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BATON ROUGE – LSU baseball ratcheted up the work this week and it turned into a solid RPI win over McNeese Tuesday prior to taking two of three against Alabama at Alex Box Stadium.
The No. 7 Tigers (34-7, 12-6 SEC) won games one and two of the series with the No. 15 Crimson Tide Thursday and Friday but couldn't complete the sweep Saturday night with the 7-4 loss.
Jay Johnson said on multiple occasions throughout this weekend that his team got back after getting swept at Auburn last week and worked hard to bury those defeats and not let them linger.
LSU simplified things this week, sophomore Jake Brown said.
"When you get down the road, you forget that every game is one game at at time," Brown said. "Once you simplify that, everyone simplify their approach, you kind of get back to playing baseball.
CHRIS STANFIELD How LSU baseball's Chris Stanfield became the SEC's leader in doubles
LSU TAKES GAME 2 OVER ALABAMA LSU baseball vs Alabama live score updates: Tigers take series over Alabama
"We put a lot of work in from the player side. We're honing in what we're good at and trying to go out and hone that every game."
Sophomore Chase Shores has started all of the game threes in SEC play up until Saturday when Johnson opted for junior Conner Ware.
Why did Johnson decide to give the ball to Ware?
"I felt like to hold them down as best we could, we were going to need more guys," Johnson said. "You look at that first inning, (Bryce) Fowler is a left-handed hitter, we've had problems with (Kade) Snell for two days, (Will) Hodo is one of their better guys, by doing that, it pushed him down in the order a little bit. It gets us off to a clean start."
Clean starts were hard to come by for the Tigers as both Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson gave up a run in the first inning. Ware was able to put up a zero.
Johnson said his decisions were only about this week and he still is comfortable starting Shores.
"I have been for 10 weeks in a row. That didn't change," Johnson said. "This was a 'How do we get through tonight' without your two best guys out of the pen."
The series finale, as a whole offensively, was mushy but what the depth of LSU's offense showed against Alabama provides more ease going forward.
Ashton Larson had the three-run home run Thursday night and Brown came off the bench Saturday and hit a first-pitch two-run homer.
Johnson said he hoped to catch some more of that magic with LSU trailing by four in the bottom of the ninth Saturday.
But overall, there's a wealth of bats for LSU as it gets deeper into conference play.
"You can't get through the schedule we play without a few bumps in the road offensively. The pitching talent is too good and eventually someone is going 0 for 4," Johnson said. "But every game has tremendous value and you want to match up as best you can.
"I think it's nice to have that ability this year because last year, we did not. We were too right-handed and too one dimensional. This year we can mix-and-match a little bit better."
There has been a small change here or there through the first 38 games, but in the three games against the Crimson Tide, Johnson made several switches to his lineup.
Daniel Dickinson batted in three different spots over the series, from the cleanup position in game one to the two-hole and leadoff in the series finale.
Jared Jones moved between the three-hole and cleanup while Ethan Frey and Josh Pearson was moved up and down, too.
LSU's lineup has been pretty much set for the better part of the first two-plus months of the season as it enters the back half of the league schedule, Johnson is looking at different lineups. Will that continue?
ASHTON LARSON Inside Ashton Larson's home run that sparked LSU baseball rally to beat Alabama
LSU NCAA REGIONAL PROJECTIONS Latest NCAA regional projections for LSU baseball ahead of Alabama series
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Wrapping LSU baseball's series win over Alabama
Continue reading...
The No. 7 Tigers (34-7, 12-6 SEC) won games one and two of the series with the No. 15 Crimson Tide Thursday and Friday but couldn't complete the sweep Saturday night with the 7-4 loss.
Jay Johnson said on multiple occasions throughout this weekend that his team got back after getting swept at Auburn last week and worked hard to bury those defeats and not let them linger.
LSU simplified things this week, sophomore Jake Brown said.
"When you get down the road, you forget that every game is one game at at time," Brown said. "Once you simplify that, everyone simplify their approach, you kind of get back to playing baseball.
CHRIS STANFIELD How LSU baseball's Chris Stanfield became the SEC's leader in doubles
LSU TAKES GAME 2 OVER ALABAMA LSU baseball vs Alabama live score updates: Tigers take series over Alabama
"We put a lot of work in from the player side. We're honing in what we're good at and trying to go out and hone that every game."
Who is LSU baseball's third weekend starting pitcher?
Sophomore Chase Shores has started all of the game threes in SEC play up until Saturday when Johnson opted for junior Conner Ware.
Why did Johnson decide to give the ball to Ware?
"I felt like to hold them down as best we could, we were going to need more guys," Johnson said. "You look at that first inning, (Bryce) Fowler is a left-handed hitter, we've had problems with (Kade) Snell for two days, (Will) Hodo is one of their better guys, by doing that, it pushed him down in the order a little bit. It gets us off to a clean start."
Clean starts were hard to come by for the Tigers as both Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson gave up a run in the first inning. Ware was able to put up a zero.
Johnson said his decisions were only about this week and he still is comfortable starting Shores.
"I have been for 10 weeks in a row. That didn't change," Johnson said. "This was a 'How do we get through tonight' without your two best guys out of the pen."
LSU baseball displays depth on offense
The series finale, as a whole offensively, was mushy but what the depth of LSU's offense showed against Alabama provides more ease going forward.
Ashton Larson had the three-run home run Thursday night and Brown came off the bench Saturday and hit a first-pitch two-run homer.
Johnson said he hoped to catch some more of that magic with LSU trailing by four in the bottom of the ninth Saturday.
But overall, there's a wealth of bats for LSU as it gets deeper into conference play.
"You can't get through the schedule we play without a few bumps in the road offensively. The pitching talent is too good and eventually someone is going 0 for 4," Johnson said. "But every game has tremendous value and you want to match up as best you can.
"I think it's nice to have that ability this year because last year, we did not. We were too right-handed and too one dimensional. This year we can mix-and-match a little bit better."
Jay Johnson starts tinkering with LSU lineup
There has been a small change here or there through the first 38 games, but in the three games against the Crimson Tide, Johnson made several switches to his lineup.
Daniel Dickinson batted in three different spots over the series, from the cleanup position in game one to the two-hole and leadoff in the series finale.
Jared Jones moved between the three-hole and cleanup while Ethan Frey and Josh Pearson was moved up and down, too.
LSU's lineup has been pretty much set for the better part of the first two-plus months of the season as it enters the back half of the league schedule, Johnson is looking at different lineups. Will that continue?
ASHTON LARSON Inside Ashton Larson's home run that sparked LSU baseball rally to beat Alabama
LSU NCAA REGIONAL PROJECTIONS Latest NCAA regional projections for LSU baseball ahead of Alabama series
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Wrapping LSU baseball's series win over Alabama
Continue reading...
