Everyone loves a big first baseman who bats from the left side and hits bombs. It’s a tale as old as baseball.
The good news for LSU baseball is the tale will be in practice most weekends and all eyes will be on first baseman Cade Beloso.
While the weather seems to not notice it yet, college baseball is back at The Box and there is truly nothing like it.
After a cold Friday night matchup against Indiana, Baton Rouge cooperated and delivered a beautiful afternoon for a doubleheader.
The Tigers went 2-1 in the season-opening series but showed the world who should be afraid: everyone.
LSU used 15 pitchers over the three games, with the most dominating being Cole Henry and Jaden Hill. Those two are simply the tip of the iceberg, and all of them showed potential to play in any situation.
While pitching was the biggest strength, the LSU defense could use the most improvement. First year starter Zach Mathis played the hot corner, showing he could bat three-hole but did not look natural at the position. Even the sure handed Hal Hughes at shortstop looked to be rusty.
Once you switch your sights to the opposite end of the field, you might see the man who could carry this team.
Sophomore Beloso had himself a stunning opening weekend and showed that he could be leaned on when LSU needed a clutch at-bat.
The slugger went 6-for-12 in the series and found gaps from line to line to show opposing teams that he is simply not a dead pull hitter. He even hustled to turn a single into a double.
While there were no home runs out of those six hits, he’s showing the ability to hit for average. And the long balls will come when the weather gets hotter and the wind calms down.
To top it all off, Beloso has shown superior improvement in his defensive repertoire. In the first game of the doubleheader, he picked up a short hop, threw the ball to second and hustled back to first to catch the tail end of the double play.
Beloso has put in work in the offseason, and the progress, already, is showing.
By the end of the season, we will be pointing back at this series and realize that we should have seen Beloso being a First-Team All-American as an obvious answer.
LSU will need Beloso to be just that as the pitching appears to be the strong suit of this team, but there will be days when runs will have to be scored in SEC play, and Beloso can provide that spark along with Mathis and Daniel Cabrera.
From the amazing double dances on the bag to his improving glove, Beloso is the best Tiger through the first weekend and has the personality to match.
Now the only question is, can Beloso lead this mix of veterans and youngsters through 53 more games and into Omaha?
If Beloso’s early numbers and confidence is anything to go by, he absolutely will and will have infectious fun doing so.