There must be something in the water in Eunice — and whatever it is found its way on the field in Alex Box Stadium during the defending national champion LSU Tigers’ season-opening sweep of the Centenary Gents.The No. 2 Tigers’ LSU-Eunice transfers pitcher Joey Bourgeois and left fielder Trey Watkins put on a show for Tiger fans this weekend.But these sophomores were just two of the many bright spots for LSU in the series. This series had it all — a one-run victory Friday, a 25-8 blowout Saturday and a 4-0 pitcher’s duel on Sunday. It was easy to see what this team was made of because it got a taste of nearly every situation it might face this season.The pitching gets one thumb up and one thumb down.      The thumb up goes to the starters.Bourgeois made his first start in a Tiger uniform Sunday and enjoyed the finest outing of the three starters, although none of them allowed an earned run.The transfer pitched six innings and struck out seven batters while allowing only four hits. Returning starters juniors Anthony Ranaudo and Austin Ross both lasted five innings and struck out 11 between them. This was a very good sign considering LSU coach Paul Mainieri was concerned with the pitching staff because its preparation was hindered by the late school start and other various delays.As good as the starters were, the bullpen was just as bad. Freshman Jordan Rittiner, sophomore Matty Ott and senior Paul Bertuccini pitched well, but the relievers as a whole earn a thumbs down.Juniors Daniel Bradshaw, Mitch Mormann and freshman Michael Reed each struggled in their relief appearances.  Bradshaw surrendered three runs Friday, allowing Centenary to tie the game. Reed and Mormann gave the Gents a combined seven runs on Saturday. They suffered from what Mainieri called “control issues,” but the coach feels they can battle through and become reliable relievers. If the bullpen can’t improve, it will be a major problem for the Tigers — especially in the season’s early going while the Tigers work to get the starters’ pitch counts up.Sharing the field with these pitchers was a nearly completely revamped defense. The new-look defense featured a different position player in four of the nine positions and earned a thumbs up. It would have been understandable if the Tiger defense was out-of-sync, but LSU committed only one error during the weekend via a misplayed fly ball by Watkins. He robbed a base hit with a diving catch the next day.The dominant defensive play was a very good sign for the team because this team probably won’t score as many runs as last year’s team.LSU’s batters still earned a thumbs up despite the less powerful offense.They showed how versatile the Tigers’ offense is.The offense put up 25 runs on Saturday after fighting for five on Friday, then the batters showed Sunday they could manufacture when facing solid pitching.LSU sophomore Mikie Mahtook scored a run that was the definition of small ball in the win. Mahtook walked, stole second and reached third on a wild pitch. He was then brought home on a blooper to right field by senior designated hitter Matt Gaudet.Mainieri praised Gauder for simply putting the ball in play instead of striking out.  Watkins, the leadoff hitter, scored seven runs this weekend and along with most of the LSU base runners, was very aggressive on the base paths. LSU stole five bases during the weekend and was caught stealing three times.If this team can get solid performances from the bullpen and continue to receive the effort it got from everyone this weekend, there is no reason it won’t be able to compete for another title.
Amos Morale is a 22-year-old history senior from Houston. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_amosmorale3.—————Contact Amos Morale at [email protected]