By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
COLUMBIA, Mo. — LSU head baseball coach Jay Johnson refers them as “inflection points.”
It’s the fork in the road of every game. Timely hits with runners in scoring position and pitchers closing out innings is an acceleration down Victory Boulevard. Hitting into rally-killing double plays and serving up two-out home run pitches is unsuccessfully dodging potholes on Losers Lane Circle.
The defending national champion Tigers (23-15, 3-12 SEC West) have been stuck on the latter ever since SEC play began, looping round and round in losing their first five league series, including four against top 6-ranked opponents.
With the second half of the conference schedule starting tonight at Missouri (17-21, 5-10 SEC East), LSU can’t wait any longer to start winning if it hopes to rally for an NCAA Tournament bid.
It needs to turn its defection points into inflection points.
“We just need to be better at those points,” Johnson said. “And there’s a lot of reasons why I think that we haven’t, things you can go back and look at.
“But what we can control is what we have in front of us. That’s what I really need them to do. I’m trying to meet them where they’re at and get them in a better direction.”
The crux of Johnson’s success, wherever he’s coached, has been good starting pitching.
He’s always felt if he gets solid performances from his starting hurlers, everything else will fall in place.
But as he discovered in being swept by Tennessee last weekend, even a vastly improved starting pitching wasn’t enough.
LSU held the Vols, who lead the nation in home runs, to 17 runs and 21 hits in the three-game series. But the Tigers’ best pitching numbers in an SEC series so far this season was offset by LSU’s worst hitting (17 hits, 8 runs)’in a league series this year.
Johnson made some tweaks in his starting rotation against Tennessee that he’ll likely repeat vs. Mizzou.
He flip-flopped usual Game 1 starter Luke Holman and Game 2 starter Gage Jump as Jump got the start in the series opener. Also, veteran reliever Nate Ackenhausen got his first SEC start in the third game.
Jump (2-1) lasted 4 innings and 20 batters, allowing 5 hits and 5 runs (all earned) while striking out 5 and walking 4. Holman (6-2) went 5.2 innings, faced 22 batters, gave up 2 hits and 2 runs (both earned) and had 4 strikeouts and 3 walks. Ackenhausen got no decision in 4 innings, facing 15 batters while limiting Tennessee to 2 hits and 2 runs (both earned) with 2 strikeouts and 1 walk.
“Gage did a good job, but we didn’t help him on defense,” Johnson said. “Luke was exceptional. Nate did a nice job on Sunday.
“We still have to do better offensively.”
The only week in and week out hits producer for LSU is junior third baseman Tommy White. He’s batting .302 in SEC games with 1 double, 8 homers, 17 RBI and 14 runs.
“The season is not over, and the story is not written, “ Johnson said. “All of our players want to develop, and they definitely want to win, and our coaching staff is going to give them the best we’ve got.”
LSU (23-15, 3-12 SEC) at Missouri (17-21, 5-10 SEC)
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1: Tonight @ 7 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
LSU – So. LH Gage Jump (2-1, 4.79 ERA, 35.2 IP, 15 BB, 43 SO)
Missouri – So. RH Logan Lunceford (1-2, 6.13 ERA, 39.2 IP, 11 BB, 35 SO)
Game 2: Saturday, 4 p.m., SEC Network+
LSU – Jr. RH Luke Holman (6-2, 2.15 ERA, 50.1 IP, 16 BB, 75 SO)
Missouri – Jr. LH Javyn Pimental (1-2, 4.00 ERA, 36.0, 11 BB, 39 SO)
Game 3: Sunday, 2 p.m., SEC Network +
LSU – TBA
Missouri – TBA
LSU vs. Missouri series
LSU has an all-time record of 18-3 versus Missouri in a series that began in 1986. . .LSU swept three games from Mizzou in Baton Rouge in 2022, with all those games were decided by two runs or less. . .Missouri won two of three games in LSU’s last visit to Columbia in 2019. . .Since Mizzou joined in 2013, LSU owns a 16-3 mark in the series. The Tigers have a 7-2 all-time record in Columbia.
ABOUT LSU
Third baseman Tommy White has a team-high .333 overall batting average with five doubles, 12 homers, 35 RBI and 34 runs. Graduate catcher/designated hitter Hayden Travinski has a .308 cumulative batting average with 8 doubles, 10 homers, 33 RBI and 30 runs. . . Junior right-hander Luke Holman is 6-2 with a 2.15 ERA in 50.1 innings, recording 16 walks and 75 strikeouts. . .Sophomore right-hander Aiden Moffett had his first career SEC action at Tennessee, pitching on two games and working a total of 2.1 innings and allowing one run on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
ABOUT MISSOURI
Missouri is No. 14 in the SEC in team batting average at .252, and its total of 39 home runs is the second-lowest in the league (Vanderbilt has 38 homers) … Missouri is No. 11 in the SEC in team ERA (5.51), and its staff has recorded 330 strikeouts in 333.0 innings with a .256 opponent batting average. . .Mizzou is led by first-year head coach Kerrick Jackson, who served as the head coach at Southern University in Baton Rouge for three seasons (2018-20) before departing to serve as the president of the MLB Draft League. . .Infielder/outfielder Trevor Austin leads Missouri in home runs (9) and RBI (24).
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com