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LSU baseball signee sets national single-season hit-by-pitch record

Lake Charles (La.) Barbe High senior Bryce Jordan set the national record for most times hit by a pitch in a season. (Facebook)

Many have come close to breaking former Choctaw (Okla.) High baseball star Kenny Redding's 49-year-old single-season national record for most times getting hit by a pitch, but none have succeeded.

Until now.

When a Lafayette (La.) Comeaux High hurler hit Lake Charles Barbe senior Bryce Jordan with a pitch over the weekend, the free pass marked his 30th hit-by-pitch in 30 games this season, according to USA Today. Redding set the previous record of 29 in 1965. Pinson (Ala.) Valley's Spencer King fell one shy in 2011.

"Getting hit doesn’t bother him," Barbe coach Glenn Cecchini told USA Today of Jordan. "He's built like a Neanderthal and he knows enough to turn away from the pitch."

Indeed, Jordan is a 5-foot-10, 195-pound infielder who has committed to LSU along with his twin brother Beau (insert joke about seeing double here). Bryce reportedly owns a hefty .644 on-base percentage, helping the Bucs to a 28-2 record entering the final handful of games on the regular-season schedule.

Barbe's historical success in the postseason, including six state championships, may help Jordan set another national record. According to USA Today, he sits just four HBPs shy of Gainesville (Fla.) Oak Hall utility man Lucas Weitzel's 2011 career record of 65. That's a whole lot of bruises.

Still, he's got a long way to go if he wants to match the Major League Baseball single-season hit-by-pitch record of 51. That standard belongs to former Baltimore Orioles infielder Hughie Jennings, who accomplished the feat in ... 1896. There's a reason these records last a while. It's a pain-staking process.