At one point this season, I had my doubts about the LSU baseball team.
The Tigers suffered losses to Appalachian State, Notre Dame and Auburn. They just couldn’t seem to put together consistent pitching and hitting performances on the same night.
They stumbled into a home series against then-No. 3 Arkansas on the last weekend in March with a mere 3-3 record in their last six games. It looked like the same recipe the 2011 team followed that resulted in exclusion from the NCAA tournament.
The Tigers’ sweep of the Razorbacks completely changed my mind.
The knock on LSU coach Paul Mainieri’s squad last season was they couldn’t win one-run games. LSU used two one-run victories in the Arkansas series to complete the sweep.
LSU was 2-7 in one-run games in the Southeastern Conference slate last season. The Tigers have improved to 8-3 in games decided by one run in SEC contests this season.
So, what’s the reason for the turnaround this season for the Tigers when it comes to pulling out close victories?
The best answer to that question was laid out by LSU first baseman Grant Dozar on Twitter after the Tigers’ 5-4 victory over No. 2 Kentucky.
“Pitching, defense and clutch hitting….formula isn’t a secret,” Dozar tweeted late Friday night.
The interesting part of the tweet to me was Dozar tagged former Tiger players Buzzy Haydel, Chris McGhee and Nolan Cain. All three of those players were part of the 2009 LSU national championship team along with Dozar.
If LSU plans on having any chance of finishing like the 2009 team, it will have to embrace the pitching, defense and clutch hitting mentality the rest of the season.
Up to this point, they have excelled when it comes to the three aspects laid out by Dozar.
The main reason LSU has been competitive in every series is the performance of sophomore hurler Kevin Gausman. The steadying presence of Gausman on the mound on Friday nights gives the Tigers a chance to win any game he starts.
Gausman is tied for the SEC lead in strikeouts with Mississippi State’s Chris Stratton at 88. That’s a lot of powdered donuts.
Once the postseason begins, any team that has to face either Gausman, fellow sophomore Ryan Eades or freshman Aaron Nola will be at a disadvantage. The LSU pitching staff currently ranks No. 3 in the SEC in opposing players’ batting average, holding batters to a .235 average.
Defense behind the pitchers have been stellar as well. LSU might have the most experienced left side of the infield in the nation with seniors Austin Nola and Tyler Hanover at short and third, respectively.
The Tigers have a .979 fielding percentage and have committed the second-fewest errors in the conference with only 32. They simply don’t make mistakes.
But all the dominant pitching and amazing plays in the field can’t put runs on the board. Behind the out-of-this-world season by outfielder Raph Rhymes, the Tigers have been able to come up with clutch hit after clutch hit.
Fans need to realize how valuable Rhymes is to LSU’s success this season. The junior is currently hitting .500 with 70 hits through 41 games.
Although Rhymes’ play at the plate has been terrific, the rest of the Tigers need to realize that he’s not a machine. He’s just Raph Rhymes. Other LSU bats must come to life in order for this to be another magical run to Omaha, Neb.
As simple as it sounds, if LSU is able to keep up the steady pitching, fielding and clutch hitting, the sky is the limit for the Tigers.
Micah Bedard is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Houma. Follow him on Twitter @DardDog.
 
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Contact Micah Bedard at [email protected]