By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – LSU lost two of three games at Vanderbilt in its first SEC series of the season two weeks ago because its pitching staff had an 11.07 ERA.
The Tigers dropped two of three to No. 7 Oklahoma last week, hitting a frigid .202.
It’s not going to get any easier. Seven of LSU’s remaining 10 league series are against ranked teams, including four straight opponents, starting here in Alex Box Stadium tonight at 6 p.m. in the opener vs. No. 19 Kentucky (20-4 overall, 4-2 SEC).
“One weekend it’s this, then it’s something else,” LSU fifth-year head coach Jay Johnson said. “That shouldn’t happen if you’re a great team, but we’re not there yet. It doesn’t mean we won’t keep pushing towards that. We just keep attacking so that we can play complementary baseball.”
The defending national champions LSU (17-9, 2-4), are in an unfamiliar position of wallowing among unranked teams after going 6-8 in the last 14 games. But the team leaders still believe it’s just a matter of time before they break loose.
“No one is hitting the panic button,” said sophomore center fielder Derek Curiel, who’s hitting .337 and leads LSU in doubles (8). “There’s a lot of games left, and we’re maybe three, four or five pitches away from being 5-1 (in the SEC). We trust each other and are very optimistic. I still think it’s going to be a great story to write at the end of the season.”
While LSU’s pitching was considerably better last weekend vs. Oklahoma – a 2.33 ERA thanks to a much-improved performance by Game 1 starter sophomore Casan Evans (15 strikeouts, one walk, one run allowed in 7.2 innings) – an injury has caused the Tigers’ first starting rotation alteration of the season.
Game 2 starter junior Kansas transfer Cooper Moore was pulled after he uncharacteristically threw his first pitch of the fifth inning in the dirt in Friday’s loss. He’s out for two to three weeks with triceps soreness in his throwing arm.
Johnson has moved Game 3 starter William Schmidt, a sophomore, to Moore’s Game 2 spot. But Johnson is waiting to name his new Game 3 starter.
“The first two games will determine that, so we’re not there yet,” Johnson said. “I do think we can cover (the loss of Moore). The pitching talent in our program this year is not a problem.
“We didn’t execute very good at Vanderbilt, but since then, we’ve gotten some things in order. The last five games that we’ve played, we’ve pitched plenty good enough to win all five of those games.”
LSU (17-9 overall, 2-4 SEC) vs. No. 19 KENTUCKY (20-4, 4-2 SEC), Alex Box Stadium, Baton Rouge
Game 1: Today, 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
LSU – So. RH Casan Evans (2-0, 4.80 ERA, 30 IP, 13 BB, 50 SO)
UK – Sr. RH Jaxon Jelkin (5-0, 2.94 ERA, 33.2 IP, 8 BB, 37 SO)
Game 2: Saturday, 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
LSU – So. RH William Schmidt (3-1, 3.00 ERA, 30 IP, 9 BB, 46 SO)
UK – So. RH Nate Harris (3-1, 4.97 ERA, 25.1, 12 BB, 28 SO)
Game 3: Saturday, 12 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
LSU – TBA
UK – Jr. LH Ben Cleaver (1-1, 2.45 ERA, 18.1 IP, 12 BB, 24 SO)
LSU SERIES VS. KENTUCKY
LSU leads Kentucky, 60-30-1. This weekend is the first regular-season meeting between the teams since April 13-15, 2023, when LSU won two of three games over UK in Baton Rouge. The Tigers have won 14 of the past 20 SEC regular-season series against UK. LSU and UK met in the 2023 NCAA Baton Rouge Super Regional, and the Tigers swept two games to advance to the College World Series where they won their first national championship under Jay Johnson.
A LOOK AT LSU
LSU is hitting .253 with 46 doubles, four triples, 37 homers and 190 RBI. . .Right fielder Jake Brown is tied for first in the SEC hits (39) and RBI (39), is third in runs scored (33), tied for second in homers (11), and is seventh in batting average (.386) and slugging percentage (.712). . .. . .The LSU pitching staff has a 4.69 ERA (15th in the SEC) with 332 strikeouts and 115 walks in 222.2 innings while allowing a .215 opponent batting average and 19 home runs.
A LOOK AT KENTUCKY
The Wildcats are batting .294 with 48 doubles, 10 triples, and 22 home runs. .Kentucky is led by infielder Hudson Brown, who is hitting .390 with seven doubles, two homers, 22 RBI and 22 runs. . .Outfielder Jayce Harnish is batting .347 with four doubles, two triples, three homers and 19 RBI. . .Infielder Ethan Hindle has team-highs of six homers and 27 RBI. . . .The Kentucky pitching staff has a 3.88 cumulative ERA with 233 strikeouts in 209.0 innings while allowing a .220 opponent batting average and 18 home runs.
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com