LSU pitching staff long on guts, short on arms
Published 4:14 pm Friday, June 1, 2018
Scooter Hobbs
At a glance, one of the most encouraging things about LSU’s run in last week’s Southeastern Conference Tournament was the way a pitching staff that had its ups and downs this season held up through six games in six days until the very end.
With all games against teams now preparing for the NCAA Tournament, the team ERA was 3.83.
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Throw out the sixth game, in which Ole Miss scored six runs over the final three innings of the title game, and the ERA for the five-game run against top teams was 2.80.
The most games a team could play in the NCAA regional is five. LSU opens play Friday against San Diego State in the Corvallis Regional hosted by Oregon State.
But nothing apparently will come easy on the mound for the Tigers.
“Would it concern you if half of your four-man starting rotation was a question mark?” head coach Paul Mainieri said Wednesday just before the team boarded a charter flight for Corvallis.
So left-hander Nick Bush (1-1, 3.16 ERA) will be making his fifth start of the season when the No. 2 seed Tigers open against No. 3 San Diego State at 3 p.m. Friday.
Mainieri had already narrowed his choices for the first two games down to Bush and Zach Hess (7-5, 4.43), who’s coming off allowing hot-hitting Arkansas one hit over seven innings in the SEC semifinal on Saturday.
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Hess will pitch LSU’s second game, but it wasn’t, Mainieri said, with an eye on potentially facing No. 1 seed Oregon State.
“The main reason is I want to give Zack Hess a normal rest week after he worked so hard last week,” Mainieri explained.
Hess pitched twice in the SEC Tournament, throwing 97 pitches against the Razorbacks after a 50-pitch relief effort in Tuesday’s must-win game against Mississippi State.
Mainieri said it was also a factor that San Diego has lots left-handed hitters in its lineup, which is hitting .305.
“But it wasn’t a matchup thing,” he said. “It wasn’t saving somebody for Oregon State. I thought Bush would be more fresh and ready to go.”
Beyond the first two games Mainieri isn’t sure?
He hopes freshman Ma’khail Hilliard (9-5, 3.79) will be available, but it won’t be until at least a third game on Sunday. Hilliard pitched well in LSU’s 4-3 loss to Florida on May 23 in the SEC Tournament, but said he experienced soreness afterward.
Hilliard threw lightly on Tuesday and pronounced himself ready, but Mainieri wasn’t so sure, calling it “mixed results.”
“I just don’t know,” Mainieri said. “I hope so.”
Mainieri said Hilliard will throw a bullpen session in Corvallis either today or Friday, which may give the Tigers a better idea where he stands.
Mainieri seemed less optimistic about another freshman, A.J. Labas (6-2, 3.48), who seemingly had locked down the No. 3 starting job down the stretch but was held out of the SEC Tournament due to soreness.
Labas made the trip to Hoover, Alabama, but Mainieri said there’s been no change in his status.
Mainieri will have other options as Austin Bain, Matt Beck, Todd Peterson, Cam Sanders and Devin Fontenot all had impressive outings at the SEC Tournament.
But having to start any of those would also weaken the bullpen.
“It concerns me a lot,” Mainieri said. “I hope they’re healthy. I hope they’re ready to go. You can’t do anything about it if they can’t. Somebody else will have to step up. I don’t know who that would be at this point, but we’ll do the best we can.”
If Hess’ start ends up being against Oregon State, he’ll certainly need no introduction to the Beavers.
As a relief closer last year at the College World Series, his “Wild Thing” persona peaked in Omaha, Nebraska, in back-to-back appearances against the No. 1 ranked Beavers.
He got the final five outs on consecutive days, allowing one hit and no runs in those 3 1/3 innings with five strikeouts.
The two games, with the Tigers facing elimination each time, instead eliminated Oregon State and propelled the Tigers into the CWS championship round.
LSU pitcher Matthew Beck is greeted by teammates as he walks off the field during the third inning of a Southeastern Conference tournament NCAA college baseball game against Florida in Hoover, Ala.
