Taking a closer by committee approach without ever truly finding a third-day starter would usually spell disaster for any team’s aspirations for Omaha.

On the contrary, LSU is making a strong postseason run despite it.

Most baseball purists will tell you dominant pitching is the most crucial ingredient for championship success. Heck, look back no further than the 2013 UCLA Bruins, who won the College World Series with a .252 batting average. Despite the Bruins stagnate offense, UCLA won the championship with a pitching staff that had a 2.75 ERA.

So why should LSU expect to win a title with only two true starters — Alex Lange and Jared Poche’? Because the broomsticks are back, baby. LSU can flat out rake, boasting a .319 batting average (third in the country), posing a .462 slugging percentage (13th) and collecting 47 home runs (36th). Quite a difference from last year’s .287 batting average, .415 slugging percentage and 41 home runs.

Of course, last year’s team benefitted from one of the best pitchers in college baseball, Aaron Nola. But this year’s club has a new guy that’s captured the nation with his 1.76 ERA, 110 strikeouts and 11-0 record. Indeed, freshman Alex Lange has dazzled, but he’s the only LSU starter I’d go as far to call dominant. Jared Poche’ — the Tigers Friday night starter for the majority of the season — hasn’t had a bad year by any stretch of the imagination (8-1 record with a 3.07 ERA), but he’s also been rocked on the mound in instances. An example would be him giving up five runs to Auburn in the first inning of an SEC tournament game. Because Poche’ isn’t overpowering, if he misses his mark and has an off day, those outings can happen. But LSU has been good enough to overcome this — the Tigers rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat Auburn 9-8 in Hoover.

Leading to LSU’s success this season has been great hitting, speed on the bases and spectacular defensive plays (specifically in the outfield, behind home plate and at shortstop), making this LSU team the most exciting to watch since the 2009 club. Remember that team? A team that had Jared Mitchell making acrobatic catches in the outfield, Blake Dean and Ryan Schimpf knocking balls out of the park and a third-day starter carrying a losing record? Also, that team had eight of its nine starters hitting over .300 Sounds a bit familiar.

I’d be lying if I told you I had the same passion for college and major league baseball as I had in 2009. But when you have Mark Laird and Andrew Stevenson laying out for improbable catches and Alex Bregman chasing down a grounder and grabbing the ball out of his glove from behind his back to throw to first for a near-out, how could my interest do anything but peak? Plus, like my affection for pure shooters in basketball, I more than enjoy watching great hitters work the count and find a gap. Players like Stevenson, Chris Chinea, Kade Scivicque and Conner Hale do it better than most.

So to fans like me, this play has reignited my passion for high-level baseball. Through the years, especially after offensive production has minimized in college and professional ranks, smug baseball fans have rolled their eyes at talk of boredom in baseball while casual fans dismiss the sport because of its potential to drag. Admittedly, both can be annoying, but both make good points as well. The casual fan wants to see action, wants to see athletic plays on a frequent basis, while the hardcore fan wants to defend every shrug and fidget a batter makes in the box. LSU’s explosion both at the plate and on defense can put those arguments aside for the time being.

Can LSU win the championship with this exciting style despite having only one dominator on the mound? Time will tell, but you can guarantee, win or lose, the Tigers’ run to Omaha will be a fun one.

 

JAKE MARTIN is the sports editor for The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3633 or jake.martin@natchezdemocrat.com.