LSU baseball completed its first weekend of SEC play on Sunday, and its shaky start has leaked into conference play.

The Tigers went 2-1 against Vanderbilt, dropping their first weekend of conference play and second series in a row. There are three things that stood out from their time in Nashville.

Pitching is struggling

A common struggle for every NCAA baseball team each season is pitching depth, and while LSU has looked better than most teams in this area, all the issues came out to play during this series.

The concept of a Sunday rubber match will go in the Tigers’ favor multiple times this season with William Schmidt as the Sunday starter — and the capability to become a Friday or Saturday guy.

But the bullpen has suffered the brunt of LSU’s losses so far this season, and the weekend at Vanderbilt was no exception as the Tigers used 15 pitchers throughout the series.

Across all three games, the purple and gold allowed 33 runs. LSU allowed 34 games in the first seven games of the season. Pitching hurt the series big time, and it wasn’t just a couple of moments in each game. The entire bullpen struggled to get the job done.

In each game, LSU was cruising and keeping scores close, but once the reliever came in, the wheels fell off.

Pitching will be the biggest part in turning the season around.

This “unfair” lineup only has one player to circle

LSU has put runs on the board to no end, and the series in Nashville was no exception. But Game 2 in the series showed how difficult the Tigers will have it if the rest of the lineup doesn’t show up.

Opposing teams have caught on big time to how dominant junior Jake Brown has been this season. The Commodores circled his name in Game 2, and it was the lowest offensive outing from LSU.

The Tigers only had four hits. If Brown continues to be dominant throughout the season, the eight other hitters need to step up. The team’s offensive hype man needs backup for when the opposing pitching gets the best of him.

At the beginning of the season, fans and reporters alike deemed this lineup “unfair.” The amount of talent and depth on this roster is insane for a college team, and that has dissipated during the opening weekend of conference play.

The depth needs to pick back up to keep this team afloat.

The Tigers had sliding practice Saturday night

When the weekend got tough, the Tigers got scrappier. The low offensive production and low score for LSU on Saturday turned the weekend’s potential for the trick plays, and this came in the form of sneaky slides on Sunday.

In the first inning of Game 3, the Bayou Bengals got themselves on the board with a sneaky slide by shortstop Steven Milam. Milam scored on a wild pitch while on third base, and he barely snuck his foot into the plate before the tag was applied to his back knee.

Later in the game, third baseman John Pearson scored from second on an infield single that was thrown away into shallow right field. He narrowly escaped the throw to the plate with another slide that avoided the tag.

The tricks are a gimmicky way to sneak some runs across in tough spots, and the Tigers did just that in Game 3. This trick will come in handy as the season progresses.

The first weekend of SEC play showcased challenges for a team that was previously dominating. It’s still early, but the issues mark what needs to be changed throughout the next few weeks.

The SEC is tough enough without internal issues that can be avoided. The bloodbath will only continue as the season continues if the issues aren’t fixed.

The Tigers will try to get back on track as they face Grambling on Tuesday. First pitch will be at 6:30 p.m. at Alex Box Stadium.