LSU coach Paul Mainieri had plenty to watch when the Tigers opened their 2014 season this past weekend against the University of New Orleans and Grambling State, but one of his primary focal points was the performance of the two newcomers to his rotation.
Deciding instead to throw in junior left-hander Cody Glenn on Wednesday at Southeastern, Mainieri trusted both junior college transfer Kyle Bouman and freshman Jared Poche’ to limit opposing hitters on Saturday and Sunday.
It was the first audition, and both passed with flying colors.
When LSU battled UNO at Zephyr Field in Metairie on Saturday, Bouman ran into trouble early after starting off strong.
After recording two outs to open the bottom of the first inning, UNO strung three straight singles together to give the Privateers a 1-0 lead.
That would be the final time a UNO batter reached base off of the Ferguson, Mo., native.
Bouman proceeded to retire the next 13 hitters he faced using fastballs lower in the strike zone, holding opposing hitters to a final .167 batting average through five innings of work.
His earned run in the first inning would be the only one surrendered by a Tiger starter through the first three contests.
When Poche’ took the mound Sunday afternoon, he said he wasn’t thinking about trying to out-do his teammate’s previous performance.
“[Bouman has] been doing that the entire fall, so I didn’t expect him to do anything less,” Poche’ said. “He had a really great outing. I didn’t really have any pressure, I just wanted to come out there and do whatever I could to help the team win.”
Poche’, who had been praised by Mainieri throughout the squad’s spring practices, lived up to the hype — he kept Grambling hitters off balance with a fastball that topped 93 mph and an effective breaking ball, tossing six innings and allowing four hits with three strikeouts.
The former Lutcher High School standout ran into trouble in the top of the sixth inning after allowing runners to reach first and third with no outs, but he stayed collected under the pressure.
“I didn’t really have any nerves,” Poche’ said. “I was just amped up with the big crowd here, the biggest I’ve ever thrown in front of. It was exciting.”
He proceeded to induce a lazy line out to second base, a strikeout and a fly out to end the threat.
With two spots remaining open in the LSU rotation, both Bouman and Poche’ will have to continue with the stellar performances whenever they take the mound over the next three weeks
They’ll get their chances, especially with the Tigers’ bevy of midweek contests, including University of Louisiana-Lafayette, Northwestern State, Sacred Heart and Nicholls State.
“I hope I have a really tough decision on picking three starters for the Vanderbilt series,” Mainieri said. “That would be a dream come true for a head coach. What you hope is that you’re picking from pitchers at a high level. We have some tough mid-week games. … So whoever is going to end up pitching in the middle of the week has to be a good pitcher as well.”
“I hope I have a really tough decision on picking three starters for the Vanderbilt series. That would be a dream come true for a head coach.”

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Angela Major

LSU sophomore outfielder Andrew Stevenson (6) slides into second base Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014 during the Tigers' 6-0 victory against Grambling State University in Alex Box Stadium.