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LSU pitcher Chase Shores out for season with UCL tear

On3 imageby:Andrew Graham•04/25/23•

AndrewEdGraham

Syndication: The Daily Advertiser
Tigers starting pitcher #34 Chase Shores on the mound as The LSU Tigers take on Central Connecticut State at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. Sunday, March 5, 2023.

LSU freshman pitcher Chase Shores announced on Tuesday that he will miss the remainder of the season with a UCL tear. Shore is one of the top freshmen in the country and was the No. 1 prospect from Texas in the Class of 2022.

In 18.1 innings pitched across seven appearances, Shores had a 1.96 ERA, third-best on the Tigers staff. He made four starts this season. His last appearance came on March 31 against Tennessee.

“Tiger Family, it is with a heavy heart that I announce my 2023 season has come to an end due to a UCL tear. I will miss my time competing at Alex Box, but I won’t let this injury stop me from being the best teammate and supporter for my boys as we close out the season. I will be back and better than ever,” Shores said in his announcement on Twitter.

The UCL is a ligament in the elbow and is put under immense stress by motions like throwing. The common treatment for tearing it is the well-known Tommy Johns surgery, essentially like replacing an ACL but in an elbow. The Advocate’s Leah Vann reported Shores had the procedure done last week.

Shores withdrew from the 2022 MLB Draft last year, opting to honor his commitment to LSU and play for the Tigers.

Despite injury troubles, LSU is still comfortably one of the best teams in the country

In D1Baseball’s latest Field of 64 projection, released on April 19, 10 teams from the SEC were included in the field and LSU was the leader of the pack. Here’s how the Tigers break down:

Record: 32-7 (12-5 in SEC games)

RPI: 3

Remaining midweek games: vs. Nicholls, vs. SE Louisiana, vs. Northwestern State, vs. McNeese

Remaining weekend series: vs. Alabama, at Auburn, vs. Mississippi State, at Georgia

LSU is not only locked into the postseason, but the Tigers are all but guaranteed to be one of the top eight regional hosts. That would mean that LSU would host a super regional in the second round, should they win their regional. With a top three RPI, LSU isn’t really in danger of falling much at all over the final weeks of the year. It’s safe to say that the Tigers will be either the top overall seed in the tournament, and it’s hard to see them falling far even if they struggle down the stretch.

Unsurprisingly, LSU was tabbed as the No. 1 overall seed in D1Baseball’s projected field last week.