A clear difference between last year’s national championship baseball team and this season’s 41-22 club can be found in the team’s ERA.The 2010 ERA was more than a point and a half higher than last season’s when LSU held opposing batters to 4.02 earned runs per game.This season’s pitching staff combined for a 5.56 ERA, eighth in the Southeastern Conference.”That’s the worst earned run average I’ve had a team have since … probably since my days at the Air Force Academy,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri at his postseason press conference. Mainieri said pitching was a major part of the disappointing season that ended Sunday with a 4-3 loss to UC Irvine in the Los Angeles regional.”When you don’t compete every day at the mound, it makes it very hard to win consistently,” Mainieri said.Mainieri said the team didn’t reach its full potential.”There are things I’d say no we didn’t, but then there are other times when I’d say maybe we did,” Mainieri said. Mainieri said he understands his team can’t win a national championship every year, but it still remains his No. 1 goal.”We went 1-2 in a regional. We didn’t make it to Omaha. We didn’t win a national championship,” Mainieri said. “Our standards are always going to be getting to Omaha and having a chance at winning the national championship.”Mainieri said the team’s performance didn’t meet his preseason expectations.”I didn’t think our team going into the year was going to be as strong as the year before,” Mainieri said. “I thought we had a chance to be a good solid team, and I certainly thought we could get to Omaha.”The pitching staff returned All-American gunslingers Anthony Ranaudo and Matty Ott. The one-two punch was expected to light up radar guns and lead the Tigers to another trip to Omaha.But Mainieri said Ranaudo’s elbow injury and Ott’s inconsistencies spoiled LSU’s chances of a repeat.”We had two returning All-American pitchers that pitched well below what they did before,” Mainieri said. “Ranaudo was really not the No. 1 that he was the year before.”Junior pitcher Austin Ross saw his ERA stay about the same from his sophomore season.”Austin Ross pitched a little better than he did the year before, but I don’t think Austin Ross was a bona fide one or two starter the way we had the year before,” Mainieri said.Ross agreed with Mainieri about the disappointment of the pitching staff.”We could have pitched a lot better,” Ross said. “We struggled, and it didn’t work out for us. Anytime you play here, it’s either go to the [College] World Series, or it’s kind of a bust.”Offensively, Mainieri said the bats did enough to keep the Tigers competitive.”I’d have to say overall our offense was pretty decent,” Mainieri said. “It was good enough that if our pitching was top-notch, it would have been enough for us to get to Omaha and maybe win when we got there.”LSU’s batting average was actually improved in 2010, hitting .319 compared to the .315 batting average from 2009.Junior catcher Micah Gibbs was the most consistent player on the team, hitting .388 with 95 hits.”This season was obviously a disappointment,” Gibbs said. “We deserved a tough regional, and that’s what we got.”Mainieri said his biggest concern going into the year was at third base. Freshman Wet Delatte began the season as the starter, and sophomore Grant Dozar and freshman Beau Didier saw time as well.Freshman Alex Edward stepped up toward the end of the season with 32 hits in 34 games played.”Alex did a representative job,” Mainieri said. “Alex Edward has shown to be a guy that can contribute in a significant way to our program.”- – – -Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]