After a strong start to the season, LSU is looking at the brink of collapse and people are trying to figure out why.
In a tale that seems to have strayed from the script of Field of Dreams, LSU’s baseball team finds itself battling more than just opponents on the diamond. Amidst the lush fields of possibility, echoes of ‘if you build it, they will come seem to linger as the Tigers grapple with a season that has veered far from the dreamy narrative of baseball glory.
After winning the 2023 national championship with a 54-17 record and fielding one of the greatest teams college baseball has ever seen, the Tigers are 20-10 overall and are second to last in the SEC West standings with a 2-7 record. To make matters worse, LSU suffered an embarrassing 12-7 loss to its crosstown neighbors Southern. In 17 meetings, it was only the second time that the Jaguars defeated LSU.
With LSU losing its first three SEC series losses against Mississippi State, Florida and Arkansas LSU is entering unchartered territory. Although the ship hasn’t sunk yet, the sharks are starting to swarm around the boat.
Big Shoes to Fill
People are starting to realize how good those guys were in 2023.
First, let’s talk about the players on the field. LSU had to replace arguably the greatest player in program history Dylan Crews which is no easy task no matter how good of a baseball player you are. Not only that, you have to replace Tre Morgan, Gavin Dugas, Brayden Jobert, Jordan Thompson and Cade Beloso.
Of LSU’s 144 home runs hit last year, those aforementioned names hit 85 of them, which is almost 60%. They also recorded 55% of LSU’s 582 RBIs that were recorded as a team last year.
LSU’s pitching staff looked great during the non-conference portion of the schedule. However, as usual, things change once you get into SEC play. Without the likes of first overall pick Paul Skenes and Ty Floyd throwing for over 300 strikeouts combined last season, the staff has struggled the games where once either Luke Holman and Gage Jump aren’t pitching.
The two best examples of filling those big shoes have been pitcher Thatcher Hurd and centerfielder Paxton Kling.
Despite struggling early last season after coming off Tommy John surgery his freshman year at UCLA, he was a huge factor in LSU’s run to the 2023 national championship. In the NCAA tournament last season, he recorded three NCAA Tournament wins in four appearances with a 3.71 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 17.0 innings. He also was the winning pitcher in the 2023 College World Series Championship Game where he limited Florida to just two runs on two hits in 6.0 innings with two walks and seven strikeouts in LSU’s 18-4 victory.
Coming into this season, he was seen as the replacement for Skenes, one of the most talented players to ever enter LSU’s locker room. However, he hasn’t been able to live up to the standards and has struggled mightily. Hurd has a 1-4 record and a 6.75 ERA with 37 hits allowed, 13 walks and 35 strikeouts in 28 innings pitched.
Kling, who replaces Crews at centerfield, was one of the most promising sophomores coming into this season after he had a solid campaign last season. He played in 57 games (22 starts) as a true freshman, batting .289 (26-for-90) with five doubles, two triples, four homers, nine RBI and 29 runs. He also made 10 appearances in postseason play last season, including three appearances in the College World Series.
Unfortunately, like Hurd, it’s never an easy task to replace arguably the most accomplished player in LSU history.
Although he has made great plays in the outfield, it is not carrying over behind the plate. Hurd is batting .188 from behind the plate with just 3 doubles, one home run and 15 RBIs. His stats aren’t any better in SEC play as he has not recorded a hit in his 14 at-bats.
What Happened to Gorilla Ball?
That’s the question everyone has been asking. LSU belted the second-most home runs with 144 and scored 634 runs, the most in the nation. Everyone knew that LSU was going to take a step back due to losing many key players from last year. However, nobody thought the Tigers were going back to the top of Mount Everest.
LSU has had a harder time hitting the ball in SEC play compared to the nonconference slate it had at the beginning of the year. In SEC-only games, LSU is 13th in batting average as the Tigers are batting .243 behind the plate and are tied for 10th for doubles hit.
Struggling with hitting the ball is one thing, but LSU has struggled even more with timely hitting as it has a hard time trying to put runs on the board. LSU is second to last in runs scored as it has only scored 42 runs through nine conference games played so far (4.67 runs per game).
LSU has been horrible getting on base as it is 12th among SEC teams in on-base percentage in SEC-only games as the Tigers are only getting on base 34.8% of the time. However, when they do get on base, LSU cannot back it up with timely hitting, something that the 2023 squad was extremely good at.
Although LSU has a decent batting average of .258 when there are two outs, LSU has gone 28-132 (.212 batting average) when runners are on base. When runners are in scoring position, LSU has a batting average of .234. With the bases loaded, the Tigers are worse as it has a .222 batting average when that situation arrives.
Out of all the SEC series, LSU’s worst showing was against Mississippi State. LSU was 9-53 (.170) with runners on, 5-24 (.210) with runners in scoring position and 1-4 (.250) with the bases loaded in the three-game series loss against the Bulldogs. Even worse, LSU was 1-5 (.200) with runners on third base with less than two outs.
If that’s not bad enough for you, LSU was even worse behind the plate in their 12-7 loss to Southern on Monday. LSU went 4-for-33 (.130) behind the plate, its worst-hitting performance of the year. Moreover, LSU was 2-for-23 (.087) with the runners on and 1-for-14 (.071) with runners in scoring position.
With Vanderbilt coming in with one of the best pitching staffs in the country, the Tigers are going to have to find a way to get timely hits when need be.
The Pitching Staff has Been a Disappointment
In what was supposed to be the strength of the team this season, LSU’s pitching staff has floundered. Despite having one of the best pitchers in baseball with Luke Holman, LSU has been one of the worst pitching staffs in the SEC.
In SEC play, LSU is 11th in ERA (7.50), opposing batting average (.294) and runs allowed (70). The Tigers are also last in walks allowed, second to last in wild pitches, 12th in hits allowed and tied for ninth in home runs allowed with 17.
The only thing this staff has been good at so far is striking out opposing batters as it has fanned 88 batters in SEC play, good for fourth in the SEC.