Omaha.
The city of just over 400,000 people, approximately 900 miles from Baton Rouge in eastern Nebraska, has been home to Creighton University since 1878.
But since the Skip Bertman era, Omaha has become as much of a home for the LSU baseball and its fans. The purple and gold have called Alex Box Stadium home for many years, but no place carries the same air as Omaha.
Tiger fans book trips and plan vacations around the College World Series months before LSU even begins its season. The phrase is also one of the most common among the team itself. This year’s Nike team-issued cleats have Omaha written on the inside sole of the shoe.
Omaha isn’t a wish or a hope around LSU’s program. It’s an expectation, and this year is no different.
The lineup will be strong thanks to a core of returning starters including junior shortstop Alex Bregman and senior infielder Conner Hale. Third base is a concern, but sophomore Danny Zardon can at least be a capable starter until he runs with it or a reserve pushes for the job.
Speaking of reserves, coach Paul Mainieri has a bevy of both experienced and inexperienced options. It’ll be interesting to see how senior outfielders Jared Foster and Chris Sciambra match up with freshmen Beau Jordan, Bryce Jordan and Michael Papierski.
Mainieri has more talented position players than Sparky Anderson’s “Big Red Machine” from the ’70s. OK, that’s a huge exaggeration, but this team can hit. Add in the change to the lower-seamed baseballs and scoring runs shouldn’t be a problem.
The defense will be exceptional, especially in the outfield with speedsters such as Andrew Stevenson, Mark Laird and Jake Fraley. Bregman and second baseman Kramer Robertson will make a rangy double play duo up the middle of the infield.
When it comes to the Tigers’ Omaha goal is the pitching staff.
The good news is the fabled Aaron Nola will pitch Friday night. The bad news is the first pitch.
But seriously, sophomore Jared Poche’ will get the first crack at the ace role. He posted a 2.45 ERA in 16 starts as a freshman and will be needed as a stabilizing force for the rest of the rotation, which is littered with freshmen.
The scheduled Saturday starter is 6-foot-3 freshman Alex Lange. He has a low 90s fastball with a nice breaking ball, according to his player profile on perfectgame.org. On Sundays, it’ll be 6-foot-3 freshman Jake Godfrey who brings a strong low-to-mid 90s fastball per his profile. Redshirt freshman Jesse Stallings will get the first crack at the closer position.
Freshmen fill three of the four most important spots on the pitching staff. That alone is plenty enough to cast doubt on a trip to Omaha, but don’t lose hope yet.
Once upon a time, Nola was a freshman. He posted a 3.61 ERA and a 7-4 record that year in 16 starts. In 2012, former NC State pitcher Carlos Rodon led the Atlantic Coast Conference in ERA as a freshman.
Now don’t think this means Godfrey, Lange or Stallings will blossom into All-Americans or Tiger-greats in their first season. They’ll have their struggles. They haven’t pitched in college yet.
But in game as mental as baseball, these kids were calmer than I could’ve imagined at Media Day. They said they weren’t afraid of the pressures of pitching for a major program like LSU and were ready for what lies ahead of them.
They have no idea what lies ahead of them and won’t find out until a major series in March, but the confidence and mental composure is there. The freshmen believe in what they do and don’t seem phased by having to do it on such a large scale.
It won’t be easy, but if the youth in the Tigers’ pitching staff can produce at adequately, it’ll be another exciting season at the Box that could end with a trip to Omaha.
Brian Pellerin is a 21-year-old mass communication junior from Kenner, Louisiana. You can follow him on Twitter @Pellerin_TDR.