BATON ROUGE - The LSU baseball team is still undefeated at home in SEC play.

The Tigers kept No. 15 Alabama's bats quiet in a 4-3 win Friday night at Alex Box Stadium. With the victory, LSU improves to 12-5 in the SEC this season, and 8-0 at home in conference play.

After going down 1-0, LSU used RBI hits from Daniel Dickinson and Jared Jones in the bottom of the third inning to take a 2-1. Derek Curiel doubled the Tigers lead with a 2-RBI single in the fourth inning.

Anthony Eyanson got the win on the mound for LSU, tossing six innings, allowing just one run, and striking out 12. Zac Cowan got the three-inning save in relief for LSU.

The Tigers look for the sweep against Alabama on Saturday at 5 p.m.

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BATON ROUGE - No. 8 LSU baseball can secure the weekend series against Alabama with a win on Friday evening.

LSU defeated the Crimson Tide on Thursday, 11-6, in Game 1 behind a late-game rally. 

For the Tigers, junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson is expected to start on the mound. He has a record of 5-1 with a 3.78 ERA in 47.2 innings pitched with 71 strikeouts.

Alabama is expected to start right-hander Riley Quick, who is also 5-1 this season with a 3.13 ERA in 31.2 innings of work with 31 strikeouts.

First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. on Friday and will air on ESPN2. Game 3 on Saturday will begin at 5 p.m.

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AUSTIN, Texas - No. 9 LSU softball got on track in Game 2 against the No. 3 Texas Longhorns with a 6-1 win.

The Tigers collapsed in the final two innings of their game against Texas on Thursday, as the Longhorns walked it off to win 7-3. This time, the Tigers were in control all the way.

Saturday's Game 3 matchup starts at 11 a.m. 

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Hunter McCann has this weekend's best bets for the NBA and NHL playoffs, college baseball and the MLB!

Friday

NBA Play-In:
Heat @ Hawks: Heat -1
Mavericks @ Grizzlies: Grizzlies -5.5

College Baseball:
TCU @ UCF: TCU ML
Boston College @ Wake Forest: Wake Forest -3.5
UNC @ Virginia: UNC ML
Alabama @ LSU: LSU -1.5
Georgia State @ Southern Miss: Southern Miss -1.5
Georgia @ Vanderbilt: Georgia ML

MLB:
Marlins @ Phillies: No Runs First Inning
Yankees @ Rays: u8.5 Total Runs
Reds @ Orioles: Orioles ML
Cardinals @ Mets: Mets ML
Dodgers @ Rangers: No Runs First Inning
Athletics @ Brewers: Brewers ML

Saturday

NBA Playoffs:
Bucks @ Pacers: Bucks +5.5
Clippers @ Nuggets: Nuggets -2.5
Pistons @ Knicks: Knicks -6.5
Timberwolves @ Lakers: Timberwolves +4.5

College Baseball:
TBD

MLB:
TBD

NHL Playoffs:
Blues @ Jets: Jets ML
Avalanche @ Stars: Stars ML

Sunday

NBA Playoffs:
Magic @ Celtics: Celtics -13.5
Warriors @ Rockets: Warriors +1.5

College Baseball:
TBD

MLB:
TBD

NHL Playoffs:
Devils @ Hurricanes: Hurricanes ML
Senators @ Maple Leafs: u5.5 Total Runs
Wild @ Golden Knights: Golden Knights ML

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BATON ROUGE - The LSU baseball team used a late-game rally to beat Alabama in Thursday's series opener.

The Tigers fell behind 5-1 in the sixth inning, but a 3-run home run in the bottom of the sixth by Ashton Larson and a 3-run home run in the seventh by Steven Milam put LSU in front. The Tigers added four more insurance runs en route to an 11-6 win.

LSU had 13 hits, including three from Derek Curiel. Ethan Frey and Daniel Dickinson had two knocks.

Kade Anderson started for the Tigers and pitched 5.2 innings but allowed five runs, all on home runs.

LSU, 33-6 overall and 11-5 in the SEC, will go for the series win against Alabama Friday at 6 p.m. at Alex Box Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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FORT WORTH, Texas - LSU gymnastics missed out on the national championship after placing third in the semifinals Thursday night. LSU finished with a score of 197.5250, below Utah and UCLA.

LSU started the meet on the uneven bars. They were led in scoring by their leadoff bars swinger, Lexi Zeiss. The freshman scored a 9.90 to lead the way for the Tigers. LSU trailed the meet in third place with a bars score of 49.3250 after the first rotation.

Things got rocky for LSU when they got to balance beam. Konnor McClain led the rotation with a 9.90 on the event, but little mistakes cost the Tigers. In the anchor spot, Aleah Finnegan fell from the beam, scoring a 9.2250. LSU fell to fourth place at the halfway point of the meet.

