As an intense February storm brewed across Louisiana Tuesday, LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri’s eyes were fixed on finding continuity for his unseasoned lineup.
The No. 5 Tigers (3-0) have only played three games, sweeping Cincinnati last weekend, but Mainieri has already made indefinite adjustments to the lineup seen in Games 1 and 2 of the opening series.
He has opted instead for the left side of the infield used in Game 3 — freshman O’Neal Lochridge at third base and junior Cole Freeman at shortstop — when LSU travels to Lamar at 6 p.m. tonight at Vincent-Beck Stadium in Beaumont, Texas.
Not only will Lochridge and Freeman be making their second start in tandem, but sophomore starting right-handed pitcher Austin Bain will toe the rubber for the first time this season, coming off a shoulder surgery in the fall, while JUCO transfer right-hander Riley Smith will likely make his LSU debut in relief.
On top of that, sophomore right-handed reliever Jesse Stallings will be out for tomorrow after suffering a cut on his pinkie and needing stitches. Stallings’ status for this weekend’s series against Sacramento State is undetermined, Mainieri said.
Even with the position shake-ups, season debuts and an injury to a reliever, Mainieri assures LSU will be locked in for the first midweek game of the season, a contest a veteran LSU team was “outplayed” in last year against Nicholls State.
“Nicholls State beat us last year because they outplayed us not because we were flat,” Mainieri said. “Anything can happen on any given day in this sport, and I would never discredit Nicholls beating us last year by blaming it on our ineffective play. It was more that they played well than we played bad.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow night when we play Lamar, but we’re going to go over there with confidence, play hard and hopefully we play well enough to come out of there with a victory. But if things don’t work out well, it will be because Lamar just outplayed us, not because we didn’t take the game seriously.”
Lochridge came off the bench in the top of the 10th inning of Game 1 against the Bearcats and was plunked by pitch during a two-out rally in the bottom of the frame, helping tie the score at five runs apiece. With the score still knotted in the bottom of the 12th, Lochridge led off the inning with a single up the middle and later scored the game-winning run.
In his Game 3 start at third base, Lochridge blasted a two-run shot over the left-field wall in the bottom of the fourth, which gave the Tigers’ the lead for good.
“I just see [Lochridge] playing with more confidence and had been seeing him play with more confidence leading up to this weekend’s series,” Mainieri said.
However, freshman Trey Dawson faltered in his appearances during the weekend, striking out five times in seven at-bats and committing an error in his two starts at shortstop. Meanwhile, Freeman finished the weekend 4-for-10 at the plate with two RBIs, a double and two walks.
Freeman, like Lochridge, also had an error in Sunday’s game against the Bearcats, but Mainieri felt Dawson’s confidence had been wavering after a strong showing during the fall.
“I know it may seem to the outside person that this is kind of a knee-jerk reaction after two games, but Trey has been struggling with the bat tremendously leading up to these games,” Mainieri said. “He just doesn’t look like he has any confidence when he’s up there. Also, in the field, I just think he’s just not been as sure-handed as he was during the fall.
“I just think for Trey’s sake, as well for the team’s sake, the best thing is to make a move right now and let Trey relax and get back to playing the game instinctively when he gets his opportunity, instead of continuing to press and just digging himself a bigger hole.”
Along with changes in the infield, the other narrative of Tigers’ first midweek and road game of the season is a meeting with Mainieri’s former assistant for eight seasons and the Cardinals’ head coach in-waiting, Will Davis.
After a four-year playing career in Baton Rouge, Davis aided Mainieri’s teams to four College World Series appearances, including a 2009 National Championship, as well as being a key component to some of the Tigers’ highly-touted recruiting classes.
With Davis as a current assistant, Lamar (4-0), however, is proving to be no pushover in its early portion of the season, giving the 10th-year LSU coach reason to not think about a reunion with a long-time colleague. The Cardinals swept Southeast Missouri State to open up the 2016 season and defeated Arizona, which was ranked as high as No. 23 by Collegiate Baseball, on Monday.
“It’s going to be nice to see Will, but my focus is giving our team the best chance to beat Lamar,” Mainieri said. “This is not about me, and it’s not about Will Davis or anything else. It’s about LSU versus Lamar. It’s a big game for us, obviously. It’s going to be a tremendous challenge.”