LSU Baseball Ready for Quick SEC Turnaround With Auburn
The Tigers are in a tremendous zone at the plate and a big reason why they're embracing a quick turnaround with Auburn coming to Baton Rouge beginning on Thursday.
LSU has been dominant offensively the last three games, undoubtedly the best stretch of the season for this team that had such high expectations entering the 2022 year. Over the last three games, LSU has scored 43 runs on 33 hits against a top 10 Florida on back-to-back days and a ULM team midweek.
The efficiency in capitalizing on opponents mistakes has been one of the big reasons for the team's success at the plate the last handful of contests. Florida and ULM issued a combined 13 walks and 15 hit batters, combining for 28 free bases LSU was largely able to bring home for runs.
"I believe in what we do offensively, I want it to be there every game," Johnson said. "From a top level standard it's been pretty close to it. Everybody knows how good, how capable these guys are and they set the bar really high."
Across the board, LSU's hitters are seeing the ball really well which is why the players are more eager than ever to get back out on the field. Designated hitter Brayden Jobert in particular has been lights out, smashing five home runs over the last three games and bringing seven runs in to score Tuesday night, the most by an LSU hitter since 2017.
After the Friday night loss to Florida, there was a team meeting where Johnson spoke to the players about the standards at LSU. But also a part of that Saturday morning meeting were the team leaders speaking up, including Alex Milazzo, Blake Money and Dylan Crews.
A man of few words, when Crews does elect to speak his mind, Jobert says it carries a little extra weight and after those meetings the Tigers seem to have turned a page in their season.
"He's pretty quiet at times but when he speaks up, you're gonna listen," Jobert said of Crews. "It was big time for him to do that and it's changed a lot for us."
"It'll be nice to get a quick turnaround," Gavin Dugas said. "The bats are obviously hot all throughout the lineup. Everybody's swinging good, swinging with confidence and the whole team's feeling good. When you get on these good streaks you try to ride them as far as we can."
With Auburn now coming to town, Johnson said it's a team that's similar to LSU in a few ways. Auburn is currently trying to get its pitching situated as the third week of SEC play begins but it's also a team with plenty of offensive threats LSU will have to key in on.
LSU will hit the field on Wednesday morning to begin preparations for visiting Auburn to work on a few areas ahead of the Thursday opener. Johnson doesn't believe the quick turnaround will have much of an effect on the team as the purple and gold are already chomping at the bit to get back on the field.
"We're gonna get on the field. I want to get outside and do some things on our field," Johnson said. "Our players will be ready, baseball's a game that's almost designed to be played everyday and the way we're going right now offensively, I think it's a good thing.
"Baseball is so different, it's the team that plays the best that day and the recommitment to the things you need to do to win. Over a 70 game season you run into some challenges but we're gonna hold them to a high standard. They've been better, they know the reasons they've been better and it's their job to commit to the consistency in the at bats they take."
(Photo courtesy of LSUsports)