After an embarrassing loss to Oregon State on Monday, LSU is looking for redemption in Friday’s rematch.
The 13-1 loss to Oregon State was the biggest loss for LSU in Omaha since 1994 when Cal St. Fullerton defeated the Tigers 20-6.
So what does a team do after suffering a historic loss? They get new haircuts.
The new-look Tigers bounced back against Florida State with a 7-4 win, keeping its season alive. Blonde Kramer Robertson had his first hit in Omaha in the win against the Seminoles, and freshman reliever Zack Hess, who calls his fastball “The Terminator,” rocked the “Wild Thing” haircut as he terminated the Seminoles season with three strikeouts in the bottom of the ninth.
Coach Paul Mainieri said in his postgame press conference that he wanted the team’s haircuts back to normal for Thursday’s practice, but eventually caved due to family pressure and being called a ‘fuddy-duddy.’
“I get to the hotel last night with my family there, and they’re all telling me ‘You’re being an old fuddy-dud. Why can’t you let them wear their hair how they want? If they think it helps them, and helps the team bond, let them do it.’” Mainieri said. “It was 10 against one, so I caved.”
Mainieri, who may be the only coach in America to consistently use the phrase Fuddy-Duddy, sent a text to the team around midnight on Wednesday saying they could keep their haircuts.
The coach said that he thought it was only senior shortstop Robertson who dyed his hair to bring attention to himself. It wasn’t until afterwards that he realized a dozen players had “done something unique with their domes.”
The Tigers, (50-18), will need more than outlandish haircuts to defeat the Beavers, (56-4), Friday afternoon. LSU will need play much cleaner in the field and get more than two hits before the ninth inning.
Mainieri has decided to trot out the same lineup he used in the second game against Florida State behind junior pitcher Alex Lange.
LSU’s lineup will be attempting to do something no one in college baseball has done this year, and that’s beat Oregon State’s Jake Thompson. Thompson is 14-0 in 19 appearances with a 1.84 ERA this season.
“I think if we get ahead, pitch our game and let the defense work, we have a pretty good chance,” Lange said. “I’m ready to go. I’m excited for this opportunity. It’s a good team, this is the team I’ve wanted to pitch against all year being number one in the nation, so it’s going to be fun.”
