A shot at a legitimate return to prominence in the Southeastern Conference is on the line this weekend for the LSU baseball team.
LSU (22-12, 3-9 SEC) sits dead last in the SEC West behind three teams with 5-7 conference records, including Auburn (18-14, 5-7 SEC), whom the Bayou Bengals host this weekend.
“We can’t have a letdown,” said junior shortstop Austin Nola. “We can’t go out there and compete for five innings. We can’t play the first few innings bad. We’ve got to play all nine as solid as we can.”
LSU remembers Auburn well from last year.
The series was knotted at one game apiece when LSU tied Auburn in the top of the ninth inning in the rubber game.
Auburn outfielder Justin Fradejas, whom LSU coach Paul Mainieri called a “bunting machine,” executed a perfect squeeze bunt against then-sophomore Matty Ott in the bottom of the ninth inning, bringing home the game-sealing and series-winning run in a 6-5 ballgame.
“That was kind of a pivotal series in their program really because they hadn’t made the SEC tournament in several years,” Mainieri said. “It kind of gave them confidence that they could do it. They went on to win the SEC West title.”
Both Auburn and LSU endured two separate four-game losing streaks since beginning SEC play this season. Auburn was swept by Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, while LSU was swept by Florida and Arkansas.
Auburn shook off the Vanderbilt sweep to complete a sweep of its own against Kentucky last weekend, scoring 35 runs in the series with at least eight runs in each game.
Auburn’s lineup, which is hitting .310 this season with 23 home runs, will face a pitcher Friday night in LSU freshman Kurt McCune (5-1), who hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his eight starts at LSU.
“Even though they’re 5-7 like a lot of teams are, we know that they pack a lot of punch with their lineup,” Mainieri said. “It’s going to be a great challenge for McCune.”
Pitching for Auburn is Zach Blatt (1-2), a junior with a 6.53 ERA who is making his first start of the season. Blatt pitched 5 1/3 innings in relief in Friday’s 12-9 win against Kentucky.
The Auburn pitching staff is its Achilles’ heel. It has a team 5.06 ERA and has allowed eight runs or more in three of its last four games.
Auburn’s hitting hasn’t been an issue. Fradejas is back and is one of six Auburn players with at least 95 at-bats hitting .300 or higher. That list includes senior catcher Tony Caldwell, who is batting .313 and went 5-for-5 Saturday with three home runs.
“They’ve got several guys that can really hit,” Mainieri said. “They swung the bats really well at Kentucky last weekend, and Kentucky’s got good arms.”
LSU hasn’t strung together wins like Auburn has since the four-game sweeps. After getting swept by Arkansas last weekend, the Tigers lost, 5-2, Tuesday to Northwestern State before picking up a 7-1 win Wednesday against Alcorn State.
Follow Rowan Kavner on Twitter @TDR_Kavner.
 
 
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