The windy conditions in Jacksonville, Florida, didn’t affect LSU baseball as it topped UCF 11-0 to close out the Jax Baseball Classic in seven innings.
It’s no secret that the wind plays a big factor in the Tigers’ homefield advantage at Alex Box Stadium, but it also prepared LSU for the strong Atlantic Coast winds on Sunday. First baseman Zach Yorke said in a preseason press conference that Tigers’ head coach Jay Johnson put emphasis on being able to play everywhere during practice.
“[Johnson] says all the time, we need to be a team that can win in any type of game in any type of stadium,” Yorke said. “I think he does a really good job of getting us ready for that, so it doesn’t really matter where we play or who. We’re going to play our brand of ball.”
Using the ground was significant in the contest versus the Knights, and the Tigers did just that to push across some insurance runs late, but it was sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide who showed how familiar LSU is with wind patterns. In the big fifth inning, he crushed a home run through the wind in left field.
Textbook baseball was a part of this fifth inning, and it showed LSU’s versatility. It took walks and hit-by-pitches, and the team made UCF regret little mistakes by utilizing bunts and sacrifice fly balls to run up the RBI totals.
True freshman Mason Braun put a bunt down to move two runners over in the fifth inning. The runners eventually came home to score on a sac fly and a base hit.
Runs were hard to come by early in the game, so being able to pivot when the bats aren’t hot is going to be a big factor in whether this team can succeed late.
The bats got hot as the game went on, but in a game where hits are contagious, the rally in the fifth set the tone for the late run-rule scenario. The runs weren’t scored on crushed fly balls. They were scored on textbook doubles, showing the versatility of LSU’s bats to put this game away in seven innings.
A big focus for this team has been depth, with several people who can play each position on the field, and having games that test each starter’s adaptability will be huge once conference play begins.
LSU’s bench was highlighted in the offseason, and if the starters can’t deliver, Johnson has plenty of options in the dugout. Yet, these early tests show a promising run for the Tigers early in the season.
“I think it’s a versatile team,” Johnson said after LSU’s 21-7 win over Milwaukee last weekend. “There are a lot of ways to attack things and skin a cat. Things we’ve been looking at during practice time, in practice settings, that give us a little more versatility.”
Pitching was a standout for LSU on Sunday as well. William Schmidt got the start on the bump, and he held the Knights to three hits through five innings. Schmidt gave way to Mavrick Rizy for the sixth and seventh innings.
The staff totaled eight strikeouts and allowed three hits in the contest.
Johnson said that he’s been using these high-scoring games to get his pitchers’ feet wet, but on Sunday, this game was played textbook: starter to closer.
“[Schmidt] can be as good as anybody in the country, and as good as he wants to be,” Johnson said postgame. “Learning how to prepare, how to execute, navigate small adversity well, it’s a great performance tonight.”
The Tigers will take on McNeese on Tuesday night to kick off another baseball-filled week in Alex Box Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
