As we rapidly approach the LSU baseball senior day vs. Ole Miss this afternoon, it’s all hands on deck for coach Jay Johnson and his pitching bullpen as the Tigers continue their hunt for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
The pitching staff is coming together at seemingly the perfect time for the Tigers
It’s a tale as old as time for LSU baseball – or at least the past two seasons.
Last year, the main concern for the Tigers heading into postseason play was an overall lack of bullpen depth. While newly dubbed MLB star Paul Skenes was the far and away Ace, things started to get a bit muddy once you started to look into the rest of the pitching staff. With that said, things really started to come together at the perfect time, and players such as Gavin Guidry, Griffin Herring, Nate Ackenhausen, Riley Cooper and Thatcher Hurd came on late to become a major part in why the purple and gold were able to go on and win it all.
Now, just one season later, coach Jay Johnson and his squad are hoping to have something of a repeat of last season. Once again, the program has incredible consistency at the top of the staff with transfer additions Gage Jump and Luke Holman holding things down. However, until just recently, things were again fairly rocky once you started moving down the line.
Luckily, if the past few outings are any indication, things might finally be moving in a positive direction led by bullpen members such as Christian Little and Griffin Herring, both of which put together stellar performances on Friday against Ole Miss.
“Big strikeout by Christian (Little) in the seventh with two guys on base. First off, I thought Luke (Holman) pitched phenomenally,” coach Jay Johnson reflected on Friday’s win over the Rebels. “That was an outstanding game. Outstanding game.”
In 6.2 innings, Holman was able to keep the Rebels in check on offense, allowing just five hits and two earned runs compared to his nine strikeouts on the day.
Following Holman were Little and Herring who would end up combining for 2.1 innings pitched, allowing just one hit compared to three strikeouts, eventually leading the Tigers to a 4-2 victory.
“Griffin showed great poise there and was in control from the second he came in. I think he was six up, six down right there. He pitched amazingly.”
Coach Jay Johnson isn’t the only one within the program well aware of how important this time of the season is. With the Tigers possessing just 12 SEC wins in 2024, every victory is necessary if they want any chance at making the NCAA Tournament this spring.
“Coach made it clear that this is playoff baseball and we’re gonna do what we need to do to win games,” stellar sophomore Griffin Herring said. “If that means coming in twice in a weekend, three time in a weekend, it really doesn’t matter anymore. Just go out there and compete.”
All hands on deck for the Tiger bullpen heading into LSU baseball senior day
As we rapidly approach game three of LSU baseball vs. Ole Miss, coach Jay Johnson has made it clear that it’s going to be all hands on deck when it comes to the Tiger bullpen.
When looking back on the 2024 season as a whole, the purple and gold have just three series victories in conference play, and they’re yet to sweep one in that same stretch. Notably, game three just so happens to have played a major factor in that, as they have just one SEC game three victory, which came against Missouri in mid-April.
Relatively unsurprisingly, the pitching staff inconsistency has played a major role in this trend. In turn, as we look ahead to a potentially series sweeping victory against Ole Miss later this afternoon, coach Johnson is ready to roll out just about anyone he can to try and get the win on LSU baseball senior day.
Whether it be talented veterans Thatcher Hurd or Christian Little, transfer addition Justin Loer or one of their many young stars such as Aiden Moffett, Gavin Guidry or Griffin Herring, it’s just a matter of who can step up to the plate and help the team win.
Last Sunday vs. Alabama, the Tigers rolled out an eye-popping six pitchers in a 3-4 loss to the Crimson Tide. While coach Johnson likely doesn’t want to have a repeat of that outing, it’s a fair bet that he’ll be doing whatever it takes to get his team the win as they continue their search for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
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