Most baseball teams would have a tall order in replacing a pitcher like former LSU standout Louis Coleman.Coleman started 16 games, earned 14 wins, pitched two complete games and had a 2.93 ERA in his final season at LSU.He might not be “replaced” per se, but the Tigers look to be well on their way to picking up the slack.”We were the only team last year who had three All-American players,” said LSU associate head coach David Grewe. “It’s pretty exciting to have two of those back. Louis Coleman is going to be a huge miss, but having Anthony Ranaudo and Matty Ott leading your pitching staff is a key.”Ranaudo, a junior right hander, will be the Friday night starter for the Tigers, and Ott — a sophomore who earned 16 saves last season — will reassume the closer role. “Our pitching staff is going to be solid, if not spectacular at times,” said LSU head coach Paul Mainieri. “Any time you start a staff with Anthony Ranaudo and Matty Ott, you’re going to have a pretty good pitching staff. What we need to do is fill in the holes.”Ranaudo will be joined on the weekend rotation by junior Austin Ross, who will start Saturday, and sophomore Joey Bourgeois, who will get the nod on Sunday.Ross started 17 games last season and maintained a 5.18 ERA while going 6-8. “I’m just looking to be more consistent this year and still go out and give us a chance to win,” Ross said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a 7-6 ball game or we go out and beat someone 1-0, you have to do whatever it takes to win.”Bourgeois is a junior college transfer from LSU-Eunice. He compiled a 12-2 record at LSU-E and was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 39th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.Coaches told Bourgeois before fall practices started he would have an opportunity to compete for a starting job.”Coming out working before the season, it was one of my goals to be a weekend starter,” Bourgeois said. “I figured I would work hard everyday, and I finally accomplished my goal.”The Tigers have figured out their weekend starting rotation, but questions still remain for relief duty and midweek starters.Grewe said all pitchers are available this weekend and could be called upon in any situation to pitch.He said the next month will be crucial for the team’s development before Southeastern Conference play starts. The pitching staff has been working on pitches and trying new pitch sequences to confuse batters in specific situations.”In my first season as the pitching coach here we were making it through virtually the entire year pitching off of our fastball and attacking hitters,” Grewe said. “That’s what coach [Mainieri] wants and that’s the philosophy we’re going to always have, but we were able to have such a great amount of success in the SEC tournament because we were able to change pitch sequences and change the way our pitchers set up hitters.”The change seems to be working for some. Ranaudo said he feels more confident in his pitches than he did last year when he won 12 games and had a 3.04 ERA.”The changeup is a true third pitch now,” Ranaudo said. “It’s something I can throw with 100 percent confidence, and I don’t know if I could say that last year.”—-Contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]