As the calendar turns to April, Alex Bregman already has summer plans.
For the second consecutive season, the LSU sophomore shortstop was invited to play with the U.S. Collegiate National Team on Tuesday morning. He said he was the first position player contacted about the team, which will be coached by Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn.
“It’s such an honor to be able to represent my country again,” Bregman said. “Representing your country and being able to play against Cuba, Japan and China and represent the United States of America is huge. It’s a different feeling playing for your country than playing for someone else.”
In last season’s tour with the team, Bregman played both shortstop and second base, hitting .361 through 18 games with seven doubles and 12 RBIs.
But now, Bregman’s focus remains on the purple and gold instead of the red, white and blue, starting with LSU’s midweek tilt against Lamar at 6:30 p.m. tonight.
Bregman broke out of his midseason slump last Wednesday, belting a wind-aided three-run home run in the sixth inning of a 10-3 win against McNeese State to kickstart what had been a woeful LSU offense.
Then, the entire offense erupted on Sunday, cranking out 20 hits in a 17-4 romp against Mississippi State to finish off the series sweep.
“It was great for our offense as a whole to finally get out of the slump,” Bregman said. “We definitely knew we were a lot better than what we were doing to begin the year.”
Junior southpaw Henri Faucheux will make his first career start as a Tiger, though it is a familiar role for the Shelton State Community College transfer.
Faucheux said he started 12 games at the Tuscaloosa, Ala., community college last season and even started one game when he began his college career at UL-Lafayette.
“Preparation from coming out of the bullpen and being a starter is basically the same,” Faucheux said. “It’s the same role, you’re going out and throwing strikes. Now, you’re just trying to get the team off to a good start instead of bridging the gap.”
Mainieri said he hopes Faucheux can give the Tigers (24-8-1, 6-5-1 Southeastern Conference) three good innings before the coach employs his usual midweek tactic of getting all available pitchers in the game.
Mainieri likened Lamar to Southland Conference comrade McNeese State, which led the Tigers after five innings last Wednesday before LSU erupted for eight runs in the final four innings.
“They beat Houston, lost to Rice, 3-2, and played some really good teams,” Mainieri said. “They have some good offensive numbers, good pitching numbers. I know better than to [look past their record]. It’s a program that’s produced some really good players over the years.”