Thirty-eight days ago, LSU baseball was in the midst of a season that was, by all accounts, a disappointment.
Sitting at 22-15 and having lost all five SEC series to that point, the Tigers seemed to be another victim-in-waiting of the championship hangover that claimed the previous two champions, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, who each missed the postseason entirely after their title wins.
Instead, LSU has since transformed into a completely different team. The Tigers have won 16 of their last 21 games, including 12 of 17 against SEC opponents.
The latest of those wins was an 11-0 mercy rule over Kentucky, the consensus No. 2 team in the national polls and the third seed in the SEC Tournament.
LSU squeaked into the SEC Tournament as one of the last two teams in the field, but it’s now making the kind of run that would’ve been expected from a team returning much of a championship core.
The Tigers’ success has come at just the right time. With the NCAA Tournament field to be announced on Monday, LSU has limited time to make its case that they belong among the 64 teams, presumably with an at-large bid.
However, a sweep over fellow bubble team Ole Miss in LSU’s final regular season series and wins over likely regional hosts Georgia and Kentucky have things looking much brighter for the Tigers.
Already projected to be in the NCAA Tournament by both D1 Baseball and Baseball America, LSU has seemingly clinched its spot with its impressive late run.
A resounding victory against Kentucky ranks as one of LSU’s more impressive wins of the season, and it was a good marking point of how far the team has come.
“[LSU head coach] Jay Johnson is one of the best coaches in all of college baseball,” Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione said. “If anyone was going to figure it out, it was him.”
Michael Braswell leads it off in a big way
LSU led for all but three pitches of the game. On the third offering by Kentucky pitcher Travis Smith, Tiger shortstop Michael Braswell III went yard for a home run.
Braswell has been embattled this season with inconsistent offensive performances and a surprisingly poor glove – among LSU’s regular position players, he has the worst fielding percentage and the most errors with 12.
Transferring in after two successful years at South Carolina, more was expected out of Braswell. Against Kentucky, he put up the kind of performance the Tigers were hoping for and needed.
“To be up 1-0 in the first inning, especially as the visitor’s team, kind of set the tone for the game,” first baseman Jared Jones said. “He’s been doing a great job on both sides of the ball for us, especially here lately.”
In addition to that opening home run, Braswell sent another runner home with an RBI groundout and got on base with a walk and a hit by pitch that both became runs after grand slams.
LSU’s offense was certainly well-rounded, with eight different players getting on base and four different home runs, including grand slams from both Jared Jones and Tommy White.
However, it all started with Braswell, who set the tone from the jump.
Luke Holman continues his dominance
The picture of consistency during LSU’s tumultuous season has been starting pitcher Luke Holman. The second team All-SEC selection has been one of the team’s greatest weapons.
Facing a Kentucky offense that has been the SEC’s best by almost every traditional metric since SEC play began, Holman didn’t blink.
Even with only four days of rest, Holman displayed his usual dominance, allowing zero hits and amassing seven strikeouts through six innings before he was replaced; at that point, the game was all but over.
“He just doesn’t give up hits,” Mingione said. “The guy is extremely stingy.”
“I think I mixed really well today,” Holman said of his pitch choices. “Even behind on hitters, I still stayed in the zone.”
On the first batter Holman’s replacement faced, his no-hit bid was lost. Still, Holman’s performance was yet another great addition to an excellent season.
The strength of LSU’s pitching is clearly its two aces, Holman and Gage Jump. The starters beyond that have had their struggles and could potentially be what keeps LSU from advancing any further in the SEC Tournament with Holman and Jump now resting.
However, the Tigers have a duo that are pitching at a level that few teams can boast, and that bodes well for their postseason chances.
“I’ll take our chances against anybody with those two guys on the mound,” Johnson said.
What’s next?
With the win over Kentucky, LSU remains in the winners’ bracket of the SEC Tournament.
The Tigers will face the winner of Arkansas and South Carolina’s Wednesday matchup at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
If LSU wins that game, it’ll immediately advance to the tournament semifinals. If it loses, the team will still have another chance in the double-elimination portion of the tournament.
Should LSU go on to win the SEC Tournament, it will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. However, even without that, it seems likely the Tigers have done enough to punch their ticket.
“We’re playing better than anybody right now,” Johnson said.
In any case, the team will find out during the NCAA Selection Show at noon on Monday.
