On Thursday evening, LSU baseball managed to come away with their sixth W in their last six games, beating South Carolina in a thrilling 11-10 come-from-behind SEC tournament win. While it was undoubtedly an important win for the program as a whole, it might have been even bigger for shortstop Michael Braswell III, who transferred to the Bayou Bengals from the Gamecocks over the offseason.
The most recent LSU baseball victory meant a bit more for LSU shortstop Michael Braswell III
“I couldn’t find a moment where I’ve been happier in the sport of baseball.”
Just one year ago today, LSU shortstop Michael Braswell III called Columbia, SC his home and the Gamecocks were his team. However, after electing to transfer to the purple and gold over the offseason, he’s now an LSU Tiger through and through, most recently logging an RBI single to put his team on top in what would finalize as a thrilling ninth inning comeback to beat South Carolina in the 2024 SEC Tournament.
“I have respect for the South Carolina program, but I’m an LSU Tiger. There’s been a lot of social media things going on in recent days, and to get that hit really kind just gave me satisfaction on a lot of things. Meant the world to me,” Braswell III said while speaking to the media Thursday evening.
After a largely abysmal start to the in-conference season for the Tigers, just about everyone in the country counted LSU out of any contention for postseason play. However, they’ve since turned things around in an incredible manner, having won 17 out of their last 22 games, and the talented transfer shortstop has been a major part of it.
With the purple and gold in 2024, Braswell III has recently become one of the more consistent all-around players on the team, bringing his offensive play up to compare to the elite defensive ability he already possessed.
Having logged 55 hits, 12 doubles and 31 RBIs to go along with a career high .301 batting average, he’s having an impressive season with his new team. Now, it’s just a matter of keeping that high level of play going to help the Tigers continue their surprising run in the 2024 SEC Tournament.
“It’s more than satisfying, but I realize there’s a lot of season left for us, and I truly believe that. I’m not gonna act like this is the world series or anything like that. I mean, we might play them again, or Kentucky on Saturday. So it happened, and it was great in the moment. Yes, but we’re moving onto Saturday and that’s my next focus.”
Interestingly enough, his revenge tour might not be over just yet, as the 6-foot-2, 204-pound shortstop out of Mableton, GA, will face off against his former team yet again later this afternoon, with the Gamecocks having beaten Kentucky yesterday.
No. 11 LSU baseball will officially take on No. 10 South Carolina in today’s single elimination semifinal at 12:00 p.m. CST. The winner of today’s matchup will then move onto the 2024 SEC Tournament Championship where they’ll face the winner of No. 1 Tennessee vs. No. 8 Vanderbilt tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. CST.
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