For LSU freshman third baseman Josh Smith, the past few months have been a whirlwind of emotions.
Back in August, Smith’s home was destroyed by the flooding that tore its way through Louisiana. Smith, whose hometown is Greenwell Springs, recalls the exact date that put his first year as a Tiger on hiatus.
“I want to say the exact date was August 13,” Smith said. “We were just hanging out I remember going to sleep the night before thinking nothing of it. And then woke up the next morning to my dad at around 7:30 a.m. and he was telling me to come get a bunch of stuff out and I remember just not even 30 minutes later we probably had water in our house.”
Smith was supposed to move into school in two days, but the flooding prevented him from doing so for a whole week.
“I was moving in two days after that so I had to delay moving in for about a week so,” Smith said. “I had a little bit of time to help out with the house and then get baseball around.”
Smith said the family’s house is now fully repaired and considers his family as one of the lucky ones.
“The house is completely done,” Smith said. “ The family is back in it so it was a blessing for us, we got really lucky.”
Smith is set to start at third base for LSU this season and coach Mainieri says the 5-foot-10, 178-pound infielder has all the requisite tools to be a great ball player.
Smith, who attended Catholic High School, batted .379 with 28 RBIs as a senior and was considered one of the nation’s top 400 prospects by Baseball America.
“Josh is a uniquely talented baseball player,” Mainieri said. “He’s got defensive skills, he can run, he’s got offensive skills hitting the ball, a lot of composure and poise so from the time he’s arrived here he’s looked like a player that’s going to play regularly here.”
Mainieri said Smith has shown lots of resiliency after what he and his family went through back in August.
“He had the rough start last summer when his house got flooded,” Mainieri said. “His family had to deal with it and probably are still dealing with it to some degree but Josh has been able to focus when he comes out here to the field, worked real hard.”
Smith has learned learned a lot from senior second baseman Cole Freeman and senior shortstop Kramer Robertson, saying they let him know what it’s going to be like stepping out onto the field for the first time.
“Kramer and Cole just helping out, telling me to relax and breathe,” Smith said. “Take it one step at a time. Don’t let the game play to fast just do what you’ve been doing your whole life so they have definitely helped me out a lot.”
Smith said he’s not feeling any pregame jitters as of yet, but wouldn’t be surprised if they kicked in tomorrow.
“Not yet,” Smith said. “But I’m sure I’ll have a little bit but I mean I just have to come out relaxed and play the game so we’ll see.”
