The 2004 version of the LSU baseball team has the luxury of something not seen in Baton Rouge for a few years now — a solid catching situation that includes a clear-cut starter.
Matt Liuzza, a sophomore from Kenner, leads the group of four back-stoppers that all have their different strengths.
Last year, Dustin Weaver was the opening-day starter, but a shoulder injury 11 days into the season put the job squarely on Liuzza’s back. And he did not shy away from the challenge.
Liuzza played in 57 games, starting 54 of them, and proved to be a defensive juggernaut.
He allowed five passed balls on the season, and shored up the bottom of the LSU lineup, batting .312 with 26 RBIs and four home runs.
But this year he will not have to do it alone, which according to him, is very important.
“This year we’ve got four catchers that can play with the best of them,” Liuzza said. “Anybody can go in there and do a good job. For the coaches, it’s really nice having that and it’s good being a catcher and knowing you can get rest if you are tired.”
Backing up Liuzza is junior college transfer Nick Stavinoha.
Stavinoha, who is also projected as the Tigers’ starting designated hitter, had a stellar junior college career at San Jacinto Junior College.
He was named a JUCO All-American in his two seasons at San Jacinto and hit 17 home runs with 132 RBIs. He led the team to the 2003 JUCO World Series championship game, hitting .333 with four home runs in the tournament. According to the LSU media guide, he had one of the most prolific fall intrasquad seasons in LSU history, batting .432 with six home runs in 37 at-bats.
Stavinoha said he is not bothered by the expectations placed on him by the LSU fans and media to bring the Tigers back to the days of the long ball.
“At a certain level and a certain point in time, we’ve been playing for so long, since we were little kids, the pressure kind of wears off as the years go on,” Stavinoha said. “You know that you have to stay within your ability to do what you can do and you know what you can do. So I have to just stay within my ability to play and try to do my best job.”
Shoring up the catching position is Weaver and Ty Jensen, who both may get opportunities to catch at the end of games in defensive situations. Assistant coach Turtle Thomas, who also coaches the catchers, said he is pleased with the catching situation, especially the depth.
“It is great to have the depth that we have there with Liuzza being our No. 1 guy,” Thomas said. “This is just a great situation to be in. Just in case we have a guy go down with an injury, we can just have another guy step in his place.”