LSU has won a share of the Southeastern Conference Championship for the 17th time in school history.
The Tigers closed out its regular season with a sweep of ninth-ranked Mississippi State in Starkville. The three victories helped LSU not only clinch the Western Division, but also a share of the SEC regular season title.
LSU (39-17, 21-9 SEC) has now won 11 out of its last 12 games in conference play, with the one loss coming at the hands of South Carolina.
“We were this close to sweeping our last four SEC series,” said coach Paul Mainieri, who has now won four SEC championships in his eleven seasons at LSU. “We did that back in 2008, and we were close this year. We’ll be happy to share the championship with Florida, and we’re happy to be the Western Division champions.”
On the weekend, the Tigers had key performances from junior pitcher Alex Lange, junior first baseman Nick Coomes and junior designated hitter Beau Jordan.
Lange allowed one run through seven innings pitched in a 3-1 victory Thursday, and Coomes and Jordan were catalysts at the plate in LSU’s back-to-back 11-run performances on Friday and Saturday.
The Tigers also saw major contributions from freshman reliever Zach Hess, senior shortstop Kramer Robertson and junior catcher Michael Papierski.
“I am just so proud of our guys,” Mainieri said. “The season had peaks and valleys, but I knew we could play solid baseball. I think we played tremendous baseball in this series.”
LSU has rebounded nicely from an inconsistent middle-part of the season where there were many doubts on the team’s overall ability. The Tigers suffered through a stretch in late March and early April where they only won three out of nine games.
Mainieri’s squad persevered, and has closed out the season with 15 wins in their final 20 games.
Postseason Play
With the regular season behind them, the baseball team will now shift its focus to the SEC Tournament in Hoover.
LSU, looking to win its twelfth SEC Tournament championship and the first since 2014, returns to Hoover as the No. 2 seed behind the Florida Gators.
The Tigers, who are in hot pursuit of a national seed, will face the winner of Tuesday’s matchup between Texas A&M and Missouri at approximately 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
LSU will most likely need to win a minimum of two games in tournament play to clinch a national seed and the chance to host a Super Regional.
