LSU Baseball Hoping "Timely Hitting" Continues to Translate Against No. 5 South Carolina
LSU has faced some of the toughest arms in not just the SEC but the entire country during the first third of their conference schedule. And with No. 5 South Carolina now next on the list, the Tigers are hoping one specific area continues to trend in a more positive direction.
It's become no secret that the bats have been inconsistent in conference play after a pretty dominant start in the non-conference portion of the schedule. The players weren't getting on base against Mississippi State and Vanderbilt and when they were against Tennessee, they weren't converting.
That all changed against Kentucky as LSU was not only able to get on base but come through with "timely hitting." It's an area that's difficult to improve on because hitting a baseball is already so tough to consistently do. For LSU, what the hitters have tried to focus on is doing as best they can to put the ball in play with runners in scoring position through situational hitting.
"I think the past couple of weeks we've really been working on situational hitting," shortstop Jordan Thompson said. "Putting that in your mind, 'ok there's a runner on third base, two outs, you've gotta get this guy in,' in practice you're doing it every day. So when you get to the game it's just about having a good approach when you're up there.
"Us as players have taken a little bit more pride in having more of a clutch gene," catcher Hayden Travinski said. "Passing it on to the next person and having a little more pride about it. Once the ball drops and keeps rolling and your offense starts to flow."
For Thompson specifically, that means hitting the ball to the opposite field. Early in his career, the Tigers' shortstop was pulling everything to the left side, making it easy for defenses to shift when he was at the plate. But this past weekend against the Wildcats, Thompson proved he could put the ball in play to opposite field, reaping the rewards by going 8-for-12 for the weekend.
"That's been the focus for me, hitting line drives over the second baseman's heads, that's my focus," Thompson said. "It's definitely going to open up a lot more holes as I continue to put balls that way. The more I can hit the ball to those spots, the more I'll be able to help the team out and that's the main focus."
He was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week for his performance and was just one of the catalysts that helped the Tigers win their first SEC series of the season. Travinski was another one of those players towards the middle to lower portion of the lineup that helped in the series win.
Travinski is without a doubt the biggest offensive threat the Tigers have behind the plate but he hadn't recorded a hit in the SEC up until the Kentucky series, going 2-for-7 with four RBI in the two wins combined. It was the first time in over two years that he caught back-to-back games after knee and arm injuries have played a factor in limiting his on-field catching abilities.
But he feels like he's really turning the page in terms of the workload over the last few weeks and it's about getting the stamina up now.
"Towards the end I started to feel fatigue but the next day I felt perfectly fine, which was the best part of the weekend aside from the wins," Travinski said. "It's definitely progressed a lot."
Those are just two examples of hitters outside of the top of the lineup who contributed in a big way and will be counted on against South Carolina this weekend, a pitching staff that top to bottom is as talented as any in the conference.
"I don't think we've seen the peak potential of this offense," Travinski said. "There's too much talent."
"Hitting is contagious, it really is and when you see somebody in front of you want to be able to get a hit. Multiple guys getting hits in a row, you don't want to be the guy that gets out so it brings more confidence to you," Thompson said.