Ahead of LSU’s series with Tennessee, Head Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri made a change to the weekend rotation.
In every weekend leading up to the Tennessee series, Mainieri gave the Friday night start to the All-American Jaden Hill, but against Tennessee Mainieri opted to start Landon Marceaux.
Marceaux came into the series on fire to start the year, having not allowed an earned run all season, but his streak came to an end in a 3-1 loss to the Volunteers. Mainieri opted to keep this same rotation against Vanderbilt, and Marceaux having his worst game of the season, finishing Game One pitching five and one third innings and giving up eight earned runs on nine hits, striking out just three batters with two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Marceaux’s command has seemed off in his last two starts, leading many to wonder if adjusting to the new role has played a factor. 
The change in the rotation did not come as an enormous shock, given Hill and Marceaux’s performances going into the series with Tennessee. Hill also came off his longest outing of the season against Mississippi State and Manieri felt as if Hill’s “tank had been emptied.”
“Jaden hadn’t done anything to lose the Friday night job,” Mainieri said. “He’s pitching tremendous, but I did empty his tank last Friday. I probably pitched him a couple of batters too long.”
Despite moving him back in the rotation, worries over emptying Hill’s tank have come full circle. Hill had to leave Friday’s game against Vanderbilt in the second inning after an apparent injury to his elbow.
Mainieri also wanted to reward Marceaux for his work so far this season by giving him the Friday night starting job. Despite recent struggles, Marceaux has still been a reliable arm for the Tigers and holds the best ERA among LSU’s starters at 2.01. Mainieri had high praise for Marceaux going into the Tennessee series and was confident in him being the starter for Friday night.
“I think Landon has been our best pitcher and I decided to move him to Friday this week,” Mainieri said. “If we’re going to do it we have to do it now because next week everybody is going on one day short of rest because the series starts on Thursday.”
With Hill’s status for the rest of the season uncertain, even more questions will surround LSU’s weekend rotation. A.J. Labas will now likely move into Hill’s spot, but the third spot in the rotation seems to be up in the air. This week will be a crucial one for LSU in preparation to have someone ready to jump into that role if needed.
Despite a tough couple of weekends for LSU, its starting pitchers have still shown they have what it takes. Marceaux was adamant after his start against Tennessee that those kinds of changes do not affect him.
“Friday, Saturday, Sunday, none of that matters to me, the goal doesn’t change,” Marceaux said after the series opener.
If the Tigers’ pitchers can clean up the walks and keep their command, this team has all the potential to still be competitive in the SEC. In a conference like the SEC, there are no easy games, but all three of LSU’s weekend starters have shown that they have what it takes to compete at a high level.