Bayou Brew 3/31: LSU Women's Basketball Day

Good morning. Happy LSU Women's Basketball Day! That's right, it's an official state holiday and Final Four Day. Sing a tune with Coach Kim Mulkey and tell your boss it's a requirement to wear purple & gold.

What's steeping in today's Brew?

🏀 Final Four weekend
🥎 Softball hosts the Purple & Gold Challenge
🐯 And much, much more!

Spring has sprung. Spring football is still in full swing and you can take a look inside an LSU football spring practice with LSU Gold. Check out all the sights and sounds leading up to the 2023 Spring Game here. 

🔼 Four It All. Tonight, LSU women's basketball plays for a chance to win their first National Championship. Four Tigers get to shine in their home state of Texas on the biggest stage in women's basketball: Alexis Morris, Alisa Williams, Amani Bartlett, and Sa'Myah Smith. (They even got to practice in Sa'Myah's high school gym where she won back-to-back state championships.)

The Tigers packed in a busy week in preparation for the Final Four but now, it's time to take care of business. 

Scouting the opposition 👀 This is the first time Virginia Tech's coach, Kenny Brooks, has ever been to a Final Four, compared to Kim Mulkey's five appearances. Virginia Tech has not lost a game since late January and have the longest win streak other than South Carolina. Elizabeth Kitley will be one Hokie to watch, the 6'6 center averages 18.2 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. She also has 56 career double-doubles.

Comin' out strong 💪 The Tigers will have to start faster than they did in the Elite Eight against Miami, and take control of the game early. In the last game, Angel Reese went 0-for-9 in the first half and the Tigers experienced one of their worst shooting games, yet still prevailed. Alexis Morris led the team against Miami and you can expect her to ball out in her home state this weekend. 

🔼 Thompson Topples Tennessee. Jordan Thompson was the name of the game last night when his double broke the tie and put the Tigers up 5-2 ahead of Tennessee in the eighth inning. We knew this would be a pitchers' duel for awhile, so it was a pretty quiet game until Tennessee got things started with one run in the fifth.

The Tigers responded immediately in the bottom of the inning with two runs of their own, thanks to a Gavin Dugas homer. Paul Skenes pitched 7.0 innings and threw 12 strikeouts, allowing just one run. And the Tiger faithful broke the Alex Box Stadium attendance record, packing in 13,068.

The series continues tomorrow at 6:00pm CT on SEC Network.

🔼 Berzon Strikes Again. Freshman phenom pitcher Sydney Berzon has been on fire lately for LSU softball. The reigning SEC Freshman of the Week picked up her 10th win last night in the 3-2 victory over BYU, striking out nine batters and allowing just two runs. Georgia Clark hit the tying home run in the fifth inning. Hmm, something about home runs in the fifth inning for the Tigers on the diamond last night…

The Tigers play NC State at 4:30pm CT and BYU again at 7:00pm CT today. And Sunday, LSU will meet in-state foe Louisiana Tech at 4:00pm CT, and NC State again on Monday at 12:00pm CT.

🔼 Survive And Advance. LSU women's golf's Latanna Stone had a career day at Champions Retreat in the ANWA yesterday, finishing with a 71 and tied at 14 and even. There's no doubt she will be in the final tomorrow at the Augusta National Golf Club. Ingrid Lindblad finished yesterday tied at 59 with 8 over and Carla Tejedo finished tied at 63 with 9 over par. The top 30 players make the final.

Opening Day. Happy baseball season to all you MLB fans! Opening Day was yesterday, and we got to see a handful of former Tigers on the big stage.

Do you know how many former LSU baseball players are on active opening day rosters?

Think you have the answer? Scroll to the bottom of this email to find out.  

Did someone send you the Bayou Brew? Well, the first thing you should do is thank them. The next thing you should do is subscribe here and get it in your inbox every weekday morning just in time for your first cup of coffee!

Friday 3/31

🎽 Outdoor Track & Field at Texas Relays (Day 3)

🏐 Beach Volleyball vs. No. 3 USC @ 11:30am CT

🤸‍♀️ Gymnastics at NCAA Regional 2nd Round @ 3:00pm CT | ESPN+

🏐 Beach Volleyball vs. No. 2 UCLA @ 3:00pm CT

🥎 Softball vs. NC State @ 4:30pm CT | SEC Network+

🎾 Women's Tennis vs. No. 4 Georgia @ 5:00pm CT

🎾 Men's Tennis at Arkansas @ 5:30pm CT

⚾️ Baseball vs. No. 11 Tennessee @ 6:00pm CT | SEC Network

🏀 Women's Basketball vs. No. 4 Virginia Tech @ 6:00pm CT | ESPN

🥎 Softball vs. BYU @ 7:00pm CT | SEC Network+ 

Saturday 4/1

🎽 Outdoor Track & Field at Texas Relays (Day 4) @ 10:00am CT

🏐 Beach Volleyball vs. No. 7 Loyola Marymount @ 10:30am CT

⚾️ Baseball vs. No. 11 Tennessee @ 1:00pm CT | SEC Network+

🏐 Beach Volleyball vs. No. 8 Hawaii @ 2:30pm CT

🥎 Softball vs. Louisiana Tech @ 4:00pm CT | SEC Network+

🏐 Volleyball at College Tournament (EXH) TBA

Sunday 4/2

🎾 Women's Tennis vs. No. 14 Tennessee @ 12:00pm CT

🥎 Softball vs. NC State @ 12:00pm CT | SEC Network+ 

🎾 Men's Tennis at Ole Miss @ 1:00pm CT

⚽️ Soccer at Houston (EXH) @ 1:00pm CT

🏀 Women's Basketball National Championship (if necessary) @ 2:30pm CT | ABC

🤸‍♀️ Gymnastics at NCAA Regional Final (if necessary) @ 6:00pm CT | ESPN+

Answer: 8

There are eight MLB players from LSU that are on active opening day rosters:

IF DJ LeMahieu (New York Yankees)

3B Alex Bregman (Houston Astros)

P Aaron Nola (Philadelphia Phillies)

P Kevin Gausman (Toronto Blue Jays)

C Austin Nola (San Diego Padres)

OF Jake Fraley (Cincinnati Reds)

P Alex Lange (Detroit Tigers)

IF Josh Smith (Texas Rangers) 

Have a great weekend, y'all.