Former LSU baseball player Chad Jones made the move famous.
LSU coach Paul Mainieri saw Jones’ versatility as a threat he couldn’t ignore, placing the former outfielder into the bullpen during the 2009 season.
Jones went on to throw a scoreless inning in Game 1 of the College World Series Finals and 1 2/3 scoreless innings in Game 3 of the CWS Finals.
The 2011 squad offers even more two-way athletes who could hit or pitch for the Tigers.
This season, six players on the roster are listed as both pitchers and position players. The 2010 roster contained no two-way players.
Mainieri said recruiting double-threat players was “by design” because the NCAA limited the rosters to 35 players.
He said two-way players are even more crucial this season after two players left the program and another was injured for the season, limiting the active roster to 32.
“As a means to make up for those kinds of losses, we have intentionally gone out and recruited two-way guys,” Mainieri said. “What it does is it gives you depth if the other guy
don’t perform.”
Mainieri said two of those versatile players who could make immediate impacts are freshman Ryan Eades and sophomore Jimmy Dykstra, a junior college transfer.
Eades, a Slidell native who pitches and plays infield, didn’t pitch his senior season after shoulder surgery but still hit .400 with six home runs at Northshore High School. He posted a 0.92 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 30.1 innings as a junior.
Dykstra, a San Diego native who can pitch and play outfield, hit .267 with three home runs with a 2.53 ERA for Yavapai (Ariz.) College in 2010.
“We couldn’t get Eades out in the fall and he was throwing well, and Jimmy has a bunch of pop on the mound and at the plate,” said junior outfielder Mikie Mahtook.
Eades said he arrives early to practice to maintain his swing and gets as much work as he can on the mound after missing a season of pitching.
“This year I think I’ll get my innings pitching, but I think I’ll have a shot to get some at-bats at [designated hitter],” Eades said. “We only have about four left-handed hitters, and I switch hit too, so that gives me a fair shot.”
Dykstra, who said he always thought he’d be an outfielder growing up, didn’t start pitching until his senior season in high school.
“Mostly in high school and last year I was a fastball guy because I threw hard.” Dykstra said. “Once I got here and worked with coach [David] Grewe, I developed more pitches.”
So far, their work hasn’t gone unnoticed by the skipper.
“If Jimmy Dykstra or Ryan Eades went out there over these next few weeks and really swung the bat and we thought it would make our team better, they would supplant somebody else in the lineup,” Mainieri said.
Other two-way players on the roster include freshmen Joe Broussard and Samuel Peterson, sophomore transfer Kevin Berry and junior transfer Kirk Cunningham. Mainieri said Eades, Dykstra, Berry and Broussard are all potential starters who could also come out of the bullpen.
Follow Rowan Kavner on Twitter @TDR_Kavner.
 
 
 
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contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]