On floor, LSU turned things around. Back-to-back-to-back scores of 9.90 or higher put the Tigers in second place. LSU was led by Finnegan with a 9.9375, but they fell below UCLA.

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BATON ROUGE - The LSU Tigers put a bow on the first phase of the offseason on Thursday morning with their final football practice session of spring.

The spring window of the transfer portal began on Wednesday and will remain open until Friday, April 25. 

LSU head coach Brian Kelly said this week that he wouldn't be surprised if the Tigers didn't add anymore talent during the portal window, saying, "If you ask me right now, I would be happy to take this roster right into May on both sides of it."

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FORT WORTH, Texas - No. 1 LSU gymnastics will compete in the 2025 NCAA Championship Semifinals on Thursday night with a spot in the championship on the line.

LSU will face No. 4 Utah, No. 5 UCLA, and No. 8 Michigan State in Thursday evening's session as they attempt to reach the Final Four for the third season in a row. 

In the afternoon semifinal session on Thursday, No. 2 Oklahoma will compete against No. 3 Florida, No. 7 Missouri and No. 11 Alabama in an all-SEC clash at 3:30 p.m. 

The evening session in Dickies Arena will begin at 8 p.m. on Thursday and air on ESPN2. The Tigers will start the meet on bars, Utah on beam, UCLA on floor and Michigan State on vault. All teams will rotate in Olympic order. 

The top two teams from each semifinal session will advance to the NCAA Championship Final on Saturday, April 19, at 3 p.m. and it will air on WBRZ. 

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AUSTIN, Texas - No. 9 LSU softball collapsed in the final two innings of their game against Texas on Thursday, as the Longhorns walked it off to win 7-3. 

The Tigers are now 35-9 on the season with an 8-8 record in the SEC. 

LSU led 3-0 before Texas tied the game with three runs in the sixth inning off two home runs.

Texas catcher Reese Atwood walked it off in the bottom of the seventh inning with a grand slam to grab game one of the series.

Tigers pitcher Sydney Berzon received a loss to bring her record in the circle to 15-4 on the season

The Longhorns improved their record to 40-5 this season, including a 12-4 record in conference play. 

First pitch for Game 2 on Friday between LSU and Texas is at 4:30 p.m. at Red & Charline McCombs Field and will air on SEC Network+. Game 3 on Saturday will begin at 11 a.m. 

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BATON ROUGE - No. 8 LSU baseball is back in town after consecutive series on the road. The Tigers' weekend series against the Alabama Crimson Tide begins Thursday night in Alex Box Stadium.

LSU is 32-6 on the season with a 10-5 mark in conference play after picking up a midweek win over the McNeese State Cowboys on Tuesday. Last weekend, the Tigers were swept on the road against the Auburn Tigers.

Despite last weekend's sweep, the Tigers’ bullpen allowed just one earned run in 12.2 innings of work against Auburn, including a great outing from junior right-hander Zac Cowan, who pitched a season-high 4.2 scoreless innings on Sunday while allowing four hits and recording two strikeouts. 

The Crimson Tide are 30-8 on the season, including an 8-7 record in the SEC. Alabama is coming off a 2-1 series loss to Mississippi State last weekend in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama leads the all-time series with LSU, 202-181-3, but the Tigers have won 14 of the last 17 SEC regular-season series versus the Crimson Tide. Last season, Alabama grabbed a 2-1 series victory over LSU in Tuscaloosa. 

First pitch for game 1 of the series is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday and will air on ESPNU. On Friday and Saturday, first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively. 

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BRISTOL — Lee Corso is set to make his final headgear pick during week 1 of ESPN's College Gameday this fall.

Corso, who turns 90 in August, joined ESPN in 1987, following a 28-year coaching career at the college and professional levels – including 17 seasons as a head coach at Louisville (1969-72), Indiana (1973-82), Northern Illinois (1984) and with the USFL’s Orlando Renegades (1985). He is the only original College GameDay personality still with the show.

His very first headgear pick was October 5, 1996 when he selected the Ohio State Buckeyes to beat Penn State. Entering his final broadcast in August, Corso has made 430 headgear picks all-time, including the Buckeyes for a record 45 times. 

“My family and I will be forever indebted for the opportunity to be part of ESPN and College GameDay for nearly 40 years,” said Corso. “I have a treasure of many friends, fond memories and some unusual experiences to take with me into retirement."

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FORT WORTH, Texas - LSU gymnastics is gearing up for their most anticipated meets of the year, the NCAA National Championship.

For the most part, collegiate gymnastics is focused on perfection. An average fan may equate a perfect 10 score to a home run or a touchdown catch.

While perfect routines will get the highest scores, that expectation can put a lot of mental pressure on the athlete.

That's why LSU head coach Jay Clark tells his team to focus on getting, "base hits." He wants his gymnasts to be focused on doing just enough and their normal in order to get a high score.

