Tigers need red hot finish
Spring semester exams will end Saturday during the middle of LSU’s series against Arkansas at The Box.
Most of the players will have completed their exams when the Tigers meet the Razorbacks in the series opener Friday (7 p.m. Central/SEC Network+). So, the players can now place full attention on the remainder of the baseball season.
LSU starts its series against Arkansas on the outside looking in as regards being a NCAA tournament regional host. The Tigers appear to be in good shape for reaching the NCAA tournament. However, such is not the case for there being June baseball at The Box.
Heading into the final three weekends of the Southeastern Conference regular season, LSU has an 11-10 league record. The Tigers are tied with Kentucky for seventh place in the overall conference standings. So, there are a half dozen SEC teams ahead of LSU in the pecking order for being a regional host.
“We have 12 games remaining, nine in the conference,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. “I think we have a good chance to make a real good push at the end. I feel real good about our team right now.
“We have had some real bad games this year because of inconsistent pitching and inexperienced hitting. When we play our best, we look pretty good. Can our pitching carry us down the stretch? If we play well this week and next week, we can be right there.”
On four occasions in his first nine years at LSU, coach Paul Mainieri had a team with double-digit losses after seven conference weekends – 9-11-1 in 2007 and 2008, 11-10 in 2010 and 7-14 in 2011. The teams in 2007 and 2011 failed to make the NCAA tournament.
Now, two of those teams made the NCAA tournament. In 2008, the Tigers went undefeated through the rest of the regular season and won the SEC tournament. As a result of that hot streak, LSU ended up being a regional host.
In 2010, the Tigers staggered down the stretch as they lost six of their final nine conference games to finish with a losing league record. LSU got the SEC’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by winning the league tournament. The Tigers were placed in a Los Angeles regional, hosted by UCLA.
Therefore, the chances of LSU hosting a regional at The Box seem to be slim. Past results show that the most overall defeats on a Tigers team which was a regional host were 16. Teams in 2008, 2009 and 2012 all played host to regionals while coming out of the SEC tournament with 16 losses.
LSU’s current overall record is 28-16. It certainly seems that the Tigers need one of those long winning streaks – like 2008 – to be a regional host for a fifth consecutive year.
“Our record is not what we are accustomed to, both overall and in the league,” Mainieri said. “We knew there were some things we had to overcome because of our inexperience. But, our hitting and defense has been better than what I expected. The thing that has big puzzling is our pitching.”
Mainieri will tinker with the pitching rotation for the Arkansas series. Alex Lange will start the Friday series opener and Jared Poche will pitch Saturday. Mainieri is undecided on the Sunday starter. John Valek has been totally ineffective in that spot in the rotation the last two weeks.
“I have wanted to start Alex on Friday nights from the beginning of the SEC schedule,” Mainieri said. “The weather wouldn’t cooperate and we had rainouts week one and week three.
“Obviously, his last two outings, Alex has thrown like he’s capable. He gives us the best chance to dominate the game early. A good start will let our players relax and settle into the game. We are at the point now where we have to collect wins.”
Lange has thrown nine-inning complete games in his last two starts – losing to Mississippi State 2-1 and beating Ole Miss 6-3. Lange has not made a Friday night start in a SEC series opener yet this season. He started the first game of a series twice – on Saturday afternoons against Alabama and Auburn.
“I’m really excited to start Friday night,” Lange said. “I am looking forward to it. I am going to try to set the tone for the weekend. My fast ball command has been awesome the last two starts.
“I have been getting big-time double play balls and that helps. I have been getting guys out early in the count. They are not seeing as many pitches. So, they are not seeing my curve ball as much.”
Arkansas is competing simply to make the SEC tournament – a season after advancing to the College World Series. The Hogs are one of four teams tied for tenth place with a 7-14 record. Tennessee is in last place at 6-15. Just three of those five teams will qualify for the SEC tournament later this month.
“We have to take it one game at a time,” shortstop Kramer Robertson said. “Hopefully we can win a good amount of games and put together a streak. You would like to be hot going into the postseason, playing your best.”