By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – A year ago, the SEC office in Birmingham didn’t do LSU any favors by scheduling four top-8 ranked teams in the Tigers’ first five SEC series.
The then-defending national champions, with five new position starters and revamped starting pitching rotation, lost all five series including every Sunday series finale, and went 3-12.
This season, the No. 1 ranked Tigers (17-1) begin SEC play against three ranked teams between No. 11 and No. 25 in their first five series and two unranked teams including Missouri (8-8) today at 4:30 p.m. in Alex Box Stadium.
On paper, it’s the best hitting team in the SEC (LSU) vs. the worst pitching squad (Missouri). But the secret to LSU’s success so far this season is viewing every opponent the same, no matter the record.
“We show up every day, and we prepare the same way,” LSU junior first baseman Jared Jones said. “We go our business the same way. So, when we take the field, no matter who’s in the other dugout, we’re going to play our brand of baseball. Our goal is to play to our standard.”
Fourth-year Tigers’ head coach Jay Johnson’s No. 1 recruiting class, as ranked by Baseball America, hasn’t disappointed.
True freshman left fielder Derek Curiel is batting a team-leading .450 and hasn’t gotten on base in every game. Utah Valley transfer second baseman Daniel Dickinson is second on the squad in RBI (26) and home runs (6).
Blinn College transfer third baseman Tanner Reaves has worked his way into the starting lineup by batting .333. Indiana State transfer catcher Luis Hernandez and Auburn transfer center fielder Chris Stanfield are making contributions in the field.
Then, there’s the pitching staff with UC San Diego transfer Anthony Eyanson, unbeaten in the starting rotation. Wofford transfer Zac Cowan and true freshmen Casan Evans and Mavrick Rizy have made key contributions out of the bullpen.
“We have a deeper, deeper roster than last season,” said returning starting sophomore Steven Milam, who has made a flawless transition moving from second base to shortstop. “We trust each other more. We’re mentally tougher.”
LSU’s depth – Johnson said he has 14 to 15 position players he’s comfortable playing every game – has given him the most lineup options in his tenure of leading the Tigers.
“The goal is to set the team up to win the game,” Johnson said. “There’s been maybe a little bit more consistency in what that’s looked like, but it’s still very game to game.
“Again, you’re facing different pitchers, different bullpens, different types of offensive strategy that may impact who you want to play defensively.
“We’re just really trying to communicate what we need the player to do. We’ve had a relative consistent group of guys, maybe over the last four or five games. that I feel like they’ve done what we’ve asked them to do well.”
1 LSU (17-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. Missouri (8-8, 0-0 SEC )in Alex Box Stadium, Baton Rouge
SCHEDULE/PITCHING MATCHUP
Game 1: Today, 4:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network+)
LSU – So. LH Kade Anderson (3-0, 2.08 ERA, 21.2 IP, 37 SO, 6 BB)
MISSOURI – Grad. LHP Ian Lohse (0-2, 5.12 ERA, 19.1 IP,26 KO, 4 BB)
Game 2: Saturday, 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
LSU – Jr. RH Anthony Eyanson (3-0, 3.00 ERA, 24 IP, 35 S), 5 BB)
MISSOURI – RS Fr. LH Wil Libbert (1-1, 5,40 ERA, 13.1 IP, 12 SO, 9 BB)
Game 3: Sunday, 1 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
LSU – RS So. RH Chase Shores (4-0, 3.15 ERA, 20 IP, 22 SO, 7 BB)
MISSOURI – Jr. LH Kadden Drew (2-0, 3.43 ERA, 21 IP, 15 SO, 7 BB)
LSU-MISSOURI SERIES
LSU has a record of 20-4 vs. Missouri in a series that began in 1986. LSU won two of three games last season (April 19-21) over Mizzou in Columbia, Mo. This weekend marks Missouri’s first visit to Baton Rouge since 2022, when LSU swept three games, and all three games were decided by two runs or less.
A LOOK AT LSU
LSU has won 12 straight games, the Tigers’ longest win streak since February 26 through March 18, 2023, when they captured 13 games in a row. . .LSU is hitting .361 as a team during its current 12-game win streak with 34 doubles, one triple, 23 homers and 135 runs (an average of 11.3 runs per game). . .The LSU pitching staff has limited its opponents to a .207 cumulative batting average over the last 12 games. LSU leads the SEC in hitting with a .346 average.
Freshman left fielder Derek Curiel is fourth in the league in hitting (.450), third in in-base percentage (.602), and second in walks (21). First baseman Jared Jones leads the SEC in hits (30), is fifth in RBI (28), tied for third in doubles (8), and tied for sixth in home runs (7). LSU’s pitching staff is seventh in the league in ERA (3.06). Starting pitchers Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson are tied for fourth and seventh in the league respectively in strikeouts with 37 and 35.
A LOOK AT MISSOURI
Missouri is No. 11 in the SEC in team batting average (.301). . .The Mizzou pitching staff is No. 16 in the SEC with a 6.20 ERA, and it has recorded 145 strikeouts in 138.0 innings. . . Missouri is led at the plate by OF/INF Cayden Nicoletto, who is hitting .422 with three doubles, one triple, two homers, and 10 RBI. . .C/INF Mateo Serna is batting .328 on the year with team highs of four doubles, three homers, and 19 RBI.
Mizzou head coach Kerrick Jackson is in his second year at the helm of the program after working as Southern University’s head coach in Baton Rouge from 2018-20 when he led the Jaguars to a berth in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com