After dropping two hard-fought games in a top-five matchup against No. 2 Kentucky in Lexington last weekend, No. 4 LSU (32-9) is determined to close the season on a strong note.
They’ll get started on that mission at 6:30 p.m. tonight against Southeastern Louisiana (28-13) in Alex Box Stadium.
“It’s hard to find a lot of fault with the kids and the way they’re doing it right now,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “We talked last week about being the best we [can be] down the stretch. … We’ve still got some big games ahead of us.”
In order to do that, LSU is looking to iron out some wrinkles in its game.
High on the list would be a bounce-back game from sophomore second baseman JaCoby Jones, who Mainieri hopes got a wake up call in LSU’s 7-6 loss in the Kentucky series finale.
Mainieri pulled the embattled second baseman after the third inning, when Jones’ lack of effort on a tough ground ball was followed by a two-out, three-run rally by the Wildcats.
After batting .338 with four home runs and 32 RBI in his debut season, earning Freshman All-American and Freshman All-Southeastern Conference honors in the process, Jones has scuffled along in his sophomore campaign.
Jones’ batting average fell to .245 after the Kentucky series, during which he went 0-for-8 with three strikeouts and was moved to the bottom of the order.
While he removed Jones from the game and the top of the order, Mainieri insisted that he hasn’t given up on him.
“JaCoby Jones has the capabilities to be an excellent baseball player. He’s as physically gifted a player that we have on our team,” Mainieri said. “Sometimes he’s his own worst enemy. When he has the right frame of mind, and he’s mentally tough and he cares about the right things, that talent shines through.”
Mainieri said he thought Jones’ struggles at the plate have transferred to the field. When asked if he was going to give Jones some more time away from the field, Mainieri was quick to respond.
“I hope the six innings he sat out in [Sunday’s] game might’ve served that purpose,” Mainieri said.
Joining Jones in pursuit of redemption is starting pitcher Joe Broussard (4-0, 4.15), who turned in a couple of uninspiring innings in last week’s 5-4 win against Lamar.
Lamar touched Broussard for a two-run homer in the first inning, and he was pulled after two innings with the score tied at two.
“I’d like to see us get off to a good start. Let the team get into a good comfortable feeling in a ballgame where they don’t start pressing,” Mainieri said. “Sometimes in these games, you fall behind early and the kids start to press. I just think we need to pitch better at the beginning of the game.”
Mainieri toyed with the idea of starting junior Brent Bonvillain (2-0, 3.10) instead, but his left arm may be needed in the upcoming weekend series against Georgia, and Mainieri said he didn’t want to overextend him.
Southeastern isn’t likely to go down easy against Broussard. The Lions are led offensively by junior infielder Brock Hebert, who is hitting .401 this season and has speed to burn with 30 stolen bases.
Similar to LSU, Southeastern doesn’t boast a true power hitter in its lineup – the team has only socked five home runs this season – but it comes into the game with a .275 team batting average and more than doubles its opponents in sacrifice hits [53-to-25].
Senior right-hander Josh Janway (2-2, 2.95 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Lions.
 
 
 
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Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]