LSU Baseball players addressed the media on Wednesday following a dominating performance against the McNeese State Cowboys, coming out victorious by a final score of 10-3.
LSU junior right-handed pitcher Connor Benge, who has experienced a rollercoaster season with a 6.00 ERA over 15 innings pitched, firmly believes that the current arms in the bullpen have proven to be one of the stoutest and most consistent relief pitching groups in the nation.
“I started out [pitching] okay, but I hit a little rough patch for myself,” Benge said. “Now, I have a lot more confidence going in with what I’ve been working on… I’m really confident on the outings ahead and for the rest of the season.”
Over the course of the prolonged road streak spanning seven matchups, the purple and gold managed to secure an impressive sweep against the then-ranked No.9 Oklahoma Sooners. On the other hand, the LSU Tigers experienced the same treatment of being swept by then-ranked No.9 Auburn Tigers in their next in-conference series.
With the road stand coming to a close, the team is looking forward to playing underneath the lights of Alex Box Stadium once again in front of tens of thousands of roaring fans.
“It definitely feels weird to be away for that long, but, at the end of the day, it’s really cool going to other SEC parks and just seeing their fields and atmosphere,” Benge said. “It definitely makes you appreciate [our atmosphere] at home, but it’s going to be really good being back here for the next couple of weeks.”
Sophomore left-handed starting pitcher Kade Anderson, who has sneakily put together a respectable stat line this season, currently boasts a 3.48 ERA in 51.2 innings pitched.
Coming off, undeniably, one of the best pitching performances by an LSU Tiger starting pitcher in recent memory, Anderson pitched a complete-game, one-run ball game against the Oklahoma Sooners; securing a career-high 14 strikeouts with an absurd 135 pitches thrown.
In the eyes of Anderson, this special outing speaks to the tremendous amounts of work that he’s put into his craft both before and throughout this season.
“I think that was probably the best outing that I’ve had, but I think it could’ve been better in my honest opinion,” Anderson said. “We’re never out of the battle… we’re ready to roll and continue to work.”
The No.8-ranked LSU Tigers look forward to their next crucial, in-conference matchup in a three-game series against the No.21-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. The first matchup of this series will take place on Thursday, April 17, at 7:00 p.m. CST at Alex Box Stadium.
This matchup will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
