Tigers need another late-season surge
LSU coach Paul Mainieri looked up the numbers Monday – one day after losing two of three games at Kentucky.
One year ago, the Tigers had a 27-14 overall record with four weekends remaining in the regular season. LSU had a 10-8 Southeastern Conference record at the same point.
Following the difficult weekend in Lexington, the Tigers have the same ledger – 41-27 overall and 10-8 in the SEC. In 2016, LSU won nine of its final 12 SEC games and reached the semifinals of the league tournament. That body of work was enough to get the Tigers a national seed in the NCAA tournament.
Mainieri is hoping that his team can finish the 2017 season in just as strong a manner. The final 15-game stretch begins Tuesday when LSU takes on Tulane at Turchin Stadium in New Orleans (7 p.m. Central/CBS Sports Network). The Tigers have a Thursday-through-Saturday series at Alabama this week.
“There are 15 games left,” Mainieri said. “I still say the story of the 2017 season is not written yet. When I looked at the schedule, I knew seven games in a row on the road would be challenging. We avoided the sweep at Kentucky. Nothing’s easy in college baseball, particularly in the SEC.
“We need to shift it into another gear. I will appeal to the kids’ toughness that they get things done. What you have to guard against is the idea that the sky is falling. The fan base is so passionate, they think the sky is falling when we do not win every game.”
In the overall SEC standings, LSU is tied with Florida and Texas A&M in fifth place. Those three teams trail league-leading Mississippi State by three games. Arkansas, Auburn and Kentucky are all two games ahead of LSU, Florida and Texas A&M.
The Tigers have split their first six SEC series. There were four previous seasons under Mainieri when LSU won fewer than four of their first six league series. The 2008 and 2016 teams hosted a regional tournament and a super-regional series. The 2007 and 2011 teams did not make the NCAA tournament.
Mainieri believes that this current stretch will be a positive for the Tigers in the long run. Due to weather problems, the team’s flight from Lexington was delayed three hours Sunday evening. The team did not arrive in Baton Rouge until 10 p.m.
The players had their mandatory day off Monday. On Tuesday, the team will take a bus to New Orleans for its rematch with Tulane. The Tigers will then turn around on Wednesday and take another bus ride – this time to Tuscaloosa. As Mainieri pointed out, the players have semester exams next week.
“I am always a guy who looks at things half full,” Mainieri said. “What we went through Sunday will help us. It was a tough series. Kentucky’s hitters were so confident in the way they went up to the plate. Their team is built for that park. Our team is more built for manufacturing runs and playing defense.
“Our pitchers were trying to make perfect pitches rather than challenging the hitters. That led to them walking guys. Neither Jared Poche nor Eric Walker is a strikeout pitcher. Alex Lange is a strikeout pitcher. He can get two strikes on you and put you away. You need no luck when you get a strikeout.”
Here are the remaining schedules for the SEC teams who have a winning conference record.
MISSISSIPPI STATE (13-5): Auburn, at Texas A&M, at Georgia, LSU
ARKANSAS (12-6): Ole Miss, at Tennessee, Vanderbilt, at Texas A&M
AUBURN (12-6): at Mississippi State, Alabama, at LSU, Ole Miss
KENTUCKY (12-6): at South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, at Florida
FLORIDA (10-8): at Georgia, Ole Miss, at Alabama, Kentucky
LSU (10-8): at Alabama, South Carolina, Auburn, at Mississippi State
TEXAS A&M (10-8): at Missouri, Mississippi State, at Ole Miss, Arkansas