Omaha and not opposing coach on LSU players’ minds
Every LSU baseball player knows the team’s season is judged by what occurs during June.
No trip to the College World Series in Omaha means a disappointing campaign. Many Tigers’ players recall how the 2016 season ended – a walk-off victory by Coastal Carolina to give the eventual national champions a two-game sweep of the super-regional series at The Box.
For that reason, LSU players are not concerned that their former hitting coach will be bringing his Mississippi State team to The Box for a super-regional series beginning Saturday night.
What’s foremost in the players’ minds is not that Andy Cannizaro will be in the opposite dugout, but that two victories will put the Tigers in the CWS.
“It doesn’t matter who is in the other dugout,” senior second baseman Cole Freeman said. “We got that out of the way in Starkville. It will not be as weird seeing (Cannizaro) around now. We need two wins to get to our ultimate goal – get to Omaha.”
Freeman was on the field when Coastal Carolina broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the ninth inning in last June’s Baton Rouge Super-regional. That moment still stings him.
“I remember kneeling down at second base as soon as the game was over,” Freeman said. “I realized that it really was over. I said a prayer and thanked God for me being in this position of playing at LSU. I hugged (Jake) Fraley in centerfield because I knew it was his last game.
“I looked around at this place and it was incredible. I got chills. If I came back, I wanted to be the one celebrating after the second game (of a super-regional). I could see the crowd sighing after we lost. It not only hurt us, but it hurt our fans. I will take that feeling out on the field this Saturday.”
Freeman was one of four LSU players who were drafted last June and decided to come back for another year. The other three players were rightfielder Greg Deichmann, second baseman Kramer Robertson and pitcher Jared Poche. These individuals want their 2017 season to continue after this weekend.
“We saw a team celebrating on our field last year,” Deichmann. “We are in the same position as last year. This is why a bunch of us came back this year – to go to Omaha. Our goal is to win the national championship. This is exactly what we came back for.”
None of the LSU players last June would have thought that a Cannizaro-coached team would stand in their way of a trip to the College World Series one year later. The Tigers swept three games from Mississippi State in Starkville to close the regular season.
Now, LSU must win another series from the Bulldogs if they are going to spend mid-June at the CWS.
“It’s just another coach we’re playing against this weekend,” Deichmann. “After playing them three games and seeing (Cannizaro) in the other dugout, that storyline is out the way. We have to go out and play Mississippi State.”
The Bulldogs won four games in two days to win the rain-delayed Hattiesburg Regional. After dropping its tournament opener, Mississippi State rebounded with elimination-game victories against Illinois-Chicago and South Alabama on Sunday and a doubleheader sweep of USM on Monday.
“I thought Southern Miss had a really good team,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. “Mississippi State came back and won four straight after a loss. Being in the SEC helped Mississippi State in that series.
“With seven other SEC teams in the tournament, the reality was that we were going to meet another SEC team in the super regional or in Omaha. There are still a lot of good SEC teams left in the tournament and we play one this weekend.”
LSU played a SEC team in the super-regional series one other time. The Tigers were swept in two games by Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 1999 – the first year of this format. A change was made after that year so that two No. 1 seeds from the same conference would not meet in a super regional.
For the third time since that rule adjustment was made, a super regional will match two SEC teams. Georgia beat South Carolina in three games in 2006 and Florida beat Mississippi State in three games in 2011. The Tigers have an 8-6 record against SEC teams in the NCAA tournament.
“These are two teams who are somewhat familiar with each other,” Mainieri said. “I think the atmosphere will be similar to when Louisiana-Lafayette came here (2015). There was a loud crowd and few empty seats.
“The stuff with Andy was unavoidable when we played before. That’s out of the way. All Andy is doing now is preparing his team to get to Omaha. It’s the same for me. The team we are playing happens to be Mississippi State, coached by Andy Cannizaro. It doesn’t matter who we play. We want to win.”
Here is the schedule for the Baton Rouge Super Regional. All times are Central.
Saturday
Game 1: Mississippi State vs. LSU, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Sunday
Game 2: Mississippi State vs. LSU, 8 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPNU)
Monday
Game 3 (if necessary): Mississippi State vs. LSU, TBA (ESPN2/ESPN)
Here is a breakdown of the teams in the Baton Rouge Super Regional.
LSU
Seed: No. 1; RPI: 4
Coach: Paul Mainieri
Current record: 46-17, overall; 21-9, SEC
Record against teams in the super regionals: 7-7 – 3-0 vs. Mississippi State, 2-2 vs. Kentucky, 1-2 vs. Florida, 1-2 vs. Texas A&M, 0-1 vs. TCU
Team statistics: Batting average – .295; ERA – 3.54; fielding percentage -- .980
Top offensive players
2B Cole Freeman, Sr., .333 BA, 2 HR, 39 RBI
OF Greg Deichmann, Jr., .322 BA, 19 HR, 69 RBI
OF Antoine Duplantis, So., .319 BA, 1 HR, 54 RBI
SS Kramer Robertson, Sr., .317 BA, 8 HR, 41 RBI
Top pitchers
Hunter Newman, Sr., 1-1, 10 saves, 1.11 ERA
Alex Lange, Jr., 9-5, 2.87 ERA
Jared Poche, Sr., 10-3, 3.13 ERA
Eric Walker, Fr., 8-1, 3.46 ERA
MISSISSIPPI STATE
Seed: No. 2; RPI: 19
Coach: Andy Cannizaro
Current record: 40-25, overall; 17-13, SEC
Record against teams in the super regionals: 4-6 – 2-1 vs. Kentucky, 2-1 vs. Texas A&M, 0-1 vs. Florida, 0-3 vs. LSU
Team statistics: Batting average – .288; ERA – 4.82; fielding percentage -- .981
Top offensive players
OF Brent Rooker, Jr., .395 BA, 23 HR, 82 RBI
SS Ryan Gridley, Jr., .331 BA, 6 HR, 39 RBI
OF Jake Mangum, So., .327 BA, 0 HR, 24 RBI
3B Cody Brown, Sr., .321, BA, 9 HR, 40 RBI
Top pitchers
Spencer Price, So., 4-1, 14 saves, 2.41 ERA
Konnor Pilkington, So., 8-5, 3.26 ERA
Jacob Billingsley, Jr., 2-3, 4.44 ERA
Denver McQuary, Fr., 3-3, 4.67 ERA