By Doug Kyle and Alex Day
There have been several trends at the 2024 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament in Hoover, AL this week: baseballs flying out of the ballpark, as the tournament record for home runs has the proverbial snowball's chance of not being eclipsed with four long balls and six games to go.
The other, lower seeds beating higher seeds has subsided somewhat, as two of the higher ups have been eliminated. And, technically, 11 seed LSU beat 10 seed South Carolina, by the somewhat numerological score of 11-10, with only the smallest of seed gaps there.
The big story on this night probably belonged to Michael Braswell III, the LSU shortstop who transferred in from...South Carolina. Whether the parting was amicable or acrimonious probably depends on with whom you're speaking. But, there was one undeniable thing, though.
After LSU had tied the score 10-10 in the top of the 9th inning with the first of two runs, Braswell came to bat with the go-ahead run standing at third base and two outs. He stroked a 2-2 pitch down the third base line, LSU led by the eventual final score of 11-10, and when he reached first base, Braswell was exuding some kind of joy and excitement over his hit pushing his current team over his former team.
With the win, LSU advances to the single elimination round in a 12:00 pm game on Saturday, giving Head Coach Jay Johnson a day off to rest pitching and plan his strategy. South Carolina remains alive but must now play Friday at 3:00 pm against Kentucky in an elimination game for the opportunity to play LSU again.
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