1–0)	Riley Cooper (0–1)	None	ESPN+	2,529	3–1
February 25	Towson	No. 8	Alex Box Stadium	W 6–0	Blake Money (2–0)	Teddy Blumenauer (0–2)	None	SECN+	10,042	4–1
February 26	Southern	No. 8	Alex Box Stadium	W 9–2	Paul Gervase (1–0)	Jerry Burkett II (0–1)	None	SECN+	10,081	5–1
February 27	Towson	No. 8	Alex Box Stadium	W 11–1	Ty Floyd (2–0)	Nick Ramanjulu (0–2)	None	SECN+	9,787	6–1
February 27	Southern	No. 8	Alex Box Stadium	W 15–0⁷	Will Hellmers (1–0)	Mykel Page (0–1)	None	SECN+	9,886	7–1

March (11–7)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SEC record
March 2	New Orleans	No. 7	Alex Box Stadium	W 11–3	Grant Taylor (1–0)	Kyle Khachadourian (0–1)	None	SECN+	10,203	8–1
Shriners Children's College Classic
March 4	vs. Oklahoma	No. 7	Minute Maid Park Houston, TX	W 5–4¹¹	Bryce Collins (1–0)	Griffin Miller (0–1)	None	AT&T SportsNet Southwest	16,515	9–1
March 5	vs. No. 1 Texas	No. 7	Minute Maid Park	L 1–6	Tristan Stevens (3–0)	Ty Floyd (2–1)	Luke Harrison (1)	AT&T SportsNet Southwest	24,787	9–2
March 6	vs. Baylor	No. 7	Minute Maid Park	L 6–9	Matt Voelker (1–1)	Paul Gervase (1–1)	Mason Marriott (1)	AT&T SportsNet Southwest	12,577	9–3

March 9	McNeese State	No. 12	Alex Box Stadium	W 6–3	Will Hellmers (2–0)	Christian Vega (1–1)	None	SECN+	9,907	10–3
March 11	Bethune–Cookman	No. 12	Alex Box Stadium	W 8–7	Devin Fontenot (1–0)	Knickolas Billings (0–1)	None	SECN+	9,702	11–3
March 12	Bethune–Cookman	No. 12	Alex Box Stadium	W 5–1	Ty Floyd (3–1)	Nolan Santos (1–1)	Eric Reyzelman (1)	SECN+	10,102	12–3
March 13	Bethune–Cookman	No. 12	Alex Box Stadium	W 15–0	Ma'khail Hilliard (1–0)	Hector Vazquez (1–2)	None	SECN+	10,008	13–3
March 15	Tulane	No. 13	Alex Box Stadium	W 7–5	Eric Reyzelman (1–0)	Carter Robinson (1–2)	Devin Fontenot (1)	SECN+	10,552	14–3
March 18	Texas A&M	No. 13	Alex Box Stadium	L 4–6	Chris Cortez (3–1)	Eric Reyzelman (1–1)	None	SECN+	10,538	14–4	0–1
March 19	Texas A&M	No. 13	Alex Box Stadium	L 7–11	Robert Hogan (1–1)	Devin Fontenot (1–1)	None	SECN+	10,904	14–5	0–2
March 20	Texas A&M	No. 13	Alex Box Stadium	W 7–6	Riley Cooper (1–1)	Jacob Palisch (2–2)	None	SECN	10,261	15–5	1–2
March 23	Louisiana Tech	No. 21	Alex Box Stadium	L 6–7¹²	Kyle Crigger (2–1)	Ty Floyd (3–2)	None	SECN+	10,314	15–6
March 25	at No. 8 Florida	No. 21	Florida Ballpark Gainesville, FL	L 2–7	Hunter Barco (5–1)	Blake Money (2–1)	None	SECN	6,226	15–7	1–3
March 26	at No. 8 Florida	No. 21	Florida Ballpark	W 16–4	Ma'Khail Hilliard (2–0)	Brandon Sproat (3–2)	None	SECN+	8,306	16–7	2–3
March 27	at No. 8 Florida	No. 21	Florida Ballpark	W 11–2	Grant Taylor (2–0)	Ryan Slater (2–1)	None	SECN+	5,746	17–7	3–3
March 29	Louisiana–Monroe	No. 13	Alex Box Stadium	W 15–4	Trent Vietmeier (1–0)	Mikel Howell (0–1)	None	SECN+	10,206	18–7
March 31	Auburn	No. 13	Alex Box Stadium	L 5–6	Carson Skipper (2–0)	Blake Money (2–2)	Blake Burkhalter (1)	SECN	10,247	18–8	3–4

