In the last two Friday night games against Ole Miss and Vanderbilt, the LSU baseball team has scored a combined four runs while dropping both games.
According to right fielder Jon Zeringue, the Tigers have taken that to heart this week in practice and are looking to come out more determined and fired up when they host Tennessee at 6:30 p.m. in the first game of a three-game series at Alex Box Stadium.
“It seems like the last two Friday nights, we didn’t come out with the same aggressiveness and state of mind we’ve had in the Saturday and Sunday games,” Zeringue said.
LSU (27-13-1, 12-5-1 Southeastern Conference) has a lot at stake this weekend against the Volunteers (24-17, 8-10), as the Tigers hold a half-game lead in the overall SEC race and Western Division over Auburn and a one game lead over Mississippi State.
LSU dropped two of three at Vanderbilt last weekend but was helped out by Auburn and Mississippi State both losing two of three games as well. LSU was held to six runs in the first two games before exploding for nine in the Sunday game.
“We were all pretty frustrated with the results last weekend, especially the first two games,” said second baseman Blake Gill. “We know we can hit better than that. Things could have been different, but it happens. We’ve just got to use that as a reminder and come out here and focus on the next game.”
Zeringue said a series win will be important for the Tigers.
“Mississippi State is slipping a little bit. Auburn slipped a little bit this past weekend,” Zeringue said. “If we come out and get two out of three or sweep this weekend, it will be huge. This weekend is huge for us. It can really put us on top.”
Added Gill: “I think we can take control of the whole thing. We want to win first place overall, and we always look to sweep. I don’t think anybody is happy with anything less. We want a sweep.”
In order for the Tigers to have success at the plate, they will have to deal with two left-handed pitchers Friday and Saturday.
Junior lefty Ben Riley (3-3, 2.89 ERA) goes up against freshman Justin Meier (4-2, 2.58 ERA), who has lost his last two starts — plagued by a lack of run support.
LSU coach Smoke Laval has not lost any confidence in the freshman, despite the last two outings.
“He’s been tremendous,” Laval said. “He’s been doing a great job.”
Another junior left-hander, Derek Tharpe (4-4, 3.67 ERA), takes the mound for the Vols on Saturday at 6 p.m. LSU will counter with senior right-hander Bo Pettit (6-1, 4.34 ERA).
Tigers junior Nate Bumstead (6-1, 4.39 ERA) goes up against junior right-hander Brandon Crowe (3-0, 4.88 ERA) at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.