One hit.
For a collegiate baseball player, a hit may be taken for granted. But for LSU senior third baseman Conner Hale, a hit brings him one game away from history.
With a hit tonight against McNeese State, Hale would tie the LSU record for most consecutive games with a hit to start a season at 17.
“At the beginning of the season, I kind of had my bat wrapped around my head,” Hale said. “[Hitting coach Andy Cannizaro] helped me straighten my bat out more to be more straight to the ball, and he wants me to be more aggressive. I feel like I’ve been pretty aggressive.”
Hale has been a constant for the No. 1 Tigers (15-1) during the hit streak, batting .338 with eight extra base hits and 15 RBIs to go along with a .508 slugging percentage. Hale’s six doubles on the season are tied for the team lead with junior shortstop Alex Bregman.
Hale was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week this week after his performance in the Houston College Classic. The New Port Richey, Florida, native batted .400 and registered a double, a two-run home run and five RBIs during the Tigers’ three-game sweep. Hale also tallied a double, a triple and two RBIs in wins against Stephen F. Austin and Grambling State.
The last player to go on a 17-game hit streak for the Tigers was junior center fielder Andrew Stevenson, who went for 17 straight in 2014.
“I’m not trying to think of that when I’m up there,” Hale said. “I’m just trying to think about putting the barrel on the ball and drive it. It would be awesome, but like I said, I’m not really focused on that. I’m just trying to go up there with every at bat.”
While Hale has been a constant for the Tigers, senior catcher Kade Scivicque has been just as productive in his 11 games played this season.
Scivicque leads the team in batting average at .417 and in home runs with three. Scivicque also leads all starters in both slugging percentage at .778 and on-base percentage at .452.
“He has been one of our best players. He’s a leader of the team,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said after the Tigers’ 7-1 victory over Grambling State, where Scivicque went 2-for-3 with an RBI. “He threw that guy out stealing [against Grambling State], handles his staff great. Everybody wants to point right away at his hitting, and rightfully so, it was a big hit he got against [Grambling State].
“We were down a run, and the guy was throwing so slow it was kind of baffling our guys. But he stayed back after being way out in front of the first pitch and rifled the ball out to right center. It was a nice piece of hitting by him.”
Scivicque joins Hale as the only two Tigers to receiver Player of the Week honors so far this season, with Scivicque receiving SEC Co-Player of the Week on Feb. 23 after batting .545 during the week. He also hit .667 in the Tigers’ weekend sweep against Boston College.
Scivicque said what has helped him get off to a hot start is his patience at the plate.
“[I’m] just trying to see a good pitch to hit and hit it hard through the infield,” Scivicque said. “I’m just trying to be patient and look for a pitch that I can drive and try to put a good swing on it. Just coming out here everyday. We come out here and work everyday and just trying to get a pitch that I can hit hard and just try to hit it hard and not miss my chance.”
Scivicque’s consistency has been hard to ignore even with Hale’s lasting success in the batters box along with the hot bats in the rest of the Tigers’ lineup. Bregman said the team is beginning to click, and Scivicque has been a big part of its success.
“He has been great,” Bregman said. “He has been going up there having competitive at bats every time he steps up there. If you come watch him play for a game, if he gets four at-bats, he’s probably going to barrel the ball four times. A lot of the outs he has made have been hard-hit outs as well, so you know what you’re going to get from him. You know you’re going to get a guy who’s going to go in there and compete and barrel the ball up. He’s really playing well.”
You can reach Jack Chascin on Twitter @Chascin_TDR.