April (10–6)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SEC record
April 1	Auburn	No. 13	Alex Box Stadium	W 9–2	Ma'Khail Hilliard (3–0)	Trace Bright (2–2)	None	SECN+	11,111	19–8	4–4
April 2	Auburn	No. 13	Alex Box Stadium	L 4–6	Joseph Gonzalez (3–0)	Samuel Dutton (0–1)	Blake Burkhalter (6)	SECN+	11,071	19–9	4–5
April 5	Grambling State	No. 19	Alex Box Stadium	W 16–3⁷	Grant Taylor (3–0)	Roy Peguero (1–3)	None	SECN+	9,789	20–9
April 8	at Mississippi State	No. 19	Dudy Noble Field Starkville, MS	W 5–2	Riley Cooper (2–1)	Jackson Fristoe (3–3)	Paul Gervase (1)	SECN	11,893	21–9	5–5
April 9	at Mississippi State	No. 19	Dudy Noble Field	W 4–3	Devin Fontenot (2–1)	Brandon Smith (2–2)	Paul Gervase (2)	SECN+	14,228	22–9	6–5
April 10	at Mississippi State	No. 19	Dudy Noble Field	W 13–3	Grant Taylor (4–0)	Cade Smith (4–2)	None	SECN+	10,515	23–9	7–5
April 14	at No. 6 Arkansas	No. 15	Baum–Walker Stadium Fayetteville, AR	L 4–5	Evan Taylor (3–0)	Riley Cooper (2–2)	Brady Tygart (1)	SECN+	10,270	23–10	7–6
April 15	at No. 6 Arkansas	No. 15	Baum–Walker Stadium	L 0–4	Hagen Smith (6–2)	Blake Money (2–3)	Evan Taylor (1)	SECN	10,811	23–11	7–7
April 16	at No. 6 Arkansas	No. 15	Baum–Walker Stadium	L 2–6	Jaxon Wiggins (5–0)	Grant Taylor (4–1)	None	SECN+	11,049	23–12	7–8
April 19	Louisiana-Lafayette	No. 22	Alex Box Stadium	W 8–4	Ty Floyd (4–2)	Brandon Talley (2–2)	Eric Reyzelman (2)	SECN+	6,789	24–12
April 21	Missouri	No. 22	Alex Box Stadium	W 5–3	Ma'Khail Hilliard (4–0)	Spencer Miles (2–4)	Paul Gervase (3)	ESPNU	10,287	25–12	8–8
April 22	Missouri	No. 22	Alex Box Stadium	W 4–3¹⁰	Riley Cooper (3–2)	Austin Troesser (3–1)	None	SECN+	10,919	26–12	9–8
April 23	Missouri	No. 22	Alex Box Stadium	W 8–6	Bryce Collins (2–0)	Austin Marozas (1–2)	Riley Cooper (1)	SECN+	10,288	27–12	10–8
April 26	at New Orleans	No. 22	Maestri Field at Privateer Park New Orleans, LA	L 4–9	Beau Blanchard (1–0)	Ty Floyd (4–3)	None	ESPN+	5,000	27–13
April 29	No. 14 Georgia	No. 22	Alex Box Stadium	W 6–2	Ma'Khail Hilliard (5–0)	Nolan Crisp (1–2)	Paul Gervase (4)	SECN+	11,145	28–13	11–8
April 30	No. 14 Georgia	No. 22	Alex Box Stadium	L 7–12	Jonathan Cannon (8–1)	Bryce Collins (2–1)	Jack Gowen (9)	SECN+	11,067	28–14	11–9

