LSU baseball impresses in opener despite opponent

UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said that the true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.

After a paid attendance of more than 11,000 fans braved the cold and blustery conditions of a Louisiana February night to watch the 2022 LSU baseball team open its season against the University of Maine Black Bears, it’s safe to say there may never be a time when the eyes of baseball fans in this state aren’t on Tigers baseball.

However, if the eyes of college baseball fans across the country weren’t already on first-year head coach Jay Johnson’s Tigers who were respectively, slated at No. 8 and No. 7 in the preseason D1 Baseball and the USA Today Coach’s Polls, then they certainly should be now.

Spare me your takes pointing out the strength of the University of Maine. I am aware that the team occupying the visitor’s dugout this weekend wasn’t the likes of Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Arkansas, or Florida.

I am also aware that the Black Bears committed a total of 10 errors against the Tigers this past weekend and walked a total of 10 batters on Sunday alone which led to LSU’s biggest scoring barrage of the series with 21 plated runs.

On the weekend, the Tigers scored 51 total runs which set a school record for the number of runs scored through the first three games of a baseball season.

Should fans ignore these games until LSU enters Southeastern Conference play when the “real competition” begins?

It wouldn’t surprise me if many fans continued to discredit the success of this year’s baseball team until the Tigers play someone with a number in front of their name.

Lucky for us, the opinions of fans almost never matter.

Yes, the University of Maine is probably not a College World Series caliber team this season, but the approach of LSU’s batters and their discipline at the plate are two areas that will win games for the Tigers no matter the opponent.

These are also two areas of the game in which Johnson has stressed improvement in all offseason.

The Tigers struck out a total of 21 times this weekend compared to 36 times through the first three games of the 2021 season against baseball juggernauts Air Force, who LSU dropped its second game of the season to last year, and Louisiana Tech.

LSU’s hitters also sprayed balls to all areas of the field throughout the weekend, a tell-tale sign of a team that’s hitting the ball where the opponent pitches it instead of trying to pull everything as if it were an inside pitch.

Speaking of pitching location, LSU pitchers did a fine job of throwing strikes this weekend and only issued eight free passes to hitters despite 12 different arms toeing the rubber.

It doesn’t matter if you’re playing the Maine Black Bears or the No. 1 Texas Longhorns. If the batters stay disciplined in the box and the pitchers command the strike zone, LSU will find itself in a favorable position come postseason time.

Obviously, the Tigers have a tough schedule in front of them. The conference opponents of Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and Florida that I mentioned earlier in this column are all road opponents for LSU this season.

The Tigers will also take the field against the No. 1 Texas Longhorns a few weeks from now in Houston, Texas for the Shriner’s Classic.

However, LSU will have a strong pitching rotation anchored by Friday night ace Blake Money as well as many of the younger pitchers on its staff who went through a trail-by-fire in the postseason last year.

There’s also no question that the Tigers will have one of the more prolific offenses in the country with hitters like Tre’ Morgan, Dylan Crews, Gavin Dugas, Cade Doughty, and Jacob Berry to name a few.

Certainly, LSU will have tougher opponents to face than Maine this year, and some fans may not watch until the Tigers play games deemed worthy by the national media.

Johnson and the Tigers will keep building out the identity and character of this team until the they play so well that the rest of the baseball world won’t be able to help but notice.

That’s going to happen whether you’re watching or not.