By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
KNOXVILLE, Tn. – Four SEC series played.
Four SEC series lost.
LSU head coach Jay Johnson’s now-unranked Tigers have batters who haven’t produced hits in the clutch and pitchers who haven’t made pitches to escape innings.
Making a lineup card for Johnson isn’t easy when virtually no one in LSU’s dugout has been consistent.
“I’ve been wasting more paper than anybody in Louisiana the last couple of days trying to figure it out,” Johnson said after Tigers blanked McNeese 16-0 in a Tuesday night seven-inning run-rule win.
Evidence that Johnson is pushing every possible button as LSU (22-12, 3-9 SEC) travels to home run bashing No. 4 Tennessee (27-6, 7-5 SEC) starting with today’s 6:30 p.m. CDT Game 1 is he batted his usual clean-up Jared Jones in the leadoff spot vs. the Cowboys.
“I was chilling in the locker room and (third baseman) Tommy (White) was like `Dude, you’re leading off today,” Jones said. “I was like `Oh, funny joke.’ I think I led off a couple of times in high school or travel ball.”
Johnson, desperate for some immediate offense, got instant results.
Jones hit the fourth pitch he saw for a homer in the left field stands, rocketed the second pitch that came his way leading off the second inning for a double, cracked the third pitch offered to him in the third inning for a 2-run homer over the center field wall, struck out on a 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded in the fourth and launched the fifth pitch he viewed in the fifth inning for a 3-run homer.
“After my third home run, (designated hitter) Hayden (Travinski) came to me,” Jones said, “and said `Man, if you would have hit a home run in the fourth at-bat you would have had the home run cycle.’”
Johnson, who joked that he had “a defensive tackle bat leadoff,” called his team’s performance the best of the season. But he and Jones understand what awaits them – a fourth straight weekend playing a top-six-ranked opponent.
“It’s good for confidence,” Jones said of a 3-dinger, 6 RBI night, “but it’s Tuesday against McNeese. And so we’re going on the road against a tough opponent in Tennessee with a great pitching staff.”
The Vols’ pitching hasn’t been much better in league play (6.25 ERA) than floundering LSU (7.62 ERA).
But offensively, there’s a huge separation. The Vols are No. 1 nationally in home runs (89) and runs scored (353) and No. 3 in batting average (.338).
Tennessee is the only team in college baseball with five players of 10 home runs or more. Right fielder Kavares Tears and first baseman Blake Burke are each batting .410. In SEC play, Blake is first in hitting (.442) and Tears is second (.415).
“They’re really talented and they hit mistake pitches,” Johnson said of the Vols. “There’s a path to get them out but our pitchers have to be better than they have been. I do think we’re moving in that direction.”
Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello isn’t taking LSU lightly, despite its SEC struggles.
“You’ve got one of the biggest traditions and one of the biggest names in our sport,” Vitello said of the Tigers. “A lot of those guys that contributed to that national championship are still around. So, it’s a tall task, whether you’re at home or you’re on the road or you’re playing whichever team, but this one certainly comes with a lot of boxes that are checked by what I’m talking about.”
LSU (22-12, 3-9 SEC) at No. 4 Tennessee (27-6, 7-5 SEC)
SCHEDULE/PITCHING MATCHUP
Game 1: today, 6:30 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
LSU – So. LH Gage Jump (2-0, 3.98 ERA, 31.2 IP, 11 BB, 38 SO)
UT – TBA
Game 2: Saturday, 4:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
LSU – Jr. RH Luke Holman (6-1, 2.01 ERA, 44.2 IP, 13 BB, 71 SO)
UT – Jr. RH Drew Beam (4-1, 3.63 ERA, 44.2 IP, 7 BB, 40 SO)
Game 3: Sunday, 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
LSU – TBA
UT – Sr. LH Zander Sechrist (1-0, 3.37 ERA, 26.2 IP, 5 BB, 32 SO)
LSU-TENNESSEE SERIES: LSU has won 18 of its last 26 games versus UT, including four of five matchups in 2023. Prior to the 2023 season, UT had won six straight games over the Tigers, including a 2022 SEC Tournament win, a two-game sweep in the 2021 NCAA Knoxville Super Regional and a three-game sweep in the 2021 SEC regular-season series, also in Knoxville.
A LOOK AT LSU: First baseman Jared Jones is hitting .400 (8-for-20) in his last five games with one double, four homers, 10 RBI, six runs, two walks, a .458 on-base percentage and a 1.050 slugging percentage. He has a team-high 14 homers this season and leads LSU in RBI with 34. . . Junior third baseman Tommy White is hitting .353 (6-for-17) in his last five games with two homers, four RBI, seven runs, five walks and a .522 on-base percentage. He’s the Tigers’ leading hitting on the year, batting .324 with four doubles, 11 homers, 29 RBI and 33 runs. . .Junior starting pitcher Luke Holman is 6-1 with a 2.01 ERA in 34.2 innings. He has recorded 13 walks and 71 strikeouts, and he’s limiting opponents to a .174 batting average.. .Sophomore reliever Griffin Herring is 2-0 this with a 2.42 ERA and three saves in 22.1 IP with seven BB and 31 Ks.
A LOOK AT TENNESSEE: Tennessee is No. 1 in the SEC in team batting average, hitting .338 with 94 doubles, three triples and 89 home runs … Tennessee and Georgia are tied for first in the league in homers. . .The Volunteers’ pitching staff is No. 5 in the SEC with a 3.90 cumulative ERA, and Tennessee has recorded 302 strikeouts in 270.0 innings while allowing 33 home runs. . .First baseman Blake Burke is batting .410 for Tennessee with 19 doubles, 11 homers and 30 RBI and outfielder Kavares Tears is also hitting .410 on the year, and he has eight doubles, 10 homers and 29 RBI. . Outfielder Dylan Dreiling has a team-high 40 RBI, and infielder Christian Moore leads the Vols in homers with 13.
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com
