The focus this weekend for the LSU baseball team is not its opponent, Jacksonville State of the Ohio Valley Conference, but more of getting better as a team and playing the type of baseball the Tigers are known for.
LSU (3-1) begins a three-game series with the Gamecocks (1-0) starting today at 6:30 p.m. in Alex Box Stadium after taking 2-of-3 in its opening series against Central Florida and beating UL-Monroe 7-1 Tuesday night.
“What you want to do in the early games is find your identity,” said center fielder J.C. Holt, who leads the Tigers with a .389 batting average to go with four RBIs. “We still have a lot of young guys trying to get their feet wet. These guys aren’t as tough as the opponents we’re going to play in the SEC. But it’s a learning experience for us just as it is for everybody. You want to try and get better as a team when you play your nonconference schedule because when the [Southeastern Conference schedule] gets here things get really heated.”
The Tigers do not begin SEC play for another month when they play at South Carolina in late March. Designated hitter Nick Stavinoha said the Tigers’ focus for this weekend against Jacksonville State is get off to a quick start in tonight’s series opener. The Gamecocks’ only game of the season was a 4-3 win over Alabama on Wednesday.
“[Jacksonville State] is a good team just like everybody is who steps on our field,” Stavinoha said. “Hopefully we’ll get on a roll early and set the tone for the next three games.”
LSU coach Smoke Laval is looking to avoid what happened in Sunday’s game against Central Florida, where the Tigers blew leads of 3-0 and 5-3 and eventually lost 6-5 in 10 innings.
“Number one is we’ve got to develop a killer instinct and put teams away when we have the chance,” he said. “We need more consistent at bats. We need to cut down on walks. Obviously, we’re not a strikeout team and when you’re not you can’t afford to walk as many guys as we do. The focus is OK and the defense has been all right. I’m not real concerned with the running game just yet. We’re OK. This is about where I expected us to be.
“Every team has their different style and different approach. Once we figure out what we’re doing here we may be pretty good. We still have a lot of things to do and overcome different pressure barriers.”
Laval plans to use the same starting rotation as last weekend with Justin Meier starting on Friday, Lane Mestepey on Saturday and Clay Dirks on Sunday.
Mestepey (1-0) was the only one of the three to earn a decision against Central Florida, allowing one run in five innings in a 17-4 rout. It was his first start since the 2002 season, having to sit out last season because of shoulder surgery.
“Without him having his best stuff, velocity and location, he just wins the ball game,” Laval said. “Once he gets that mound presence back he’ll be just fine.”
Mestepey said there is still some fine tuning to do before conference play starts.
“My control isn’t there,” he said. “My mechanics are kind of off. Those are just things you have to go through and hopefully I can do it.”