Former LSU baseball roommates face off in first inning of World Series
The 2022 World Series started Friday night between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros, and LSU baseball fans got a nice treat out of the gate. Two former Tigers — who were roommates in Baton Rouge — squared off in the first inning.
Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola got Astros third baseman Alex Bregman to pop out for the third out of the inning. The two played at LSU in 2013 and 2014 before heading to the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, and their careers are coming full circle in this month’s World Series.
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Both players have had impressive MLB careers since getting to the big leagues. Nola made his MLB debut in 2015 and made an All-Star game in 2018 with the Phillies. He also tied the MLB record for most consecutive strikeouts with 10 straight punchouts in 2021. During the regular season, Nola had a 3.25 ERA to go with an 11-13 record for Philadelphia.
Bregman, meanwhile, was a key part of the Astros’ 2017 World Series title and has two All-Star appearances on his resume. He also won a Silver Slugger in 2019. This season, he had a .259 batting average and 23 home runs.
At LSU, Nola and Bregman were part of an impressive 2013 Tigers team. That group went 57-11 overall and 23-7 in SEC play while rattling off a run to the College World Series. LSU saw its season end in Omaha at the hands of North Carolina, 2-1.
Nola took the loss in the first game of the CWS — a 2-1 defeat to UCLA — and ended up becoming the Phillies’ first-round pick in the 2015 draft at No. 7 overall. Bregman went five picks earlier at No. 2 to the Astros after a banner year, batting .312 with nine home runs.