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LSU Baseball

LSU weekend pitching rotation shuffled

February 14, 2019
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Due to the physical status of pitchers Zack Hess and Eric Walker, LSU coach Paul Mainieri is juggling the rotation for the opening weekend.

Hess will start the season opener Friday against Louisiana-Monroe at The Box (7 p.m. Central/SEC Digital Network). Freshman Landon Marceaux will be the starter against Army on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Jaden Hill will the starting pitcher instead of Walker against Air Force on Sunday afternoon.

Walker will pitch in relief Friday and will make the start Wednesday at Northwestern State. Freshman Cole Henry will be the starting pitcher against Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday at The Box. So, freshmen will start three of the first four games.

“Hess is behind a week because of the groin injury,” Mainieri said. “He will go no more than four innings Friday. Walker is behind schedule as well. He would go no more than four innings this weekend. That would mean two major bullpen games in one weekend.

“There would also be pressure on Marceaux to go deep into the game Saturday. Marceaux and Hill are our most stretched out pitchers. They can go 80 to 90 pitches this weekend.”

Mainieri stressed that Walker is healthy. He is keeping an eye on the schedule when making this pitching change. LSU needed a ninth-inning rally to eliminate Northwestern State in the Corvallis Regional last June.

“I anticipate a tough game in Natchitoches,” Mainieri said. “Having an experienced pitcher is the best for this situation. Hill deserves to start, but I would rather have him start at home. Walker needs more time on the mound. So, he can pitch twice – out of the bullpen Friday and as a starter against Northwestern.”

These five pitchers will also make starts the second week of the season. The Tigers play host to Bryant in a three-game series over the weekend. Then, South Alabama and Southern will come to The Box for non-conference games. Walker will probably make another start in a midweek game.

“After the first two weeks, we’ll evaluate the starting pitchers,” Mainieri said. “We only play one midweek game after that the rest of the season. We may not have a midweek starter this year. We may put all our best arms in the bullpen for the SEC games.”

Mainieri announced the batting order for Friday’s game against ULM. The first three hitters will be Josh Smith, Brandt Broussard and Antoine Duplantis. The middle of the order will be Daniel Cabrera, Zach Watson and Saul Garza. The bottom third will consist of Drew Bianco, Brock Mathis and Hal Hughes.

Mainieri is quite confident heading into the season-opener. Two of his three preseason concerns – a backup on the left side of the infield and the first base position – have worked out.

Senior Chris Reid rejoined the team to provide depth at third base and shortstop. Bianco will start at first base on Friday and Sunday. Cade Beloso will be the first baseman for the second game of the weekend.

The catching situation is still a problem since Garza will be unable to get behind the plate until late March. Mathis will be asked to handle all of the catching for the first month. Braden Doughty will be the No. 2 catcher until Garza is healthy.

LSU will play 18 games before the beginning of the SEC schedule in mid-March. The Tigers are ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in every college baseball poll.

“I do not have to put any pressure on these kids,” Mainieri said. “They have enough pressure on themselves already. Being No. 1 will help us get ready for the SEC games. I have to make sure all of them are confident and loose. We have as good a team on paper as you can put together.

“My job is to win games in June. I hope we win every game along the way, but not every single game early in the season is critical. We have to get the team to be building, building. We want to keep improving during the season and not plateau out.”

Tags: Baseball, LSU, 2019
 
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