May (9–4)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SEC record
May 1	No. 14 Georgia	No. 22	Alex Box Stadium	W 4–3	Paul Gervase (2–1)	Jaden Woods (1–1)	None	SECN+	10,481	29–14	12–9
May 3	Nicholls	No. 20	Alex Box Stadium	W 10–6	Jacob Hasty (1–0)	Josh Mancuso (2–1)	None	SECN+	10,856	30–14
May 6	at Alabama	No. 20	Sewell–Thomas Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	W 6–5	Riley Cooper (4–2)	Brock Guffey (2–3)	Paul Gervase (5)	SECN+	3,508	31–14	13–9
May 7	at Alabama	No. 20	Sewell–Thomas Stadium	L 3–8	Jacob McNairy (5–2)	Blake Money (2–4)	None	SECN	3,843	31–15	13–10
May 8	at Alabama	No. 20	Sewell–Thomas Stadium	W 12–3	Jacob Hasty (2–0)	Grayson Hitt (4–3)	None	SECN+	3,326	32–15	14–10
May 10	Southeastern Louisiana	No. 17	Alex Box Stadium	W 17–3⁷	Samuel Dutton (1–1)	Andrew Yuratich (1–1)	None	SECN+	10,601	33–15
May 14	Ole Miss	No. 17	Alex Box Stadium	L 3–5				ESPN2		33–16	14–11
May 14	Ole Miss	No. 17	Alex Box Stadium	L 1–11				SECN		33–17	14–12
May 15	Ole Miss	No. 17	Alex Box Stadium	L 5–8				SECN+		33–18	14–13
May 17	Northwestern State	–	Alex Box Stadium	W 19–7⁷				SECN+		34–18
May 19	at No. 21 Vanderbilt	–	Hawkins Field Nashville, TN	W 13–2				ESPN2		35–18	15–13
May 20	at No. 21 Vanderbilt	–	Hawkins Field	W 8–3				SECN+		36–18	16–13
May 21	at No. 21 Vanderbilt	–	Hawkins Field	W 21–10				SECN		37–18	17–13

Postseason (3–4)

SEC Tournament (1–2)
Date	Opponent	Seed/Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SECT Record
May 26	vs. (12) Kentucky	No. 21 (4)	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium Hoover, AL	W 11–6	Ma'Khail Hilliard (7–1)	Mason Hazelwood (1–1)	None	SECN	9,697	38–18	1–0
May 27	vs. No. 1 (1) Tennessee	No. 21 (4)	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium	L 2–5	Chase Dollander (9–0)	Ty Floyd (5–4)	Redmond Walsh (7)	SECN	12,215	38–19	1–1
May 28	vs. (12) Kentucky	No. 21 (4)	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium	L 2–7	Tyler Bosma (4–3)	Jacob Hasty (2–1)	None	SECN	7,102	38–20	1–2

NCAA tournament – Hattiesburg Regional (2–2)
Date	Opponent	Seed/Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	NCAAT record
June 3	(3) Kennesaw State	(2)	Pete Taylor Park Hattiesburg, MS	W 14–11				ESPN+		39–20	1–0
June 4	No. 15 (1) Southern Miss	(2)	Pete Taylor Park	W 7–6¹⁰				ESPN+		40–20	2–0
June 5	No. 15 (1) Southern Miss	(2)	Pete Taylor Park	L 4–8				ESPN+		40–21	2–1
June 6	No. 15 (1) Southern Miss	(2)	Pete Taylor Park	L 7–8				ESPNU		40–22	2–2

Schedule Source:^[3]

*Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.

