The unknown hasn’t harmed the No. 19 LSU baseball team yet.
For the third consecutive weekend, LSU (9-0) welcomes a team playing its first series of the season as Princeton enters Alex Box Stadium on Friday night.
“It’s harder to judge them,” said sophomore right fielder Mason Katz. “We don’t have the scouting report on many pitchers, and we don’t know how they hit and where to position in the outfield.”
Katz said he relies on assistant coaches Will Davis and Javi Sanchez to adjust to opponents after the first few innings and tell him how to shade hitters LSU hasn’t seen.
“They get a great feel early and position us right so we don’t miss a step,” Katz said.
LSU has an opportunity to start the season on a double-digit winning streak for the second consecutive season after winning 12 straight games to begin 2010.
Princeton finished 12-30 overall last season with an 8-21 away record and a 6-14 record in the Ivy League.
Only four Princeton players had at least 50 collegiate at-bats entering the 2010 season. This season’s more experienced squad has nine players with at least 85 at-bats and seven with more than 100 at-bats.
“We know they have smart players,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “I’m sure they’ve got talented players, too, and we’re going to go into it believing that’s the case.”
Mainieri said intelligence can translate to the field. He said he consciously recruits smart players, evidenced by LSU’s recent Academic Progress Rates, which measure the eligibility and retention of student-athletes.
“I’m very proud of the fact that in 2008, when we finished fifth in the country, we were one of only 16 schools in Division I that had a perfect score in the APR,” he said. “When we won the national championship in 2009, we had a 982 in the APR, one of the top scores in the country.”
Freshman second baseman JaCoby Jones, who leads LSU with a .536 batting average, said athleticism and skill will determine much more this weekend than intellect.
“It’s just baseball,” Jones said. “We’re not doing the Quiz Bowl.”
Freshman Kurt McCune (2-0) is expected to pitch Friday with freshman Kevin Gausman (1-0) and senior Ben Alsup (2-0) likely to start Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
McCune’s 0.75 ERA is the lowest in LSU’s starting rotation. His 5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio is tied for the best among starters with junior transfer Tyler Jones.
Princeton is expected to send sophomore Matt Bowman to the mound. He had a 3.74 ERA in 21 2/3 innings as a freshman.
Mainieri said he expects to see a persistent and scrappy team similar to what he saw against Mississippi Valley State.
“Brains without ability is one thing,” Mainieri said. “But if you have both of them, then you’re going to be a tough team to beat.”
 
 
____
Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]