The SEC Championship meet was a perfect example of the Tigers doing just that. They won their second straight conference title without scoring a perfect 10, while other teams scored multiple.

The gymnasts themselves express that the mindset of the "base hits," allows them to let go and enjoy what they're doing while competing. The pressure of perfection is not an expectation, so in turn, their performances are better.

That will have to be the focus for LSU as they head into the national semifinals on Thursday.

The No. 1 seeded Tigers will compete in the second session of the semifinals (Elite Eight) on Thursday at 8 p.m. 

They're competing against Michigan State, UCLA and Utah. The Tigers will start on uneven bars and then rotate to balance beam, floor and finish on vault. The top two teams from the semifinals will advance to the Four on the Floor for a chance to win a National Championship.

The semifinal meet will be televised on ESPN2.

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BATON ROUGE - LSU head coach Jay Johnson spoke on Wednesday afternoon as the Tigers prepare for a weekend series against the No. 21 Alabama.

No. 8 LSU baseball will attempt to regain momentum in conference play as it welcomes the Crimson Tide to Alex Box Stadium for a three-game series from Thursday to Saturday. 

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BATON ROUGE — After three seasons as an East Carolina Pirate, forward Amiya Joiner is putting on purple and gold as an LSU Tiger.

Joiner, a North Carolina native, signed with LSU, the LSU women's basketball team Facebook announced Wednesday.

“I’m excited to welcome Amiya to Baton Rouge after an outstanding three-year career at ECU,” Coach Kim Mulkey said. “She has a versatile interior game that will stretch defenses with her ability to play with her back to the basket as well as facing up. Her knack for rebounding will undoubtably be a welcomed addition to our frontcourt."

During her junior season with the Pirates, the 6'2" player led her team with 15 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and had a field goal completion rate of 48.1 percent. During her entire career at East Carolina, she averaged 12.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game as a First Team All-AAC player. 

She owns three of the top five rebounding seasons in ECU history and her 905 career rebounds are the fourth most in program history. Joyner is one of two players in ECU history with multiple 20-rebound games. She also ranks No. 4 in program history with 132 blocks.

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BATON ROUGE - The LSU baseball team is back in the win column.

The Tigers offense got back on track en route to a 10-3 win over McNeese on Tuesday night. LSU breaks a three-game losing streak and stops the Cowboys' 12-game win streak.

Jared Jones went 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Ethan Frey added three hits and two RBI for the Tigers.

LSU is now 32-6 overall this season.

The Tigers are back in action Thursday night, starting a three-game series against Alabama at Alex Box Stadium.

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BATON ROUGE - LSU baseball aims to get back in the win column on Tuesday night against McNeese State after a rough weekend at Auburn. The matchup marks the first of nine straight home games for LSU.

The Tigers are 31-6 and 10-5 in SEC play after their first series loss this season, being swept against the Auburn Tigers on the road. LSU had an uncharacteristic performance at the plate last weekend, only scoring eight runs across the three games. 

LSU is still ranked second in the SEC with a .317 cumulative team batting average, No. 1 in the league with 87 doubles and third in the SEC with 389 hits.

McNeese holds a 27-5 record this season and is riding a 12-game winning streak. The Cowboys are hitting .303 as a team this season with 81 doubles, 15 triples and 32 home runs.

The Tigers lead the overall series with McNeese 34-12, including wins in the last 16 of 19 matchups against the Cowboys. 

First pitch between LSU and McNeese is set for 6:30 p.m. in Alex Box Stadium and will air on SEC Network+. 

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BATON ROUGE - LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly spoke to the media on Tuesday morning after the Tigers' spring practice session, reflecting on the recent passing of former LSU wide receiver Kyren Lacy.

Kelly described Lacy as a bright star and said he will remember his former player as a guy who was full of energy and loved the game of football. 

Watch the full press conference and spring practice footage below.

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BATON ROUGE - Parkview Baptist head football coach Stefan LeFors has taken the head coaching job at Gallaudet University in Washington DC.

LeFors takes over the Bisons program after six years at the helm of the Eagles football program in Baton Rouge where he led the team to a 47-24 record and six state playoff appearances.

"I'm incredibly humbled and excited for this next chapter and grateful for the opportunity to grow, learn, and take on new challenges at Gallaudet University," said LeFors. "My passion is developing young people and sharing the knowledge I've learned from all the wonderful places I've been both as a player and coach. I look forward to building positive relationships with the players, staff and administration."

Gallaudet is a university that brings together deaf and hard of hearing students for a secondary education experience.

LeFors, who is a Child of Deaf Adults (CODA), becomes the 37th head football coach at Gallaudet.

