The buzz around this team is that they have the talent to go all the way to Omaha and win the College World Series. That has been the expectation since the season has started. The batting order can hit 1-9. The biggest issue right now is the injuries to the pitching staff.

I think the series win against Arkansas is what got the ball rolling. Second SEC series of the year and playing against one of the best teams in the country. We lost game one 9-3 in extra innings, but came back and run-ruled the Hogs 12-2 in game two and beat them 14-5 in game three.

The main takeaways from last week is that this team never gives up. Hayden Travinski and Gavin Dugas are two of the most clutch players on this team. When the Tigers need a big hit, they always pull us through. That’s the good news. The bad news is that all of the injuries to our pitching staff are piling up and the bullpen is running short on quality arms. Other than Paul Skenes, LSU’s game two (Ty Floyd) and game three (Christian Little) starters did not have a quality start against the Tide.

Tommy White was a monster as a Designated Hitter for NC State last season. He broke the single season home run record for the Wolfpack as a Freshman. If that doesn’t scream “Cleanup hitter” I don’t know what does. He isn’t on pace to hit as many homers in his first season at LSU (16) as he did last year (27), but he still has plenty of games to surpass that. He has been an RBI machine as he leads the team in RBI (73) the next closest guy to him in that stat is Dylan Crews. Crews only has 53.

The most dangerous man in the LSU lineup is Dylan Crews. That isn’t a knock on the other three guys (White, Jones, and Dugas), but Crews is probably going to be the No. 1 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. In 44 games this season, Crews is hitting .486 with a .633 OBP, 13 homers, 53 RBI, and 49 walks. There have been times this season where he stepped into the batters box with two runners already on base and he was intentionally walked. That is how dangerous he is.

Paul Skenes is an anomaly. He is 6-foot-6, 247-pounds and throws over 100 MPH. More importantly than that, he can locate his pitches. Skenes is 8-1 with a 1.93 ERA this season and has only had less than 10 strikeouts in two starts this year. He struck out 8 in three innings in a rain delayed game against South Carolina and he only struck out 9 in six innings against Alabama last weekend. Skenes is a confident guy. He loves talking smack. You’ll see it this weekend. When he strikes someone out, he is juiced up. He likes to jaw with the hitters a little bit to try and get in their heads. Does it come off as cocky at times? Sure. But the guy backs it up. Ty Floyd will be the game two starter and Christian Little will likely be the game three starter. The guys you will see out of the bullpen will probably be Riley Cooper, Gavin Guidry, and Nate Ackenhausen. Javen Coleman may make another appearance this weekend as he continues to try to get back into the swing of things.

The main thing LSU needs is a quality start from all three starters. Floyd and Little need to help the ailing bullpen out by going at least five innings. It’s okay if they give up two or three runs. This offense can get those back at any given time.

LSU takes the series 2-1. As I’ve mentioned before, the pitching woes for LSU will be the cause of the Tigers dropping one game. I expect the games to be close.