Prior to Tuesday, it had been over a year since Javen Coleman took the mound in front a crowd at Alex Box Stadium. His last competitive appearance had been on Feb.1, 2022, a game where he posted two strikeouts in just over one inning against Southern. 

After experiencing arm soreness 17 pitches into the outing, he’d exit the game. At the time, he had no idea his return to the same mound wouldn’t come for a long time. 

“It was abrupt. I didn’t know what really happened,” Coleman said. “It definitely sucked for the time being, but I’m here now. Just taking it one step at a time from here.” 

When asked about his time away from the action and what kept him mentally sharp throughout it, Coleman credited his teammates for keeping him positive and elevating his confidence. 

“Everybody was always behind me, being positive,” Coleman said. “So just having those guys behind me, telling me ‘You’re going to be great’ and ‘You’re going to come back and do that’, I think that was a big contributing factor to that.” 

Following the injury to right-handed reliever Garrett Edwards, Coleman’s name was brought up when discussing who could possibly step up with the bullpen as depleted as it was. Soon after, head coach Jay Johnson expressed hope of a return in the near future and stated he was throwing again. 

In games two and three against Kentucky last weekend, he warmed up in the bullpen and had a chance at going in, something he was incredibly excited about. 

“I wouldn’t say I was nervous, but I definitely had a little bit of butterflies,” Coleman said. “I definitely feel like nervousness and butterflies, there’s a fine line between those. But I was more just excited to be out there and do what I do and play with my team.” 

Regarding his official return, it was only a matter of when. And on Tuesday morning, it was announced he would be starting against Louisiana-Lafayette.  

Ten hours later, he stepped up to the mound, took a deep breath and threw his first competitive pitch in over 400 days. 

Ball. 

Coleman’s time back on the mound might not have been perfect and was certainly limited, but it was promising and meaningful. 

After delivering three balls through his first four pitches, he finished off the first batter with back-to-back strikes. Then, when faced with a 2-2 count at the second, he caught the Cajun swinging to secure his second strikeout of the contest.

Though there were a few shaky pitches here and there, it seemed like Coleman got more into a groove with every pitch he threw. His fastball was effective, with it steadily climbing up to 95 miles per hour by the end of the inning. He credited his time in the weight room for a near-seamless return and improvement throughout the inning. 

“My big thing was just getting in the training room, getting healthy and getting stronger,” Coleman said. “Last year and the year before, I think I lacked strength more than anything.” 

While he wouldn’t retire the inning with three strikeouts, he would retire it with the help of right-fielder Brayden Jobert. After pitching two strikes, Louisiana-Lafayette’s Carson Roccaforte nailed one towards right field, and Jobert fielded it to conclude the inning. 

That would mark the end of the night for the redshirt sophomore, as the coaching staff would send Thatcher Hurd in to relieve him at the beginning of the second inning. Coleman finished the night with two strikeouts, zero hits given up and a strike rate of 56% on 16 total pitches. 

Fans likely looked back on the performance fondly throughout the night, not just because it was decent but because things got rough right after his departure and remained that way through much of the night.  

Hurd would give up two earned runs in a third of an inning before being relieved by Riley Cooper. Then, Cooper gave up four in the third and fourth combined to put the Tigers down 6-3 heading into the fifth. 

“We needed those pitchers to pitch tonight. This is not just a grouping of guys. We need them to be good,” head coach Jay Johnson said on the bullpen. “You’re letting them do what they want to do, and you can’t do that against that team.” 

It isn’t the end of the world that LSU was upset by the Cajuns but a collective performance like this won’t fly in the postseason. A game where the Tigers gave up eight runs and 14 hits in a loss illustrates just how much they need their bullpen to return to form, or as much as it can. 

With Coleman back, they’re one step closer to doing that.