After a weekend of scouting his squad’s starting southpaws, LSU coach Paul Mainieri has one more left-hander to evaluate when the Tigers travel to Hammond, La., on Wednesday to play Southeastern.
Last weekend, junior college transfer Kyle Bouman and freshman Jared Poche’ combined to toss 11 innings of one-run baseball, allowing a total of seven hits and walking none.
Now junior Cody Glenn will get his chance to bid for a weekend rotation slot.
“I just want him to go out and pitch the way he pitched last year,” Mainieri said. “He needs to mix his pitches up and field his position well.”
Glenn’s 2013 campaign ended with a loss in the team’s final contest – an elimination game in the College World Series. It was the first game Glenn had started since May 22 against Alabama in the Southeastern Conference Tournament because of his suspension for a violation of team rules.
Glenn added a curveball to his repertoire over the summer, and now that he has had the offseason to prepare for 2014, he said he expects to return to his former self.
Prior to his suspension, he compiled a 7-2 record with a 2.41 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 82 innings pitched.
Now that Bouman and Poche’ have already impressed in their debuts, Mainieri will have to decide between the three left-handers for two possible rotation spots.
Glenn said there isn’t any added pressure when he takes the mound on Wednesday.
“I feel like if I’m doing what I need to do, then I’ll be taken care of,” Glenn said. “With these two other lefties doing well I actually think it takes the pressure off of me because I know that if I’m not doing well, then our team is going to be fine with the other two guys.”
Southeastern’s offense boasts junior infielder Jacob Williams, who enters the matchup with a combined five hits in his previous two games. Junior catcher Sam Roberson leads the squad with a .615 on-base percentage through three games, including a .444 batting average.
Being that Hammond is roughly 50 minutes from Baton Rouge, LSU fans are expected to make the trip out to Alumni Field, creating an atmosphere that could make the Tigers feel very much at home.
“Every time you play a team in-state, especially at their place, fans can be crazy,” said junior outfielder Jared Foster. “Southeastern has a lot of great players, and so it’s going to be fun and electric. I can’t wait for it.”
Mainieri said he’s expecting a good crowd at SLU, and he is expecting a scrappy ball club to take the field against his squad.
“The competition this week gets ratcheted up. We always have great games at Southeastern Louisiana,” Mainieri said. “They play to what their ability is. They have a bunch of little guys … who get hit by a lot of pitches and do a lot of sacrifice bunting. I’m going to tell our players that it will be like playing UCLA.”