Freshmen are rarely symbols of stability to a college sports team.
Freshmen Kurt McCune and Kevin Gausman lead the LSU baseball staff, an extraordinary case in which young hurlers supply consistent outings.
“I go with the kids I think give us the best chance to get the job done,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri, who went to the 2002 College World Series with two freshmen starters on his Notre Dame pitching staff. “I’ve always had the courage to play freshmen.”
McCune, who wasn’t projected to be in the rotation before the season, has flourished as the Friday night starter for the Tigers. He has pitched at least six innings and conceded two runs or fewer in each start this season.
McCune was named the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week after his first collegiate start. He stymied Wake Forest in LSU’s opening series, tossing six shutout innings of one-hit ball to finish the sweep of the Demon Deacons.
The Destrehan product hasn’t slowed down since.
McCune has given up only four earned runs in five starts this season.
He has a 1.15 ERA, a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and hasn’t lost a game this season.
“There’s something about McCune,” Mainieri said. “He’s got that something little extra about him. Down here in Louisiana we call that lagniappe.”
While McCune is keeping runners from scoring, Gausman is sending hitters back to the dugout with an animated inning-ending celebration.
“The more fired up you are, the more your team wants to play behind you,” Gausman said. “If you don’t show any emotion, they can get pretty bored out there, especially if you strike out a lot of guys.”
The Centennial, Colo., native’s 31 strikeouts this season are 10 more than McCune’s, who is second on the team in strikeouts.
Gausman has thrown at least four strikeouts in each of his five weekend starts, including a stellar performance against Princeton, where he fired nine strikeouts in six innings for his second win of the season.
His only loss this year may have been his best start.
Gausman pitched eight innings — the most in a start for any Tiger this year — throwing 118 pitches and giving up just one run in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Florida.
“It was really inspiring to our team and to us as coaches to see a young man grow up so quickly and handle that situation,” Mainieri said after the game.
Gausman and McCune are a combined 5-1, boast ERAs under 3.00 and have thrown 64 of LSU’s 180 innings. The last time LSU had a comparable freshman tandem on the mound was in 2003, when then-freshmen Justin Meier and Jason Determann were a combined 15-3, had ERAs under 3.00 and threw more than 25 percent of LSU’s innings, though Determann was primarily a reliever.
This year’s freshman depth also carries into the bullpen.
After McCune allowed two runs in seven innings Friday against Florida, freshman Ryan Eades entered and threw two strikeouts in a scoreless eighth.
Eades has 11 strikeouts and eight walks in 9.1 innings pitched.
“We’ve got to get him where he’s going to be pounding the zone, because nobody has stuff as good as him,” Mainieri said.
Freshman Samuel Peterson hadn’t conceded a run in seven appearances until he surrendered four runs on four hits in a third of an inning Tuesday against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Freshman Joe Broussard has also bailed the Tigers out of rough spots. Trailing 6-0 against Nicholls State, Broussard entered the game in the first inning and pitched six innings, allowing just one run on five hits with seven strikeouts in an eventual 12-8 LSU win.
“My job as a coach is to make our players believe they can do anything if they put their mind to it,” Mainieri said. “I try to instill confidence in them. I want them to think they can climb mountains.”
 
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Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]