Half way through the 2018 LSU baseball season, this year’s team is still trying to find its stride as the season picks up.
The Tigers (17-11 , 5-4 Southeastern Conference) sit with the second best record in the SEC West trailing only nationally ranked Ole Miss. At this point in the season the LSU team needs to find its stride if they hope to make a regional appearance for the seventh consecutive season dating back to 2012.
“We’ve passed the midway point of the regular season, as today was the 29th of 56 games,” coach Paul Mainieri said. “This is the time where we’re supposed to start getting better. We still have some injuries to overcome, but we’ve got to keep fighting and keep battling with a lot of baseball left to be played.”
So far this season the midweek games have not been particularly kind to LSU. After two losses to UL-Lafayette and one to Southeastern Louisiana, Mainieri is concerned about his teams RPI.
The Tigers currently sit with an RPI of 81, 13th out of 14 SEC teams.
“I am so befuddled right now with our RPI,” said Mainieri. “I look at our strength of schedule compared to all the other teams in our league, and we have the third strongest. I know losing midweek games hasn’t helped our RPI. For that reason and to help us to continue to improve, we need to make sure we take care of business.”
The first step is for the Tigers to find a reliable midweek starter that can help relieve the bullpen for the weekend games.
Freshmen right-hander AJ Labas seems to be filling that role. He has pitched well for the Tigers in a midweek role after coming back from December back surgery.
Labas has a 2-1 record on the year with a 2.95 ERA in 21 1/3 innings, striking out 16 and walking three. The freshmen is confident in his ability to come through for the Tigers moving forward despite not being 100 percent.
“Physically, I feel like I’m ready,” said Labas, a 17th-round draft choice of the New York Mets last summer. “But mechanically, I’m still working stuff out with coach Alan Dunn. It’s getting better, but it’s still not where I want it to be.”
With pivotal SEC matchups coming up against Texas A&M and Tennessee, the Tigers need to find a way to keep improving every game.
Help is on the way for the Tigers with a possible return by one of their best players in sophomore shortstop Josh Smith. Smith has been sidelined since the opening week of games after suffering a stress reaction in his vertebrae.
Smith was a key returning player from last year’s team and is aiming to make a possible return for next week’s series against Tennessee where he hopes to comeback and bring some much needed energy to the team.
“I think we’ve done really well,” Smith said. “I think compared to last years we’re only one game behind our overall record of what we were, and the same record in the SEC. Without some of the guys I think it’s pretty good for us, I think, to be where were at right now and put us in a situation for later in the year.”
