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LSU experiencing a drop off offensively was to be expected. That's what happens when you lose 8 starters, and the one coming back was far from the most productive hitter. However, there's absolutely no reason for LSU to be sitting at 7-54 with runners in scoring position through six SEC games. That's .130 for those reaching for your calculators.
The offense has completely and totally evaporated for LSU. Were it not for a group of bulldogs pitching and errors, LSU would have been laughed out of College Station this weekend. Usually I'll try to find somebody who had a good weekend and draw some praise for them, but there will be none of that this week because honestly nobody is deserving of praise. Greg Deichmann had a homer Saturday that was at the time an equalizer, but the rest of the weekend was rough for Greg, especially at the hot corner. Brody Wofford was inserted into the DH role that Deichmann vacated Tuesday due to hit propensity for clutch hits, but he was poor this weekend. Kramer Robertson reached base on errors and misplayed balls, but outside of that didn't produce at the plate.
And it's not a handful of players that are committing different mistakes, it's the entire team making the same mistakes. Everybody, one hole through nine, is overaggressive when they swing in the count and either get entirely too under the ball, resulting in pop outs, or they're tapping out with minimal contact.
And it gets even worse when LSU somehow lucks into getting men on base. LSU scored two earned runs all weekend and one was a solo home run. Antoine Duplantis, god bless his soul, laced a liner down the left field line in game one for LSU's lone run. Mainieri tried to overcome the offensive shortcomings by being overaggressive on the bases, which only gave away more outs than it created runs.
This isn't a matter of "If LSU can fix this", it's a matter of "LSU needs to fix this". Lose the upcoming series to Auburn, who can swing a bat, and see how quickly the postseason window closes before May.
The one saving grace of the weekend, and I do mean one, was that LSU proved that if the offense could improve just the smallest bit, the pitching staff has the muscle to carry the team. Thursday night, Poche' went five strong, allowing two runs off five hits, striking out five. Friday night, Lange went six innings, also allowing two runs off five hits, and striking out 11. On Saturday, Valek III went six innings as well, giving up two runs off of six hits (he was feeling generous). Which, all that only infuriates me more because
YOU HAVE TO SUPPORT THAT WITH MORE THAN SIX RUNS COMBINED ON THE WEEKEND.
LSU will try to regain themselves offensively Tuesday night against rivals Tulane at 6:30 before shipping out to the plains for a series with Auburn. First pitch next weekend will be at 6:00, 3:00, and 1:00. Every game this week will be on SEC Network +.
Thursday - LSU 1, A&M 6
Friday - LSU 3, A&M 2
Saturday - LSU 1, A&M 3