If the sky were to fall, most people would run around in panic. And rightly so. After all, the sky is falling.
But all the yelling and screaming will not stop the sky from falling.
LSU baseball is similar to the sky. Yes, the Tigers did pick up a win against Southeastern on Tuesday, but the team struggled offensively during the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic in Houston and were no hit by No. 15 Oklahoma for the first time in program history.
What made it even worse was that A.J. Labas pitched a one-hitter against the Sooners and still got the loss because one home run and two hits were enough.
I am here to tell you that you should still go about your day as you have always done because the sky is not falling.
While the hitting is a concern, LSU still has consistency from some players at the plate. Junior infielder Zach Mathis is batting .341 and junior outfielder Daniel Cabrera leads the team in average at .372. The main problem is power: Sophomore infielder Cade Beloso, while hitting consistently, is without a home run this season.
Even with these question marks, there are still a lot of positives, mainly on the mound and in the bullpen.
Right-hander Jaden Hill turned out to be just the man coach Paul Mainieri said he would be if healthy: an absolute beast on the mound. Hill has given up only one hit in 7.2 innings pitched. He could be the key to keeping opponents at bay late in games.
Right-hander Nick Storz, while not throwing as much heat, has also impressed by allowing only four hits in 7.2 innings pitched. Along with these two bullpen arms, Friday starter, right-hander Cole Henry is leading the charge as the ace of the staff with a 1.80 earned run average.
Landon Marceaux and A.J. Labas are both showing signs they can pick up the slack if Henry gets the injury bug.
As for the bats, that’s where the real issue for the Tigers lies.
Freshman infielder Collier Cranford hit a double against Southeastern and looks to be seeing the ball better than his .125 average indicates. Sophomore outfielder Giovanni DiGiacomo is batting an even .300 and would be a tremendous help on the base path if he can continue seeing the ball.
Factor in freshman infielder Cade Doughty — who is second on the team in home runs and has shown the defensive ability to keep up in the field — getting more adjusted to college pitching, and the Tigers are just fine at the plate.
Put these factors together and you have a solid team that is learning to play with one another. It’s frustrating to see them lose games on big stages — the no-hitter against Oklahoma and a blown lead against Baylor — even when they seem to be playing good baseball, but that is what makes the game so great.
The results will start to come along as the middle of the order learns to adjust to an always competitive Southeastern Conference.
So, do not run around yelling and screaming as the world is not collapsing, the team is simply learning how it can compete day in and day out.
Everyone knows that LSU can pitch; it’s up to Mainieri to calm his hitters down and let them do what they know they can: hit the baseball.
Even if the sky is falling, running around without a plan is not the course of action. Going to these games and watching them make it to the College WorldSeries is.