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LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri knows that in order to win at the highest level of college baseball, a team has to have pitching – and plenty of it.
That’s why the Tigers’ throwing arms have been the biggest focus of the team’s offseason workouts after struggling to just a 5.56 team ERA and allowing 79 home runs last season.
“There’s no question that’s the area that needed the most attention from us,” Mainieri said. “I thought we had a team good enough to go to Omaha last year, but unfortunately we just didn’t pitch very well for about a four-week stretch there and it really cost us.”
Complicating matters for the Tigers in their quest for improvement is experience. Mainieri and his pitching coach David Grewe didn’t have the luxury of working with most of the same pitchers the team had a year ago.
Gone are starters Anthony Ranaudo, Austin Ross and bullpen stalwart Paul Bertuccini – three of LSU’s most steady arms a year ago.
The Tigers will now have to rely on fresher faces like relatively unseasoned senior Ben Alsup, freshman Kevin Gausman and junior Tyler Jones, a trio Mainieri said would begin the season as the team’s weekend starters.
Those guys will be complimented by returning junior closer Matty Ott and senior relief pitcher Daniel Bradshaw who are expected to stabilize the young staff.
“Our No. 1 goal for this year was to rebuild our pitching staff into a staff that was capable of pitching a team to Omaha,” Mainieri said. “And I think we’re well on our way to having done that. But of course out of our 12 top pitchers, nine are first-year guys, so that obviously leads a lot of anxiety, but I think the guys we have and we have some kids who are going to be some superstar players at LSU before their careers are over.”
With pitching on everyone’s minds, the Tigers’ question marks will be eased by an explosive offense that will return junior outfielder Mikie Mahtook, junior third baseman Tyler Hanover and junior shortstop Austin Nola.
That trio combined to hit 21 home runs and drive in 137 runs in 2010 and will be heavily relied up for more of the same in the new season.
After all, they are three of just six players LSU still has on their roster from the team’s 2009 National Championship winning season.
As with the pitching staff, LSU’s offense will be glittered with newcomers, as well, most notably freshman second baseman JaCoby Jones and freshman catcher Tyler Ross.
That will make the returning player’s jobs in the clubhouse just as important as their jobs on the field, according to Mainieri.
“There’s always a lot of turnover in college baseball. That’s just the nature of the game,” Mainieri said. “But when you look at it, fortunately for us, there’s some very key guys remaining from that national championship team. … They have to show the young players the way. There’s certainly an added responsibility on their shoulders to provide that leadership and they know that, and I think they embrace that.”
LSU will open the season Friday night against Wake Forest and will embark on a non-conference schedule that keeps the team mostly at home.
The Tigers will play 20 of their first 21 games in Alex Box Stadium to start the season.
But no one in LSU’s ranks expect that home schedule to be easy, as the Tigers will be dealing with opponents the caliber of Cal State Fullerton, Southeastern Louisiana and Florida – all of whom spent time in the Top 25 last season.
Combine that with LSU having 16 new players on a 32-man roster and Mainieri knows this season will be about one thing the Tigers’ faithful – patience.
“I certainly think we’re going to be a better team in April and May than we are in February and March,” Mainieri said. “But fortunately I’ve coached for a long time now and I know what to expect out of players. Sometimes it’s hard to be patient because the fans get restless and the team gets restless and everyone wants to win right now. And certainly our coaches feel the same. But we have to keep the big picture in mind. … And we did the same thing the first year I got here when we played kids like Blake Dean and Jared Mitchell in their freshman seasons and two years later they won the national championship. … So we’re young, but we have some excellent future Tigers who we feel can get us to where we need to be.”
LSU shortstop Austin Nola applies a tag during a game last season. Nola is one returnee on a roster of fresh faces for the Tigers, who have 16 first-year players among their 32-man roster. STEVE FRANZ
