When sophomore pitcher Kurt McCune returns to the starting rotation tonight against No. 1 Florida, it will almost be as if he never left.
McCune opened last season’s Southeastern Conference schedule against the Gators as the Friday starter. No one expected much from the freshman making his first career SEC start against the No. 1 team in the nation.
But McCune silenced any doubters, throwing seven innings and allowing just one unearned run. The Tigers lost that game after former closer Matty Ott surrendered three runs in the ninth inning, but the outing boosted McCune’s confidence.
“Nobody was expecting me to go out and pitch a game like that,” McCune said. “It shows that anything can happen. I’m not going into this series thinking I’m already beat. I just have to go out there and pitch like I know how, and I should be successful.”
Though McCune has another year of experience under his belt, the expectations surrounding him entering this weekend’s series are similarly low.
McCune opened the 2012 season as LSU’s Sunday starter, tasked with the duty of following the performances of fellow sophomores Kevin Gausman and Ryan Eades. McCune started strong, throwing six scoreless innings in his first start against Alcorn State.
But things unraveled from there.
In each of his next three starts, McCune never made it to the fifth inning. He surrendered a total of nine runs in his two shortest outings against Appalachian State and Notre Dame.
Following the debacle against the Irish, McCune lost his spot in the starting rotation to freshman Aaron Nola, who grabbed everyone’s attention with a dazzling mid-week performance against Tulane.
“When I broke the news to him, obviously he was disappointed,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “But he understood that Aaron deserved it more than he did. But I told him this is not something that will be etched in stone.”
Mainieri moved McCune to the bullpen, where he excelled. McCune struck out five batters in six innings of relief after falling out of the rotation, earning his first career save March 25 against Auburn.
Though the bullpen may have seemed like a better fit for McCune, Mainieri still expected he would one day return to the starting rotation.
He just didn’t think it would be this soon.
Nola won’t start this weekend while he recovers from shoulder soreness that forced him out of Sunday’s game against Arkansas. Though no player ever wants to see a teammate go down with an injury, McCune admits he’s welcoming this opportunity.
“It’s a personal goal of mine [to return to the rotation],” McCune said. “But of course I’d rather have the team success in front of that. If Aaron keeps putting up zeros, then keep him in the starting spot.”
That team-first mentality is something Mainieri admires in McCune. He said McCune never got down about moving to the bullpen, and he’s been happier for Nola’s opportunity than he was sad about his own struggles.
But senior third baseman Tyler Hanover still expects McCune to come out with a chip on his shoulder.
“Kurt’s going to come out there as anyone would after losing the starting job,” Hanover said. “He’s going to want to show everyone that he can still do this.”
Mainieri said he hopes McCune still has what it takes. He said a win Friday would go a long way in LSU continuing its momentum after its sweep last weekend against Arkansas.
“Kurt’s a different man today than he was a month ago,”
Mainieri said. “These outings in the bullpen have done a lot to restore his confidence. … Maybe being in a familiar role will inspire him to do something great for us.”
 
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Contact Hunter Paniagua at [email protected]