Before the 2006 season began, LSU pitching coach Brady Wiederhold used the word “untested” to describe the Tigers’ youthful pitching staff.
Thirty-nine games into regular season play, Wiederhold said he feels a bit more comfortable with the team’s pitching but admits there are still some unanswered questions lingering.
One year ago Jason Determann and Jordan Faircloth anchored the LSU bullpen with 11 saves combined and 2.30 and 2.78 ERAs, respectively.
But without Determann and Faircloth, Wiederhold said the Tigers miss their experience in late innings.
“Last year we had guys that had experience and had been in there a whole heck of a lot in those tight situations,” Wiederhold said. “It’s tough when you don’t have experienced guys to go late into the game.”
Senior right-hander Chase Dardar, who was a reliever on the 2005 squad, said having two pitchers the team could count on to close games was reassuring.
“Those are two guys right there [Determann and Faircloth] that had been here a while and got the job done day in and day out,” Dardar said. “Knowing what you’re getting from a guy day in and day out as opposed to this year, that’s the biggest difference – you really don’t know what to expect this year.”
Dardar said another one of the staff’s downfalls this season has been the amount of walks the pitchers have allowed.
The Tigers have given out 119 free passes this year and 10 in the past two games.
“Any ballgame you don’t walk anybody, and you don’t make any errors, you’re going to give yourself a chance to win,” Dardar said. “That’s the main thing.”
Coming down the stretch, Wiederhold labeled Dardar and senior right-hander Will Harris as the team’s main relievers.
Dardar is second on the team with five wins and three saves.
Harris has a team-best 1.59 ERA in four appearances.
“I’ve been happy for the most part with Chase Dardar coming in late,” Wiederhold said. “He’s been our go-to guy recently. We got [Will Harris] in last night [against Tulane], and he did a very good job at the end. You’ll start to see us use him more in that role.”
With 17 games remaining in the regular season, Wiederhold said the starting rotation is set, barring any injuries.
“We’ve kind of solidified that for the time being,” Wiederhold said. “You never want a game like last Sunday [against Alabama], but they have gone out there most of the season and done what we expected.”
LSU’s rotation of freshman Louis Coleman and juniors Clay Dirks and Derik Olvey have combined for 13 wins so far this season in 33 games.
But Olvey said the Tigers’ performances of late have been less than acceptable.
“We’ll look good one day, and then another day we’ll struggle,” Olvey said. “I think we just said that in our last 10 games, we’re hitting like .330, but opponents are hitting .320 against us.”
Wiederhold said he has been pleased with Olvey’s success after transferring from Notre Dame and becoming the Sunday starter.
“Olvey didn’t quite know what type of role he would take on when he got here in the SEC,” Wiederhold said. “So him stepping into that starter’s role during the weekend for us has been outstanding.”
The junior right-hander leads the club with six wins and 65 innings pitched.
“I’m happy with the way I’m pitching,” Olvey said. “I still have five more starts in the regular season, so it’s too early to be content.”
Wiederhold said Coleman’s ability to become the Friday night starter and be successful in his role is also encouraging.
“He was thrust into the situation on Friday nights, and the last two times he has done very well,” Wiederhold said.
With five SEC series remaining on the schedule, Wiederhold said the coaching staff has a better idea of who deserves to have the ball in their hand when it counts.
“Now we’ve got a pretty good plan on how to attack the second half of the season,” he said. “When you have a lot of new guys, it takes a while to do that.”
 
 
Contact Kyle Whitfield at [email protected]