A bizarre injury necessitates wholesale changes on the mound, but don’t expect much variation at the plate when LSU takes the field this weekend against Georgia for its first home Southeastern Conference series.
After the Tigers (18-4) were handcuffed by a strong Vanderbilt University pitching corps that LSU coach Paul Mainieri likened to a major league staff, a Georgia staff with a 4.23 ERA and .270 opposing batting average seems a       welcome respite for the Tigers.
“Right now, we’re being more of situational hitters,” said senior third baseman Christian Ibarra. “Moving runners over, scoring them in. When we faced Vandy, we scored 10 runs, so I thought we did a good job.”
“Coach likes how we were aggressive early in the count, but he wants us to have a better eye,” Ibarra said.
Mainieri didn’t discredit the Bulldog rotation, pointing to Saturday starter Robert Tyler — a freshman righty heralded as one of the best high school pitchers in Georgia — who leads the Bulldog staff with a 2.13 ERA in three starts.
Still, the Bulldogs are a far cry from the constant 93 or 94 mph velocity the Commodore staff brought last weekend in Nashville.
“If they’re pitching for an SEC team, you know that they’ve got talent,” Mainieri said. “Our hitters’ approach has to be simple. … You can’t get away from your game, and you have to do your job.”
Junior designated hitter Kade Scivicque, who was thrust into the SEC play against that stout staff, said a return back home to Alex Box Stadium is ideal, but the Tigers’ approach in Baton Rouge will mirror their swings in Nashville.
“Our guys hit the ball well all year, so all we have to do is go out and swing hard,” Scivicque said. “Those guys are good, but it’s in the past. We have to keep going forward.”
The Tigers’ Sunday starter is still in limbo after junior Kyle Bouman slipped on a baseball during Monday’s practice, resulting in a sprained ankle and rendering him questionable for the weekend.
As a result, freshman Jared Poche’ moved up a spot in the rotation to Saturday and looks to rebound after a forgettable start in a 9-3 loss against Vanderbilt, where he surrendered five walks and four earned runs.
It was a fate similar to junior ace Aaron Nola’s first SEC start, where he was shelled for five runs in the first inning of a 7-1 loss to Mississippi State — a start Nola said he’s never forgotten and used to quickly reassure both Poche’ and Bouman after rocky opening conference starts.
“My first start was worse than theirs,” Nola joked. “They’re both going to come back and have better outings. It’s just about getting used to SEC, the repetition off the mound and the environment. They can’t think about the picture too big.”
The similarities don’t stop at the big innings. Both Nola and Poche’ rebounded from shaky innings to string together scoreless frames and keep the Tigers within striking distance.
It’s a sign of progress, according to Mainieri.
“It’s the mark of a champion pitcher,” Mainieri said. “[Poche’] didn’t pitch well enough for us to win that day, but he pitched well enough to keep his team in the game. It’s all a matter of if you look at the cup half empty or                  half full.”