For most of the national championship season in 2009, LSU coach Paul Mainieri started two freshmen on the left side of his infield.
Tyler Hanover and Austin Nola started at third base and shortstop, respectively, for a combined 89 games that season. Since then, the two players have solidified the left side of the Tigers’ infield and will return to their same positions in 2012.
Despite the temptation of the professional ranks, both opted to reunite for their senior seasons.
“It’s awesome to get to play with another senior,” Nola said. “He’s played [third base] for three years, and I’ve played short for three years, so it ought to be a fun last year.”
Mainieri was elated to hear the two seniors were returning and called them two of his favorite players of all time.
“You couldn’t get them out of the lineup unless there was a bone sticking out of their skin,” Mainieri said. “They’re just great kids that I think are the poster children of our program.”
Nola, a Baton Rouge native and Catholic High School alumnus, returns after starting all 56 games at shortstop in 2011. Nola had a .950 fielding percentage and hit .296 with 42 RBIs. He also hit the Tigers’ only grand slam last season against Arkansas.
Hanover, who hit .311 with 25 RBIs in 2011, returns after setting the LSU single-season record with 15 sacrifice bunts. Hanover found himself at multiple spots in the starting lineup, but he will likely be the Tigers’ leadoff hitter in 2012.
“I fit the height requirement,” said Hanover, who stands 5-foot-6. “Last year, I was probably the smallest guy in the nation as the four-hole hitter. I’m not going to try and go out there and hit a lot of home runs. I’m going to try and be the table setter.”
With sophomore Jacoby Jones moving to center field after starting every game at second base in 2011, junior college transfer Casey Yocom will take over.
Yocom, a Reno, Nev., native, transferred to LSU after spending two seasons with Feather River College in Quincy, Calif. He was named the Golden Valley Conference defensive MVP in 2010.
Mainieri said LSU originally recruited Yocom to replace Nola if he left for the MLB, but with Nola returning, Yocom will make the transition to second base.
“What we did was try Casey at second base and he played fantastic,” Mainieri said. “He was one of the highlights of our fall practice. Casey’s going to be a good, solid, steady player for us.”
First base remains slightly less clear than the rest of the infield. Senior Grant Dozar, junior Mason Katz and freshman Tyler Moore could all see their names as the starting first baseman when LSU faces Air Force on Friday.
Dozar started 14 games at first base in 2011, but also started games at every position in the infield throughout his career. Dozar hit .250 with two home runs and nine RBIs last season.
Moore, an alumnus of Dunham High School in Baton Rouge, enters as one of the top freshmen in his class. The left-handed hitter batted .561 with 15 home runs during his senior year of high school.
The likely starter at first base is Katz, who started 12 games in 2011 at the position. If junior outfielder Raph Rhymes recovers from offseason Tommy John surgery, Mainieri said he will start in the outfield, at which point Katz would move from the outfield to first base.
“If that happens, that gives us two juniors and two seniors in the infield,” Mainieri said. “That veteran presence in the infield gives us a lot of composure and poise in the close games when we’re trying to hold that one-run lead.”
 
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Contact Hunter Paniagua at [email protected]