I don’t know if you could draw it up any better for LSU to get back to the College World Series. The Tigers first game on Friday is against Little Rock, who is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 14 seasons.
The Trojans are 24-32 and won five games in four days as an eight-seed to win the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and receive an automatic bid.
They have the lowest RPI out of the 16 four-seeds in the tourney.
Rhode Island is the 3-seed in the Baton Rouge Regional, and they have the lowest RPI among three seeds.
Dallas Baptist is a strong two-seed, and the Patriots are one of only five programs in the nation to earn an NCAA Regional berth every year since 2014. They are also battled tested with an RPI of 20.
Here are four other takeaways on the Tigers road to Omaha:
LSU prefers Friday afternoon Regional opener:
ESPN determines game times for all 16 regionals, but the Tigers prefer to play in the afternoon. Coach Jay Johnson said when he was coaching at Arizona, he preferred to play at night, because its hot and dry in Tucson.
But in Baton Rouge, he prefers to play the first game in the Regional, because of the possibility of weather delays and it’s better to get the game done as soon as you can.
Johnson said it’s also difficult to turn around and play an elimination game on Saturday afternoon, if you lose on Friday night.
Who will start game 1?
Johnson does not discuss his pitching plans in the postseason, so we will have to wait an hour before gametime when starting lineups are revealed on social media to find out who will start game one. Little Rock has a losing record, so it’s tempting to not start Kade Anderson or Anthony Eyanson against the Trojans. But I think Johnson will start one of them on Friday. He started Paul Skenes against a Tulane team that had a losing record in 2023.
Weather will also play a factor, if Johnson can’t get at least seven innings out of Anderson and Eyanson because of a possible weather delay, Johnson may go with Jaden Noot instead.
LSU strong on the mound and in the field:
There are concerns about LSU’s offense. Just two hits in the last 15 innings at the SEC Tournament. But the Tigers are one of only two programs in the country that rank Top 10 in team ERA and fielding percentage. Vanderbilt is the other.
And relief pitchers continue to emerge for LSU. Jacob Mayers magnificent performance in the SEC Tournament raised eyebrows and as Johnson told the media on Monday, MLB scouts also took notice.
Mayers went 2.1 innings and allowed zero hits and walks and struck out four against Ole Miss on Saturday. It’s always been about control for Mayers, because his fastball is difficult to hit.
Looking ahead to the Super Regionals:
Another reason why LSU received a favorable draw, it’s likely they will not play an SEC team again until they get to the College World Series. The Baton Rouge Regional is linked with Clemson Regional.
Kentucky is a three-seed in that regional, and played LSU in the 2023 Super Regionals, but it’s unlikely they will win the Clemson Regional. They barely made the NCAA Tournament.
Clemson is not very strong on the mound. They have a team ERA of 4.95, 68th best in the country.
West Virginia is an interesting team. The Mountaineers team ERA is 4.28, 21st best in the country and they are 23-5 on the road this year.
It could be worse. Arkansas is a three national seed, and they could play defending national champion Tennessee in the Super Regionals. If I’m the Razorbacks, I’m not excited about that possibility.
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