Throughout the decade of the 90s, a form of baseball known as “gorilla ball” carried the LSU baseball team on its shoulders.
The climax of LSU’s gorilla ball technique was the 1997 national championship team that blasted 188 home runs, eclipsing the previous national record of 161. LSU had at least one homer in each of its 70 games that year.
During the past few seasons, that philosophy has changed. Last year LSU tallied only 65 home runs but gave up a mere 33. The new era of LSU baseball is built around defense, and that all starts with the pitching staff.
“The home runs win you games but so can great pitching,” said LSU starting senior pitcher Jake Tompkins. “This year we’ll have more power than last year, but the pitching should keep us in every game.”
After anchoring the pitching staff the past two seasons, Lane Mestepey had shoulder surgery and is currently in rehabilitation. The junior left-hander finished last season 11-5 with a 2.59 ERA and a First-Team All-Southeastern Conference honor. Team sources said he may be ready to throw in late March or early April, depending on the status of his rehabilitation and the team.
     The Tigers said they will miss his arm this season but are proud to boast the remaining starters — Tompkins, Bo Pettit and Brian Wilson.
Tompkins and Pettit decided to return to LSU after being drafted in the 2002 Major League Baseball draft. Their decisions give the Tigers one of the more experienced pitching staffs in the league.
  “They’ve all been in the fire,” said head coach Smoke Laval. “They’ve all pitched every weekend in the SEC, and that’s a big plus. They all have major league type arms, and I think they complement each other well.”
Tompkins, Pettit and Wilson combined for a 26-13 record last season and posted ERA’s of 2.68, 3.35 and 3.54 respectively. All three pitched more than 80 innings last season, and they each throw in the 90-mile per hour range.
“We all have our different style,” Tompkins said. “Wilson throws really hard and has really good movement on his fastball. Pettit locates his ball really well, and my curveball is my out pitch. The biggest difference is ball trajectory because of the difference in our height.”
Wilson started out the 2002 campaign as the Tigers’ closer and eventually was moved into a starting role. Tompkins moved from starter to closer in late March and garnered All-SEC honors.
“I like starting because you know when you’re going to pitch, and you can get yourself prepared for that one day,” Tompkins said. “When you’re a closer, you could pitch everyday, so you always have to be ready.”
A new addition to the Tigers pitching staff is right-handed side-slinger Brandon Nall, who takes over Tompkins’ closing role.
“I feel really good about the pitching staff this year,” Nall said. “It’s supposed to be the best we’ve had in quite a while. I’m in the closing role. It is an important role, and I’m going to do my best to help the team with that.”
The expectations placed on the LSU baseball team from the Baton Rouge community is a direct result of the five national championships the Tigers have won since 1991. The pitching staff has its own expectations for this season, and it envisions carrying the team.
“We want to go out there and dominate everyday,” Tompkins said. “We want to bring consistency and mental toughness with us to the mound day in and day out. We may not have our best stuff all the time, but being out there and competing is what we have to do to give this team a chance to win.”