"We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Coach Stefan LeFors to the Gallaudet family as our new head football coach. From the moment we began this search, we were looking for someone who could inspire our student-athletes, elevate our program, and lead with passion, integrity, and vision," said Gallaudet University Athletics Director Warren Keller.

"Coach LeFors brings an incredible track record of success, a deep love for the game, and a clear commitment to developing young men both on and off the field. We're confident he will make an immediate impact on our culture and carry on our proud tradition with energy and excellence. We can't wait to see what the future holds under his leadership!"

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BATON ROUGE - We’ve been concentrating on the high school playoffs which ended in exciting fashion this past week, but there has been a lot of movement in recent days in several different events at the USBC Open Championships at the Raising Canes River Center here in Baton Rouge.

There have been multiple lead changes in the past 72 hours, starting on Thursday when DiLauren Brothers Team 6 of Clinton Township, Michigan took the lead in the standard team division with a 2,812 total, the first team to top 2,800 in the event for teams whose five-player combined average is between 776-875.

Matthew Lesmeister had a 608 for the team with Brent Ryan at 579.

Friday, Ronnie Sparks, Jr., and Jay Lang, who have a combined five USBC Open titles between them, moved into the regular doubles division lead as the Michigan pair posted 1,468.

Then Jeffrey Greco of Fort Wayne, Indiana, posted a 786 three-game set to take the lead in regular singles.

But there’s more, Jeffrey Mersch of Orlando, Florida shot the second 800 series of the event with games of 289-258-279 for an 826 series in doubles with Matthew Tuckfield, also of Orlando, and they are in second place after posting 45 pins behind the new leaders at 1,423.

Amazingly, the regular team lead changed hands on Sunday as the Phat Kids Crew, made of five Illinois bowlers, became the first quintet to top the 3,300 mark in the event at 3,300 even.

For comparison’s sake, in 2012 in Baton Rouge, it took 3,401 to capture the prestigious top division team title, while it only took 3,302 in 2005 at the River Center. Last year in Reno, the winning score at the National Bowling Stadium was 3,373.

That’s the thing. Results could change quickly or leads could hold. It does seem that scores are better but having watched some teams bowl, it is really going to take a special team working together to handle a pattern that is pretty tricky. We will see.

Bowler’s Journal
There is no doubt the doubles and singles pattern that is being used at the River Center is very favorable for those bowling the Bowler’s Journal event at All Star Lanes in Baton Rouge.

There have been six 300 games shot and the doubles lead has changed hands more than once in the last 10 days or so.

There was a lot of local excitement when Baton Rouge bowlers Mykel Holliman and Gregory Snee did the things that lots of bowlers have seen them do many times in this city (that would be strike) and took the lead in doubles with a 1,477 total.

Unfortunately, that lasted about two days as Chelsea Sporkia and Bill Machin of Eugene, Oregon upped that by one pin to 1,478. That right now isn’t good enough either as Jack Vault and Derek Magno of New York have pushed it to 1,522. Vault had a 790 set and that is the lead in Open Singles.

Speaking of Open Singles, Snee is in a solid fourth place with his 751 set.

So lots of good stuff happening and we’ll be following some of the other stories in the weeks ahead.

Pepsi Finals
With the Pepsi Championships at Bowlero Kenner taking place on the heels of the high school playoffs this past week, some of the same bowlers were involved at the end on Sunday in the top division.

In the girls U18 division, Caroline Engeron, bronze medalist for Albany in high school singles, won the division in the bracket championship, 176-167, over Alexandra Young.

Joshua Collins, a member of the Shaw boys/coed D1 team, won the U18 boys division.

Another Major
The PBA’s final major will be on TV this weekend with the prelim round of the Tournament of Champions on Saturday on FS1 at 4 p.m. and then Sunday at 2 p.m. on FOX Sports. No news yet that FOX is going to renew the best contract the PBA has had since the ABC days when Saturday afternoons meant bowling on ABC Sports from the early 1960s through 1997.

Thanks for checking out this week's bowling column. Until next Monday, good luck and good bowling.

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NEW ORLEANS- After parting ways with basketball operations chief David Griffin on Monday, reports say the New Orleans Pelicans already have their eyes on his replacement.

ESPN Senior NBA Insider, Shams Charania reports that the Pelicans plan to sit down and finalize a deal this week with Dumars to make him the lead basketball executive for the franchise.

The Pelicans and Dumars are expected to engage in conversations to finalize a deal by the end of the week, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/Dgzvaanwkd

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 14, 2025

Dumars, a Louisiana native, was the Pistons' president of basketball operations from 2000-2014 and was voted the 2003 executive of the year. He helped build the Pistons' 2004 championship roster.

During his four-year collegiate career at McNeese State University, Dumars averaged 22.5 points per game as a Cowboy. He finished his college career as the 11th leading scorer in NCAA history. 

Dumars has been the head of NBA basketball operations since May 2022. 

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