The No. 7 LSU baseball team is a work in progress.
After four victories, LSU coach Paul Mainieri still has some things he’s sorting out, taking advantage of some lesser competition to experiment and determine how to best utilize his squad.
Mainieri has made four different lineups, sent 16 batters to the plate and used 12 pitchers throughout LSU’s first four games. That process will continue as the Tigers (4-0) host Appalachian State (2-1) for a weekend series beginning at 7 p.m. today.
“The nice thing about playing at home is our players come out to the field early,” Mainieri said. “They get extra work in the batting cages. This is a time for them to develop and continue to improve.”
As LSU has earned easy victories in most of its games this season, Mainieri has worked several freshmen into the fold, with catcher Tyler Moore and utility player Jared Foster contributing a combined six RBIs.
But Mainieri warned against fans assuming LSU will cruise against Appalachian State.
“They’re a good team that nobody’s heard of in these parts,” Mainieri said. “Everybody expects them to not be a very good team, and the contrary is true. They are as experienced a team as you’ll ever play.”
The Mountaineers return 22 letterwinners from last year’s team, which finished 33-27 and 15-15 in the Southern Conference. Appalachian State won two games against Akron last weekend after suffering a season-opening loss to George Mason.
Appalachian State’s starting pitchers senior Seth Grant and junior Rob Marcello combined to throw 11 scoreless innings with a combined 13 strikeouts during the Mountaineers’ opening weekend.
“Whenever coaches go out of their way to call me to schedule games, I always know there’s some angle that they’re playing,” said Mainieri, who admits he rarely denies a school that requests to play LSU. “I’m sure their coach figured that they’re going to have a very experienced team, so what better time to take on the Bayou Bengals in their ballpark.”
Mainieri continues to work with the final spot in the lineup, with three different hitters occupying the nine hole this season. Senior Grant Dozar has hit ninth twice, batting .333 in six at bats with four runs and one of LSU’s two home runs.
“Every time you get an opportunity, you have to go out there and show what you’re capable of doing,” Dozar said. “You have to put your best foot forward to try and crack that lineup. All the guys have enjoyed getting that opportunity, and everyone’s challenging each other.”
Mainieri also plans to experiment with his bullpen. As in the first four games, Mainieri hinted that a number of pitchers could see playing time as he sorts out what roles his players will fill.
“We’re going to be able to count on [junior Nick] Goody, [sophomore Nick] Rumbelow and [freshman Aaron] Nola,” Mainieri said. “It’s the guys after that that we need to find out which are the ones we can really count on. The only way to find that out is to run them out there.”
 
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Contact Hunter Paniagua at [email protected]