LSU shortstop Michael Hollander said he is the first to admit he was not comfortable offensively last season.
“For me, the whole key last year I was really, really tense at the plate,” said Hollander, who batted just .246 last season with one home run.
Hollander is also the first to admit he expected nothing less than the offensive output he has generated in the first 16 games this season.
The sophomore shortstop, who has all ready doubled his home run output from last season, is batting .351 this season and leads the team with 18 RBIs.
“When I came in the fall, I looked totally different, and my coaches helped me out from there,” Hollander said.
And it was the shortstop’s
off-season changes that turned his hitting struggles around.
After the Tigers early exit in the NCAA regionals last season, Hollander headed off to Cape Cod, Mass., to compete in a summer league to improve his game.
But things didn’t work out as planned.
He batted just .205 during the 44-game season, and the general manager of his team noticed Hollander’s struggles.
“He was a little hesitant at the plate,” general manager Bruce Murphy said in January.
With the weight of an extensive hitting slump on his back, Hollander said the time after the summer league really made a difference in his game.
“After my experience this summer, I kind of just shut it down for a good two weeks after summer ball, and I just kind of started from scratch,” Hollander said.
Following his two-week layoff, Hollander said, he began to work alone on his game – he went back to the basics and hit off of a tee.
“I just changed my stance,” Hollander said. “I got in a more athletic stance. I widen out a little bit; I don’t stride anymore.”
LSU coach Smoke Laval said Hollander made a few adjustments in the fall.
“It’s just a matter of growing up and playing the game,” Laval said. “He always hit, and he always hit for power out of high school when we signed him.”
Laval said he always saw Hollander’s ability in practice, which he said left him waiting on the edge of his seat for Hollander’s breakthrough.
“Sometimes you have to play guys because you know they’re going to be superstars,” Laval said. “It would be a surprise if he didn’t perform like he is.”
Senior third baseman Will Harris said he agrees with Laval’s superstar comment, saying Hollander is “the best shortstop in the country in everybody on this team’s mind.”
“It took him a little while to adjust to college,” Harris said. “It’s very hard to come in as a freshman and be able to be successful for a full season, and he understood that after the season was over.”
No. 8 LSU opens up a three-game series with Stetson this weekend in Alex Box. Friday’s game starts at 6:30 p.m., on 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
 
Bogany Injury Update
LSU coach Smoke Laval said freshman centerfielder Jarred Bogany will be able to both bat and play the field this weekend against Stetson.
“He said, ‘I can go,'” Laval said. “I talked to the trainer – if they cleared him, then he’s going to go.”
Bogany tore a tendon sheath in his right wrist Feb. 14 in pregame batting practice.
The freshman is hitting .727 in seven at-bats this season.
 
Contact Kyle Whitfield at [email protected]