To see a video on LSU baseball beginning practice, click here.
LSU fans got to see another Southeastern Conference champion Saturday in Tiger Stadium.The baseball team was honored at the LSU-Mississippi State football game between the first and second quarter.Once public address announcer Dan Borné mentioned LSU’s 23-game win streak last season, the crowd gave the baseball team a standing ovation.”It was cool, just even to look at the football players next to you, and how high the stadium goes, and everyone cheering for you, including the football team,” said sophomore shortstop DJ LeMahieu.Now the Tigers are working on an encore.LSU started fall team practices Thursday, beginning the follow-up to the win streak and LSU’s first College World Series appearance since 2004.This week is the first full week of practice. Team practice started 12 days late because of damage to Alex Box Stadium from Hurricane Gustav.Some of the players have worked out at Alex Box Stadium before team practice started.”We would come as a team, and we would go run and lift in the football ops [building] together,” said senior pitcher Louis Coleman. “Then we’d do our little throwing program we have out here on the field.”Many players participated in summer leagues after the CWS, including the Cape Cod League, the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League and the Valley League.Several positions are up for grabs in the Tigers’ starting lineup, most notably first and third bases.Former first baseman Matt Clark signed with the San Diego Padres in the offseason, and third baseman Michael Hollander completed his eligibility.LSU coach Paul Mainieri said he will rotate junior Sean Ochinko and sophomore Micah Gibbs at first base.”Whoever’s not catching on a given day,” Mainieri said of the rotation.Mainieri said senior Derek Helenihi will open practice as the starter at third base. Helenihi played right field the majority of last season.”I thought he was one of our nine best players, and we moved him out to right field so that he could play on a regular basis,” Mainieri said. “He’s going to get the first shot now at third base. It’s his job really to lose as a senior.”Helenihi’s move to third base means the right outfield spot is open for competition.”We can always play Blake Dean in the outfield, or if we chose to [designated hit] him then somebody else can step in,” Mainieri said. “The competition for that final position is still pretty heated.”LSU’s biggest question mark is its pitching staff after losing three starters to the Major League Baseball First-Year Draft.The Tigers return 11 pitchers who combined for about 340 innings pitched and 24 starts last year.Coleman said he wasn’t sure who could be possible starters at this point.”We’re just going to throw right now and see where everybody else stands and then just kind of fill in the gaps there,” Coleman said.The Tigers are still practicing in old Alex Box Stadium while the new stadium is being built.Mainieri said the team hopes to move to the new field in January.”We’re excited about moving over there, but in the meantime it’s nice to know we can still be practicing here,” Mainieri said.LSU played the final game in Alex Box Stadium on June 9 in front of a stadium-record crowd of 8,173.Dean, junior designated hitter, said the stadium’s final crowd was comparable to the Saturday night Tiger Stadium atmosphere.”I mean, it’s 90,000 people there compared to eight or nine [thousand] here,” Dean said. “But I don’t know if it gets much better than or as loud as we had it here with [8,173] people at the super regional.”—-Contact Robert Stewart at [email protected]