OMAHA – Arya Stark could learn a thing or two from LSU baseball’s Jack Wholestaff.
If the “Game of Thrones” protagonist’s goal is to become a faceless man, even the Many-Faced God would be impressed with how well Wholestaff has mastered the art of being everyone and no one.
Wholestaff is ambidextrous, made up of freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors. He is tall or short with long or close-cropped hair. He throws over the top or side arm. He has a hard fastball, a deceptive changeup or a filthy curveball. Wholestaff can virtually do it all.
But on Thursday night against TCU, the purple and gold faces of Wholestaff just need to do one thing – their job.
It will start with a veteran face named Zac Person, the Twitter connoisseur who oozes confidence.
The senior left-hander has experience pitching with his back against the wall, aiding LSU-Eunice to a junior college national championship after losing the first game of the JUCO World Series.
As a predominantly late-inning reliever, he only has two starts in his career with the Tigers, but one of them came in the Tigers’ 6-2 win against Auburn earlier this season, where he gave up just one hit in the first three innings.
If he is looking as strong tonight as he did against Auburn, you may see the well-rested Person pitch longer against a predominantly left-handed lineup. Most important, though, his job is to set the tone for Wholestaff.
While not for certain, the next face may be Parker Bugg, the towering right-hander who has become the most reliable reliever on the team.
In his last 13 1/3 innings pitched, he has allowed just one run on seven hits while striking out 15 batters. He, like Person, mostly appears late in games, even sharing some of the closing role. Bugg slammed the door on Louisiana-Lafayette in Game 1 of the Baton Rouge Regional, retiring the side after the Cajuns tied the game in the top of the ninth inning.
It may surprise some to see a setup man and a quasi-closer pitch first with the season on the line, but Mainieri may consider using his best two arms out of the bullpen if the game is tight.
If Person can set the tone, Bugg’s job will be to keep the Wholestaff boat steady.
The final faces could be Russell Reynolds, Jesse Stallings, Collin Strall or Alden Cartwright. The task will be to shut the Horned Frogs down in the late innings, avoiding a collapse in the final 6-9 outs.
If LSU learned anything from its last meeting with TCU, it has to be to limit extra opportunities. Certainly, the Tigers will need the offense to come to life as it did in the fourth inning against Cal State-Fullerton. But if the final faces of Wholestaff eliminate walks, hit batters and errors, the Tigers should be in good position to advance to date with Vanderbilt on Friday.
Wholestaff doesn’t need to be Alex Lange. It simply needs to do its job. By the end of it, the baseball gods should be pleased.
James Bewers is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from New Orleans. You can reach him on Twitter @JamesBewers_TDR.
LSU sophomore infielder Danny Zardon (27) bats during the Tigers' forth practice at the NCAA College World Series on Wednesday, June 17, 2015 in Creighton University Sports Complex.