Standings

West Division
Pos	Team v t e	Pld	CW	CL	CPCT	GB	W	L	PCT	Qualification
1	y – Texas A&M	64	19	11	.633	—	44	20	.688	Qualification for the second round & NCAA tournament
2	Arkansas	67	18	12	.600	1	46	21	.687
3	LSU	62	17	13	.567	2	40	22	.645
4	Auburn	65	16	13	.552	2.5	43	22	.662	Qualification for the first round & NCAA tournament
5	Ole Miss	65	14	16	.467	5	42	23	.646	Qualification for the first round & NCAA tournament
6	Alabama	58	12	17	.414	6.5	31	27	.534	Qualification for the first round
7	Mississippi State	56	9	21	.300	10	26	30	.464

Source: SEC^[4]
y – Division champion

Results

v t e Home \ Away	ALA	ARK	AUB	UF	UGA	UK	LSU	MISS	MSST	MIZZ	SC	TENN	TAMU	VAN
Alabama		2–1		1–2	1–2		1–2						2–1
Arkansas						3–0	3–0	2–1	2–1					1–2
Auburn	2–0	1–2						1–2			3–0			2–1
Florida		2–1				2–1	1–2				2–1	0–3
Georgia				3–0					2–1	1–2			1–2	1–2
Kentucky			2–1		2–1			1–2				2–1		1–2
LSU			1–2		2–1			0–3	3–0				1–2
Ole Miss	0–3								1–2	3–0		0–3	1–2
Mississippi State	2–1		2–1	0–3			0–3					0–3
Missouri		1–2		1–2		2–1			2–1		2–1
South Carolina	3–0				1–2	2–1		2–1						2–1
Tennessee	2–1		2–1		2–1					3–0	3–0
Texas A&M		1–2	1–2			2–1			3–0		2–1
Vanderbilt				2–1			0–3			3–0		0–3	1–2

Source: SEC^[5]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Red = away team win.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
Coaches'^[6]	7 (1)	7 (1)*	7	9	8	18	12	16	12	23	20	19	15	24	20	—	22
Baseball America^[7]	10	11	8	16	16	—	21	—	24	—	—	20	14	—	21	—	24
Collegiate Baseball^^[8]	3	2	3	6	4	14	17	23	17	—	27	23	19	—	16	19	23
NCBWA†^[9]	8	6	5	8	9	16	11	16	12	23	23	19	18	21	20	24	21
D1Baseball^[10]	8	8	7	12	13	21	13	19	15	22	22	20	17	—	21	—	25

^ Collegiate Baseball ranked 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranked 30 teams weekly during the season.
† NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

References

^ "Yanks' 5th-rounder learned resilience from Jewish parents". MLB.com.
^ ^a ^b "Baseball Roster". LSU Tigers. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
^ "LSU Announces 2022 Baseball Schedule" (Press release). LSU Athletics. September 15, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
^ "Standings" (PDF). Southeastern Conference. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
^ "SEC Baseball Weekly Release" (PDF). Southeastern Conference. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
^ "Baseball Coaches Poll". Retrieved December 29, 2021.
^ "College Baseball Top 25 Rankings". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
^ "2019 Collegiate Baseball Polls – Collegiate Baseball Newspaper". baseballnews.com. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
^ "NCBWA > News". sportswriters.net. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
^ "College Baseball Rankings News & Analysis". d1baseball.com. Retrieved December 29, 2021.

[1] "Yanks' 5th-rounder learned resilience from Jewish parents". MLB.com.

[roster-2] "Baseball Roster". LSU Tigers. Retrieved December 29, 2021.

[3] "LSU Announces 2022 Baseball Schedule" (Press release). LSU Athletics. September 15, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2021.

[Standings-4] "Standings" (PDF). Southeastern Conference. Retrieved December 8, 2022.

[5] "SEC Baseball Weekly Release" (PDF). Southeastern Conference. Retrieved December 8, 2022.

[coaches'_poll-6] "Baseball Coaches Poll". Retrieved December 29, 2021.

[baseballamerica-7] "College Baseball Top 25 Rankings". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved December 29, 2021.

[baseballnews-8] "2019 Collegiate Baseball Polls – Collegiate Baseball Newspaper". baseballnews.com. Retrieved December 29, 2021.

[sportswriters-9] "NCBWA > News". sportswriters.net. Retrieved December 29, 2021.

[d1baseball-10] "College Baseball Rankings News & Analysis". d1baseball.com. Retrieved December 29, 2021.

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