Magnolia Tribune
This article was produced by Magnolia Tribune staff.
Dubois: Bullpen a big relief for Tigers
http://www.2theadvocate.com/sports/lsu/19447999.html
There is always work to be done. LSU won its regional with an 11-4 victory Sunday night against Southern Miss, and LSU pitching coach Terry Rooney had another job on his hands.
His wife wanted photos of her with Paul Mainieri’s wife and the girlfriend of assistant coach Javi Sanchez. He obliged. Click. Click.
“My duty,” Rooney said. “Honey-do list.”
The camera was soon replaced in his hands by sheets of paper representing the labor of his pitchers during the regional, including the starting point of his agenda for the week.
“Our relief pitching for the last few weeks has been very good,” Rooney said after watching Paul Bertuccini slam the door and Jared Bradford put a chair against it. “I thought this weekend our starting pitching was average.”
Ryan Verdugo and Blake Martin did their jobs, giving the Tigers a chance to win, but they’ll need better command in the super regional against UC Irvine.
The Advocate.com
6/2/08
LSU Advances to Super Regional
http://www.kmsstv.com/sports/19448499.html
The crowd crammed into old Alex Box Stadium rose to its feet in anticipation, chanting, "L-S-U!" as sweet-swinging Blake Dean stepped into the batter's box with the bases loaded.
"I got the chills, goose bumps, whatever you want to call it," said LSU third baseman Michael Hollander, who was on second base. "There was no doubt in my mind Blake was going to get the big hit. ... I know the pressure was on, but he's come through so many times."
The Tigers' leading hitter gave the purple-and-gold clad fans the moment of rapture they sensed was imminent, clobbering an 0-2 pitch on one bounce to the right-center field wall for a bases-clearing triple, which Dean celebrated by pumping both fists as he came up from his slide at third.
Dean's crushing blow and Leon Landry's early two-run homer highlighted yet another impressive triumph for the sizzling Tigers, who beat Southern Mississippi 11-4 Sunday night to wrap up the Baton Rouge regional and extend their winning streak to 23 games.
KMSS-TV.com
6/2/08
No easy opener for Southern Miss
http://www.leadercall.com/sports/local_story_150105530.html?keyword=topstory
Guess who was the last non-SEC team to beat LSU? Would you believe UNO? In fact the Privateers have knocked off the highly touted Tigers twice this season, the last victory coming April 16 in a 6-5 triumph in New Orleans. LSU had to rally late to take a 7-6 win over UNO in mid-May to keep their 20-game winning streak in tact.
“We’ve had three games decided in the last at-bat against them this season,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “They’re as good a hitting team as there is in the country.”
UNO coach Tim Walter knows his team is good and will let the world know about it.
“This is a signature statement for our program,” said Walter, whose squad received an at-large bid and faces Southern Miss Friday at 6 p.m. in the Baton Rouge Regional
Laurel Leader Call
5/29/08
SEC’s best year may be yet to come
http://www.al.com/sports/mobileregister/thicks.ssf?/base/sports/1212398149262080.xml&coll=3
Last season, for the second year in a row, a SEC team won the national championship.
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy, the first sophomore to ever win the trophy, and the league posted a 7-2 record in bowl games, including impressive wins by Georgia over Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl and LSU over Ohio State in the BCS national championship game.
The league held the top two spots in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll, with LSU at No. 1 and Georgia at No. 2, and placed three other teams — No. 12 Tennessee, No. 13 Florida and No. 15 Auburn — among the top 15 spots.
It was quite a season for the league considered by many to be the best football conference in the land.
So, what does the league do for an encore? How could it possibly improve on that kind of success?
Some of the SEC's coaches think it's possible. Talking about the upcoming season during the league's recent spring meetings, some of the coaches said, in short, hold on to your hats because this season might be even better.
al.com
6/2/08
