By Hunt Palmer
I can almost hear the John Fogerty.
“Centerfield” may not have won many Grammys, or any, but it does signify that it’s time for baseball at The Box. OAR’s “This Town” will no doubt pour out of those speakers on Friday afternoon, and it will probably be followed by Springsteen’s “Glory Days”.
It’s all part of the nostalgia that comes with another baseball season.
As will almost always be case, expectations are sky high around LSU’s program. That was the case last season before a 3-12 SEC start derailed the season. Though LSU played well enough to right the ship before tournament time, the losses meant a trip to the toughest regional site possible.
None of that had to do with the first month of the season. LSU cruised through the preconference 16-2 including a clean sweep of a four-game Houston trip.
There is plenty that can be taken away from pre-conference baseball in terms of lineups and rotations, but nothing is in cement until SEC play rolls around.
Purdue-Fort Wayne is up first for the 2025 Tigers. The Mastadons had a poor 2024, finishing 19-37, 11-19 in the Horizon League. As you might expect, the 2025 version of this team looks significantly different than the 2024 squad. Four of the top five hitters are gone, and so are the three pitchers with the most starts last season. Such is collegiate athletics.
Jimmy Osterhouse is the only player worth mentioning here when referring to last season. As a true freshman he hit .355 in 38 games, launching nine homers. Both of those led the team. He’s back, but none of the other returners hit over .250 last season except Camden Karczewski who only hit one him run to go with his .281 average.
LSU will overmatch Purdue-Fort Wayne at every position, so this week’s preview will be focused on the Tigers, not the matchup.
BACKSTOP BREAKDOWN
Catcher has been the most interesting position to watch since the fall. All of LSU starts in 2023 and 2024 are gone, so it’s up to Luis Hernandez, Cade Arrambide and Blaise Priester to man that battle station.
This comes down to defense first and foremost. Free bases can be killers over the course of 30 SEC games and what LSU hopes is three weeks on NCAA Tournament play. The ball has to be received and blocked. It’s been an issue at times in scrimmages.
By now you know that Hernandez hasn’t caught in two years and Arrambide is still adjusting to this level of pitching.
I believe both will start a game this year. That may be based on the LSU pitching as opposed to the Purdue-Fort Wayne pitching. Look to see if different catchers don’t catch different pitchers. And don’t be surprised if, in mop up time, a catching change is made simultaneously with a pitching change. That will be by design.
PROTECT THE BEAR
Who will hit behind Jared Jones. When this season wraps up, he’ll very likely be third on LSU’s all-time home run list. Teams will have him circled the second LSU gets off the bus. Someone is going to have to provide some protection. Tommy White and Hayden Travinski are gone.
The likely candidates as the season behind are Jake Brown, Daniel Dickinson and Steven Milam. Brown’s potential emergence could be a huge key as he’s left-handed and has some pop in that bat.
If LSU can’t find “the guy”, it’s going to be a long season of watching breaking balls bounce for Jones.
WHO? WHAT? WARE. WHEN? WHY?
Conner Ware won’t start a game this weekend. Jay Johnson said in the fall that he was LSU’s best pitcher. He’s also repeatedly said one of LSU’s best pitchers will throw out of the bullpen. Connect those dots, and you have your answer.
I’m curious to see when Ware is deployed and how many pitches he throws. Is it just an inning so he can be used twice on a weekend? Does he come in in the seventh of a one-run game and throw the 40 pitches to slam the door?
As a former starter and someone LSU identified to stretch out preseason, he can do both. We may not get our answer this weekend if LSU wins all three games by eight, but it’ll be worth monitoring.
Remember, LSU moved Saturday’s game up to 11:00 due to impending weather. So first pitches this weekend will be:
Friday: 2:00
Saturday: 11:00
Sunday 1:00
