Freshman LSU baseball player arrested, suspended from team
A freshman LSU pitcher expected to earn time as a reliever this season has been suspended from the team indefinitely after he was arrested early Saturday, according to an affidavit of probable cause, on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
Carson Baranik, 19, 1422 Magnolia Ridge, Bossier City, was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison at 3:35 a.m. on one count each of first-offense DWI, disobeying a red light and reckless operation of a vehicle.
LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri said he learned of the incident Saturday morning and that he immediately took disciplinary action.
“This is not the kind of behavior I expect or will tolerate from an LSU baseball player,” Mainieri said Saturday night. “Fortunately, no one was hurt from his lack of good judgement.
“It’s embarrassing to me and the other players on our team. It’s a very bad mistake and he will suffer the consequences of that, but I also hope he will learn from it. But for now, I can’t let a person who would do those kinds of things represent our baseball team.”
Baranik was driving east on East Boyd Drive at 1:30 a.m. when he turned on Burbank Drive and ran a red light, the affidavit says.
An officer stopped Baranik and noticed he had glassy eyes, slurred speech, poor balance and an odor of alcohol, the affidavit says.
Baranik performed poorly on a field sobriety test, the affidavit says. His blood-alcohol content was 0.144 percent, the affidavit says. For those under 21, a reading of 0.02 percent is presumptive evidence of drunken driving.
Baranik, a right-hander, was drafted in the 41st round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft by the Cincinnati Reds but decided to enroll at LSU.
He was an all-district and all-city selection as a senior, posting a 4-1 record with three complete games, a 1.70 ERA in 37 innings and 57 strikeouts.
Baranik is the second LSU pitcher to be arrested on suspicion of DWI since January of last year.
Kevin Koziol was dismissed from the team after being arrested in January 2011 and booked on counts of DWI, reckless operation of a vehicle and disobeying a red light.
“Every situation is a little different,” Mainieri said, referring to the Koziol dismissal. “My concern is for the young man (Baranik), how he’s living his life, and to make sure we see what help we can get for him and make sure he understands the ramifications of doing things he shouldn’t.”
Advocate sportswriter Scott Rabalais contributed
to this report.