It was not the hand coach Smoke Laval probably wanted to be dealt, but he has made the best of it.
Ace pitcher Lane Mestepey has not pitched all year and his replacement in the Friday night slot, Brian Wilson, underwent Tommy John surgery on his pitching arm a few weeks ago. Closer Brandon Nall also was lost for the remainder of the 2003 campaign in early March.
Opening day shortstop Matt Horwath was lost for the season to injury. As too was starting catcher Dustin Weaver and part-time designated hitter/first baseman Eric Wiethorn.
Factor in the injuries of freshman pitchers Clay Dirks and Justin Gee — who were both thought to be contributors — and the struggles of Jake Tompkins in the starting role.
Yet, No. 8 LSU finds itself 1.5 games ahead of Auburn for the Southeastern Conference Overall and Western Division Titles and is in position to possibly host a NCAA Super Regional. Laval is one of the favorites to collect the SEC Coach of the Year award.
The job Laval has done may be even more incredible considering the untimely and tragic death of third baseman Wally Pontiff.
Pontiff was not only a consistent .300 hitter with flashes of power, but he also was one of the team’s emotional leaders. His death left the Tigers with an irreplaceable void and emotional hangover as LSU opened the season in February.
“He’s especially doing a good job this year,” said Athletics Director Skip Bertman of his successor. “It’s amazing.”
Laval’s story begins with his birth on Dec. 20.,1955, in McDonald, Pa. He found his way to Gulf Coast Community College, where he was a catcher. His playing days ultimately ended after a two-year stint at Jacksonville University.
“I just played hard,” Laval said. “I was a lot better player offensively than I was defensively. I could hit.”
Southeastern Louisiana University coach Dan Canevari, who worked with Laval as an assistant under Bertman, played against Laval in college. Canevari was a pitcher at Miami University while Laval was at JU.
“Our stats are better now than when we played,” Canevari joked. “Nah, he was a good catcher. He could hit.”
Laval spent one year as an assistant at JU before becoming an assistant at Wolfson High School in Jacksonville, Fla. In his first of three tours of duty at LSU, Laval came to Baton Rouge as a graduate assistant coach under then coach Jack Lamabe in 1979. He earned his Master’s degree in administration from LSU that same year.
After nearly a five-year absence, Laval returned to LSU to assist under a Miami assistant named Skip Bertman, who was named head baseball coach beginning with the 1984 season. Laval would serve as Bertman’s right hand man for 10 years, helping LSU to two national titles.
“A lot of success was due to [Smoke’s recruiting],” Canevari said. “Smoke’s job was to get players. He was a good assessor of talent.”
Added Laval: “I needed a mentor. I needed someone to [learn from].”
Following LSU’s 1993 national championship, Laval gave head coaching a try at the University of Louisiana-Monroe.
“The one thing he brought to ULM was the belief system,” said current ULM coach and Laval’s former top assistant Brad Holland. “He got the community to believe baseball can be a top sport in Northern Louisiana.”
Laval went 241-159 with the Indians and led ULM to three regional appearances. He was named the 1995 Louisiana Sportswriters Association Coach of the Year and the 1999 Southland Conference Coach of the Year. In addition, he helped upgrade the baseball facilities at ULM.
“Coach Laval has the greatest baseball mind I’ve ever been around,” Holland said. “He foresees things. He can tell you what will happen two innings in the future. He has great vision.”
Current LSU pitching coach, Brady Wiederhold, worked in the same capacity for Laval at ULM. He said he arrived in January 2000 at Monroe and did not know how it would be working for Laval.
“It was an opportunity to go coach for someone like coach Laval,” Wiederhold said. “Going out there, I wasn’t sure how things would be done. He really lets me handle the guys.”
After a 2000 national title, Bertman announced 2001 would be his final year. He would be able to pick his successor and chose Laval to help build on the dynasty he created.
“There were a couple of others [I considered],” Bertman said. “But Smoke was willing to come a year earlier and get back to the LSU scene.”
Laval refamiliarized himself with the Baton Rouge area and the LSU community.
“You feel a little honored,” Laval said of Bertman choosing him.
After LSU got off to a slow start in the SEC last season, critics started to sound off about the first-year Tigers manager, but the Tigers rallied and finished conference play sizzling. LSU found themselves in a super regional on the road against Rice, who took the first two games to punch their ticket to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
Right now, Laval has the Tigers on pace to host a super regional of its own and return to the College World Series for the first time since 2000.
“I think coach Laval was a great choice,” Wiederhold said. “He had been here for a long time. If anybody knew the ‘system,’ it’s him. He knows Baton Rouge and the expectations that come with coaching at LSU. Everybody expects perfection on a daily basis.”
“Right now, if you were to pick super regional sites, they’d get one,” Canevari said. “You’re getting the same product. You’re still at the top of the conference.”
There were some differences between the tutor Bertman and his student Laval. Canevari said Bertman was more extroverted because he had to sell LSU baseball to the Baton Rouge community in the beginning. However, now that a dynasty has been established, Laval can focus on coaching — and winning.
“Smoke kind of let you do your job,” Canevari said. “Skip was a little more hands on. Smoke trusted me and let me handle the pitching.”
But there’s more than just a baseball coach in Laval. According to his players, he has a great sense of humor.
“It’s fun,” right fielder Jon Zeringue said. “He’s always cracking little jokes. He’s always smiling. It helps you in practice. He comes at you with some positive stuff.”
Freshman catcher Matt Liuzza, who refers to Laval as “Smoke Hogan” due to Laval’s striking resemblance to professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, agrees.
“He was a little quiet at first,” Liuzza said. “That’s how everybody is when you get to know them. I love playing for him. He’s funny in his own way. There’s just something about him.”
Laval said he tries to remember who he is coaching at all times.
“They’re still kids,” Laval said. “Hopefully the players’ response [when asked by recruits how it is to play for me] is that when you’re out of line he’ll jump on you, but when you do everything right, he’ll come and pat you on the back.”
Center fielder J.C. Holt considers Laval a player’s coach.
“He’s a great guy,” Holt said. “He does what he can to put you in situations to succeed. He’s done some great things these last two years, and there’s some great things to come for him later in his career.”
Perhaps great things will begin this June in Omaha.