The LSU baseball team holds its postseason destiny in its own hands. The formula is simple.
If the Tigers win their last three series against Mississippi State and Arkansas on the road and against Auburn at Alex Box Stadium, LSU — more than likely — will capture its 13th Southeastern Conference Championship and host a regional and super regional.
If the Tigers plan on making another trip to Omaha and the College World Series, securing home field advantage for the regional and super regional is pivotal.
The previous two seasons, LSU hosted regional sites but had to travel to Zephyr Field and face Tulane in the 2001 super regional, and they trekked to Houston to face Rice in last year’s super regional.
In both cases, the Tigers did not respond well to playing on the road, winning only one out of five games total, including getting swept by Rice last year, 6-0 and 3-0.
With two of the next three series on the road, LSU will get a taste of a hostile environment, especially at Mississippi State.
How they are able to respond will likely determine their postseason fate.
So far this season, the Tigers road record is a mystery. Overall LSU is 9-7 on the road this season.
However, in SEC play on the road, the Tigers are 6-3, which is an average of taking two games each weekend.
LSU swept Georgia on the road in Athens and took two of three from Alabama in Tuscaloosa. But, the Tigers dropped two games to Vanderbilt in Nashville.
In non-conference road games, LSU is 3-4, including losses to Tulane (twice) and New Orleans.
Tonight’s game and this weekend’s series at Dudy Noble Field in Starkvegas should be a good test for the Tigers.
Dudy Noble is rich in baseball tradition, the fans are rowdy, and there is likely to be a big crowd, possibly 10,000 fans or more for each game, with a lot of them ringing those damn, annoying cowbells.
It’ll be a situation similar to what LSU could face if it has to travel for postseason games if they don’t secure a regional and super regional. But if the Tigers take care of business the next three weekends, all of this talk won’t even be necessary.