After not making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons, the 2012 LSU baseball team has vengeance on its mind.
Despite closing last season with a 12-3 record in their last 15 games, the Tigers missed the postseason. LSU coach Paul Mainieri and his players will use that premature ending to the season as motivation heading into the 2012 campaign.
Being ranked No. 8 by Baseball America in its preseason should also help to kickstart the Tigers’ season.
This year’s LSU baseball team has a similar feeling to this year’s football team. The Tigers lost their best player, Mikie Mahtook, to the MLB draft, but still return a multitude of talent.
Mainieri highlighted at media day Friday that the pitching staff has to carry this team in order for them to be successful. The weekend staff is led by right-handed sophomore hurlers Kevin Gausman, Ryan Eades and Kurt McCune. Mainieri and numerous players have said that they wouldn’t trade those three starters for anyone in the country.
All three have a season of Southeastern Conference play under their belts that should help to ease the fact that the Tigers offense might lack the Blake Dean and Micah Gibbs hitting of past teams. Also, new pitching coach Alan Dunn has a wealth of experience developing MLB arms that will aid in the development of the three sophomores.
One thing Mainieri has to love about this team is the return of seniors Austin Nola and Tyler Hanover. Both are senior leaders who have won a College World Series title and down the stretch will play a big part if this team can make it back to Omaha, Neb.
Another storyline to watch on this team is JaCoby Jones moving from second base to center field. At times last year he was the best defensive infielder on the team, and he will have big shoes to fill in center field, where Mahtook roamed for three years.
Mainieri seems convinced that Jones will be more than ready for the challenge. He better hope so, because I don’t see anyone else on this roster who is able to play center field.
There are lots of reasons for optimism this season, but some glaring holes are still evident.
One thing Mainieri doesn’t seem confident about is who will start at first base, where senior Grant Dozar, junior Alex Edward and even freshman Tyler Moore will contend for playing time.
Things will seemingly get clearer once Raph Rhymes recovers from Tommy John surgery and Mainieri is able to move Mason Katz to first and put Rhymes out in right field.
The key to this year’s Tiger baseball team will be winning one-run games. Going back to the last week of last season, if LSU was able to pull out a victory in the 6-5 loss they suffered in Starkville against Mississippi State, they could have changed their postseason fate.
With such an imposing weekend rotation and a hyped bullpen of newcomers, the LSU offense has to produce runs in order for this team to be one of the top dogs in the SEC.
Finishing at the top of the SEC West will be much easier said than done.
Even with the Tigers ranked No. 8 in the preseason poll, they are only the fourth-highest ranked team from the SEC.
Florida is the preseason No. 1, and South Carolina and Arkansas are right behind them at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. It will be a challenge for Mainieri and his team to survive in Omaha if they are unable to come up with ways to score runs.
But with a weekend rotation that is as strong as anyone’s in the nation and a coach who isn’t afraid to make bold changes to do whatever it takes to win, this baseball team will be a fun one to watch in 2012.
Micah Bedard 21-year-old mass communication senior from Houma. Follow him on Twitter
@DardDog.
 
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Contact Micah Bedard at [email protected]