No. 4 LSU claimed three of the 60 spots on the initial watch list for college baseball’s most prestigious award­, the Golden Spikes.
Representing the Tigers were junior outfielder Raph Rhymes, who leads the nation with a .503 batting average, junior closer Nick Goody, who sports the country’s lowest ERA [0.77], and sophomore pitcher Kevin Gausman, who leads the Southeastern Conference with 97 strikeouts.
The Golden Spikes Award has been given annually to the nation’s top player since 1978. Former Tiger Ben McDonald won the award in 1989 and remains LSU’s lone recipient of the award.
Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks was the last Louisiana player to win the award when he received the honor while at Southern University in 2003.
 
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