By Hunt Palmer
The newness of the season has worn off. Conference play is still three weeks away.
This can be the doldrums of college baseball season for fans. For LSU, this is actually the weekend that brings the most intrigue as the Tigers play three bigger brands in a minor league ballpark a state away.
It’s the Frisco College Classic from Riders Field in Frisco.
LSU enters the weekend…riding…high on a convincing midweek win over Dallas Baptist. LSU hammered out 13 hits on Wednesday and held the Patriots to a season low three base hits. The pitching was outstanding, and the bats were productive if untimely late in the game.
This weekend the competition does ramp up. Kansas State made a super regional last season, winning the Fayetteville Regional in part due to knocking Hagan Smith out of the ballgame by scoring six earned runs in five innings.
Nebraska won the Big 10 Tournament last year and was picked second in the Big 10 this year by D1 Baseball behind newcomer Oregon.
Sam Houston has built a solid program in the Lone Star State and was in LSU’s regional just two years ago.
There have been bumps in the road for all three early on, but there is still talent on these rosters that LSU will have to navigate this weekend.
Let’s break down all three games.
2 PM FRIDAY: KANSAS STATE
The Wildcats lost seven of their top nine hitters from last season’s super regional team, so this year is thought of as something of a rebuild. It looked that way early on when Kansas State lost four of their first five games.
They lost a pair to Coastal Carolina and one each to North Carolina and Washington.
Since, they’ve won three of four including a three game Globe Life Stadium sweep of Arkansas, Michigan and TCU where Wildcat pitching allowed five total runs in the three wins.
Jacob Frost will get the ball for the Wildcats on Friday afternoon. He’s a good arm. He stands 6-foot-4 and 230 lbs. He started eight weekend games for Kansas State last year, and his ERA was 7.49. However, he did have some good outings including a combined no-hitter than he twirled seven innings of against Cincinnati.
Against Arkansas last week he cruised through five innings with six strikeouts, all of which came with his 94 mph fastball that the Hogs couldn’t seem to figure out. They finally got to him with a pair of homers in the sixth to end his day.
Frost is the best arm LSU has seen to this point. He would fit into the back portion of most SEC rotations.
Out of the bullpen, it’s Dante Lewis. He’s a freshman fireballer who is up to 98 mph with the fastball. He dominated Michigan in four hitless, shutout innings.
4 PM SATURDAY: NEBRASKA
The Huskers are a program built on pitching. Former Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress is the pitching coach there, and he’s got some good arms available.
Ty Horn is going to get the ball Saturday. He’s a 6-foot-2 junior righty with a fastball that sits 93-94 mph. He flips a slurvy breaking ball in there from time to time.
He’s already faced Vanderbilt and Louisiana-Lafayette in starts this year, and both lines are fairly similar.
Vanderbilt: 4IP, 4H, 3R, 3ER, 6K, 2BB, 1HR
UL-L: 6IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 5K, 2BB, 1HR
Vandy got to him early with a leadoff homer and a first-inning two-spot. Then he settled in a little bit. I would call Horn’s stuff average, but he’d be the ace for Purdue Fort Wayne or Omaha.
Offensively, the Huskers haven’t been great. They have two regulars over .300 and three team home runs. They are 12 of 14 on stolen bases, so I would expect them to run especially if Cade Arrambide continues catching Anthony Eyanson in Game 2s.
ULL beat the Huskers two of three, and in the games 2 and 3 losses, Nebraska only totaled three runs.
4 PM SUNDAY: SAM HOUSTON
The Bearkats are off to a rough start. They’re 2-6 and lost two of three to NJIT over the weekend. For reference, High Point swept NJIT in four games opening weekend, and the margin was 46-16. Yuck.
Most years the Sam Houston program fields a quality team. This might not be that year.
Hunter Autry has three of the Bearkats’ five homers and is hitting .333 with 10 runs driven in.
Depending on how the weekend goes, Sam Houston could be low on arms in a Sunday game. LSU, meanwhile, may have William Schmidt ready behind Chase Shores. That’s just a massive talent edge on Sam Houston.
ANGRY ANDERSON
I’m excited to watch Kade Anderson on Friday. As I’ve written, he was spicy after having his start was halted earlier than he wanted last week. After five masterful innings, his command left him in the sixth, and Omaha made him pay for it.
The last piece to Anderson’s pre-SEC puzzle is stamina. I expect to see 90 or so pitches on Friday, and I think he’s going to carve Kansas State up.
Jay Johnson had a hunch about that last week after the start, and I believe it.
REGIONAL READY
One of the reasons I like tournaments like this is the similarities to a regional. I can see a world where Nebraska and Kansas State are No. 2 or No. 3 seeds this year. Sam Houston doesn’t look like a tournament team, but they could play the role of a weak four.
The team is forced to prepare for three teams in three days.
I believe LSU to clearly be the class of this field, and I think the Tiger will have a large crowd advantage, as well.
The team should be fired up and ready to play. Anything less than a two wins will be a disappointment for the Tigers.
