June 4: Did LSU baseball get the most out of its team?

Advocate columnist Scott Rabalais joins sports editor Perryn Keys to discuss the Tigers' thrilling ride in the Chapel Hill regional and their heartbreaking defeat to North Carolina in the winner-take-all game Monday. We start off with a look back at LSU's turnaround from disaster to the cusp of the super regionals — which the Tigers would have hosted at Alex Box Stadium, thanks to West Virginia's surprise win in the Tucson regional. Rab also gives some perspective on Will Hellmers' star turn on the mound Monday, followed by Jay Johnson's semi-controversial decision to pull Nate Ackenhausen and keep in Gage Jump for the ninth and 10th innings. (We also discuss LSU's defensive miscuse and the offense, which went quiet after the fourth inning.) We also run down who's likely to return for 2025, who's leaving and where the Tigers need an upgrade. Rab then takes some time to discuss Lincoln Riley and USC attempting to duck out of the LSU game in Las Vegas, changes coming to the SEC and other fun and games with modern college athletics.  Finally, we don't yet know about Livvy Dunne's potential return, but Rab has some other news on some other LSU gymnasts. Subscribe to our YouTube channel! Subscribe to The Advocate: theadvocate.com/subscribe Sign up for the LSU Sports Insider newsletter: theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter 0:00-Intro 5:20-How LSU went from disaster to postseason charge 9:50-A heroic effort by Will Hellmers in the final game 14:00-Should Jay Johnson have stuck with Nate Ackenhausen? 21:12-Is it possible to call this season a successful failure? 26:30-Who's leaving; who's returning; the transfer portal 33:00-Why did Lincoln Riley and USC want out of the LSU game? 40:40-Revenue-sharing and other items from SEC spring meetings 46:00-Full scholarships for baseball ... and teams getting cut? 51:00-News out of the LSU gymnastics program