Three Observations from No. 12 LSU Baseball's Opening Weekend With Indiana
Despite a disappointing end to the weekend for Paul Mainieri and company Saturday night, LSU was able to take two of three against Indiana and start the season on a positive note.
The Tigers controlled game one from start to finish with an 8-1 opening day win, a close 7-4 win on Saturday afternoon before falling victim to cold bats in game three and losing 7-2 Saturday night. Here were a few takeaways we left Alex Box with this weekend.
Pitching staff can be elite if health isn't a factor
Coming into the season this was viewed as a widely popular opinion and after three games there's no reason to think otherwise. Cole Henry dominated as the Friday ace starter and Saturday evening starter AJ Labas turned in a solid performance as well.
While Landon Marceaux's day could've gone a bit better, the LSU bullpen was scary good in game two with Trent Vietmeier, Nick Storz and Devin Fontenot allowing Indiana to score just one run over the final four innings.
"We pitched 15 different guys this weekend and this is how you find out who you can count on," Mainieri said after Saturday night's loss.
Saturday saw the much anticipated returns of Storz, Labas and Jaden Hill, who all missed most if not all of last year with injury. Neither Storz nor Hill allowed a run in their short time on the mound but Hill in particular made an impact by showing off the phenomenal velocity most knew he possessed, reaching 98 mph multiple times in game three.
Pretty much every pitcher thrown out during opening weekend had their moments as the only pitcher unavailable was Ma'Khail Hilliard, who Mainieri believes will be able to pitch the Tigers midweek game against Southern on Tuesday. This staff has the chance to be something really special according to Hill.
"We have guys that can do everything, guys that can come in and fill in innings that we didn't have last year," Hill said. "I feel like once we all settle in, there are a lot of guys that y'all didn't get to see their best."
Cade Beloso improving as a defender
As a freshman first baseman in 2019, Cade Beloso looked uncomfortable most of the time. Whether it was tracking pop ups and groundballs or trying to scoop an offline throw from one of his teammates, Beloso was just never able to consistently provide a level of comfort at the position.
While it's only been three games, the improvement in Beloso's defense is worth noting because it's a pretty dramatic improvement. Over the weekend, the sophomore known more for his power hitting, made a number of head-turning plays but there's one that really sticks out.
In the fourth inning of game two, a self-turned double play from Beloso at first provided a spark to an LSU team that was clinging to a 3-1 lead at the time. The Tigers would go on to score two runs the very next half inning and pull away from the Hoosiers late.
Beloso said he has taken great pride in getting his defense up to par with what his offense provides to the team and if he can continue to make those plays, LSU will win more games because of it.
Freshmen step up in crucial moments
Multiple freshmen made their debuts this weekend but none left more of an impact than Cade Doughty on Friday night and catcher Alex Milazzo on Saturday afternoon in game two.
In the bottom of the first on Friday night, Doughty took the third pitch he'd ever seen and sent it into the left field bleachers. It was not only the first homerun of his career but the first since arriving to LSU back in the fall. The hit gave LSU an early 2-0 lead and wouldn't look back from there.
Freshman catcher Alex Milazzo had his "welcome to college baseball" moment" in crunch time for the Tigers in an eventual game two win. With LSU clinging to a 5-4 eighth inning lead, Milazzo blasted a two RBI double in the left centerfield gap to give LSU a 7-4 lead. The insurance runs were enough to give LSU the series win an inning later.
"We've got some kids that I think are real winners," Mainieri said of his young freshmen. "Alex Milazzo, he's just a scrapper and a fighter and will battle you until the end."