Members of the No. 13 LSU baseball team (14-3) were saying all the right things a day before they open conference play against No. 21 Mississippi State (14-5).
The team is taking it one day, one game at a time.
Leave it to LSU coach Paul Mainieri to make a key distinction.
“We try to get the players conditioned that they focus on every game,” Mainieri said. “But when it’s [a Southeastern Conference] game – these kids come to LSU because of the SEC. So I’m not going to stand here and sound like a hypocrite and say the SEC games don’t matter any more than the regular games, because they do.”
It’s a whole new ballgame once play in the ultra-competitive SEC starts – a lesson the young Tigers learned quickly last season.
After a red-hot 16-1 stretch that included a sweep of No. 6 Cal State Fullerton to open the season in 2011, LSU welcomed No. 1 Florida to Alex Box Stadium for a three-game series to open conference play.
Three games and three losses later, the Tigers were skidding toward a midseason swoon that made it difficult for them to play their way into postseason consideration.
“We started out 1-and-5 [in SEC play last season], and we felt like we were swimming upstream the rest of the season,” Mainieri said.
But that was 2011, and this year Mainieri feels the added seasoning will do nothing but help his team in its quest toward its return to the post season.
And it starts this weekend with Mississippi State, which is coming off two consecutive losses to Southeastern Louisiana.
“The difference is we’re a little bit more experienced this year,” Mainieri said. “If we’re in position to hold a lead at the end, I think our kids are going to have a lot more poise and confidence and ability to do that.”
It also doesn’t hurt to throw a talented trio of young pitchers at SEC foes.
Sophomores Kevin Gausman (4-0, 1.32 ERA) and Ryan Eades (3-1, 2.13 ERA) have confounded hitters this season and will take the hill in their usual Friday and Saturday roles this weekend.
The new face this weekend belongs to freshman Aaron Nola (3-0, 1.80), who is replacing ineffective sophomore Kurt McCune as the Sunday starter.
While it may be Nola’s first career SEC action, he’s seen the caliber of players while watching his big brother, senior shortstop Austin Nola, play against conference competition.
“Watching the SEC, I know every single one of these teams is good,” Aaron Nola said. “You can’t take anything for granted.”
 
____ Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]