Every year, LSU baseball adopts a word or phrase that represents a meaning or goal that the program has set its sights on when heading into the season.
This year, that word is ‘powerhouse.’
The mantra couldn’t have been more accurately chosen. It describes with just 10 letters the dominance and true power of LSU baseball’s capability and, more specifically, its capability at the plate.
Going into this season, head coach Jay Johnson and the rest of the coaching staff knew that offensively, their team would be pretty stacked. For example, the recruiting of transfer Tommy White was a huge addition to the roster, especially batting-wise.
The sophomore quickly made a name for himself at North Carolina State as week after week he proved to be a necessity for the Wolfpack’s production of runs. White finished his freshman season batting .362, collecting 85 hits, 27 runs and 74 RBI. He was named the Dick Howser Trophy Player of the Month after collecting 20 hits, 29 RBIs, nine home runs and 18 runs scored in just eight games.
White isn’t the only powerhouse on LSU’s roster, though. The many additions to the team this year only elevate the talent that the program contains. Veteran players like Gavin Dugas, Cade Beloso, Tre’ Morgan and Dylan Crews have been consistently successful at the plate, putting runs on the board when LSU has needed them most.
Crews especially has continued to prove why he is regarded as a possible No. 1 draft pick in the MLB. Not only is his spot in center field unwavering, but the Florida native is also stepping up to the plate with a .531 batting average. To put that in perspective, a .531 batting average means that in 10 at-bats, Crews will land on a base at least five times.
Crews currently leads the country in batting average, according to D1 Baseball. Mike Boeve, who plays for Omaha, is second in the country for batting average and, though currently strutting a solid .489, is still nowhere near passing Crews.
After totaling 36 runs in a series against Samford, fans were excited to see just how well this offense would do in conference play. Just one week later LSU took the first game of its series against Texas A&M 9-0. Though it wasn’t a complete sweep for the Tigers, they outscored the Aggies that weekend 27-15.
Heading into the series against Arkansas, fans believed that this type of offense would continue to prevail. When game one finally began, however, this was not the case.
“Offensively, we had a couple of opportunities that got away from us,” Johnson said after that game. “You know, but good pitching will do that too.”
The Razorbacks’ bullpen for game one was unmanageable for the Tigers. Left-handed pitchers Hunter Hollan and Hagen Smith proved to be a challenge for every single LSU hitter. Though the Tigers had eight hits in the game, not a single one resulted in a run until the bottom of the eighth inning. LSU was outscored by Arkansas 9-3 after going into an extra inning with one run each.
It was obvious that the left-handed pitchers accounted for LSU’s poor performance at the plate and that remained a concern going into the next game. If Arkansas had another left-handed pitcher ready to go in game two, would LSU perform poorly again?
Yet again, however, LSU reminded fans of just the type of powerhouse it is.
In game two of the series, the Tigers collected 16 hits, taking the game 12-2 and drawing it to a close in the seventh inning. In game three, where the outcome would determine who ultimately took the series, LSU defeated Arkansas 14-5.
Though Arkansas didn’t use any more left-handed pitchers, the performance of the Tigers at the plate was undeniable.
“A little adversity doesn’t shake them,” Johnson said. “And I thought their performance today was another good example of that. You know, you never know when the big pitch is going to come. But you want to be in the right headspace so that you can execute your plan when it does and we did that.”
Game three was really where this dominance was indisputable. LSU plated six runs in just the fourth inning alone, grabbing onto a lead that it ultimately never let go of.
Crews started the scoring early, grabbing a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning. In that solid fourth inning, Thompson led the Tigers off at the plate with a double. Soon after, Dugas secured a two-run shot of his own. White had struggled throughout the series at the plate, but the pieces had finally started to come together in game three when he sent over a three-run home run, allowing the Tigers to reach 10 runs.
White was untouchable in this last game and further solidified his strength at the plate in the sixth inning when he sent over yet another home run. This next time, however, White’s shot accounted for four runs; it was a grand slam.
“What Tommy [White] did today was very special,” Crews said. “Very mature of him to shake that off and move on and do what he did today.”
In game three, LSU totaled four home runs, 11 hits and 13 RBI.
Moving forward, LSU will continue to see other strong SEC programs, and after that first performance against Arkansas, it’s probable that the Tigers will be seeing a lot more left-handed pitchers in the future. This weakness could be one that halts LSU’s success. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if the Tigers adjust and if their solid performances can come against left-handed pitchers as well.
LSU is now 21-3 on the season and will be gearing up for yet another top-25 matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers, who sport multiple left-handed pitchers. The home-field advantage will be crucial for LSU, but this series will be a huge test to see if that first game against Arkansas was just a fluke, especially if the Volunteers have left-handed pitchers coming out of the bullpen.
Until then, however, LSU remains a powerhouse.
