Excitement is buzzing in Alex Box Stadium.
The LSU baseball team begins team practices today in preparation for its home opener Feb. 18 against Wake Forest. The Tigers have participated in individual workouts since the middle of January.
“I’m sure they’re all as excited as I am,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “We’re just three weeks away from opening day.”
Players used the individual workout sessions to perfect their swings in the batting cages, get their arms ready on the mound and get in shape for the season. Now they can put that together in scrimmages during team practices.
Mainieri said he wanted to get his position players enough at-bats to get their timing down, but he was more focused on his pitchers.
“The primary thing we try to do is get the pitchers on a throwing schedule and use their time appropriately to make sure they’re getting enough throwing in so that we’re building up their endurance leading up to the first weekend,” he said.
Sophomore first baseman Alex Edward said all he needed was a couple weeks of individual workouts to see what the Tigers, who are ranked No. 22 in the latest Baseball America poll, are about.
“This team is by far one of the hardest-working teams I’ve ever been around,” he said. “Everybody’s real scrappy. Whatever it takes to get it done, I feel very confident this team will figure it out.”
Edward, who hit .314 last season, is making the switch from third base to first base, which he played late in his high school career.
He will be filling in for former first baseman Blake Dean, who finished his career at LSU second in hits and fourth in home runs.
While the individual workout sessions may have been necessary, most players on the team said they are itching to take the diamond together during team practices.
“I speak for everybody when I say we’re ready to get back into game mode,” Edward said. “I think everybody’s excited for what the season’s going to bring for us.”
Mainieri said this time of the year is even more critical because of the amount of first-year players on the roster.
Sixteen of LSU’s 32 active players are freshmen or first-year players and comprise the nation’s top recruiting class.
Freshman pitcher Kevin Gausman is one of a handful of those first-year players expected to make an immediate impact.
“We have the whole fall all going toward one goal and one season,” Gausman said. “It’s a long haul, and once you get to the season, it’s finally the fun part. About now we’re sick of practicing and want to start playing.”
The team workouts allow players the opportunity to make a lasting impression. Mainieri said he has an idea as to who his starting nine will be, but any player could change his mind with a strong performance.
He said backup players have a chance to “supplant somebody else in the lineup” if they hit well enough during the next three weeks. Mainieri singled out freshman infielder Ryan Eades and sophomore outfielder Jimmy Dykstra as two specific candidates who have that opportunity.
“We’re always going to be fair to all the kids,” Mainieri said. “We’re going to give ourselves the best chance to be successful.”
Mainieri said the only positions that seem safe for the time being belong to the veteran juniors, including outfielders Mikie Mahtook and Trey Watkins, shortstop Austin Nola and second baseman Tyler Hanover.
 
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Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]