LSU Tigers, Hottest Team in Baseball?

Mule · 06-01-2008, 07:37 PM

23 Straight wins and an average victory margin of abut 10 runs throughout the SEC tournament & Regional. Geaux You Tigers!

Racerbvd · Racerbvd's Garage

My Gators are gone, and since a while back, I dated an LSU cheerleader, and a couple of very good friends are Grads,, I will be pulling for the Tigers

Mule · 06-02-2008, 04:01 AM

Mule · 07:00 AM

The feared 'Anteaters" of UC Irvine roll into "The Box" at 5:00 today for the last 2 or 3 games ever at historic Alex Box Stadium.

the · 06-07-2008, 07:48 AM

They're only winning because they don't have to play the USC football team.

Mule · 06-07-2008, 07:59 AM

Two words, Aluminum Bat!

mattdavis11 · 06-07-2008, 08:17 AM

They sure picked a good time to get hot, but it's all for nothing. The canes are far better than any other team in college baseball. Rice might be the only team that can beat Miami.

pwd72s · 06-07-2008, 08:53 AM

The Beaver believers are still reeling in shock over not making it this year...Oh well, 2 championships in a row wasn't a bad run...

Mule · 06-07-2008, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattdavis11

They sure picked a good time to get hot, but it's all for nothing. The canes are far better than any other team in college baseball. Rice might be the only team that can beat Miami.

I believe it is 5 Nat Championship banners decorating The Box. If the bats & the bullpen stay at the current level, it'll be 6.

From a S. Carolina Newspaperz;
Pardon the LSU Tigers for oozing confidence bordering on invincibility.

They haven’t lost in a month-and-a-half.

Their 23-game winning streak, which included sweeps of the Southeastern Conference tournament and their NCAA regional, is the longest current streak in the country and longest ever by an SEC team.

LSU head coach Paul Mainieri is trying to keep his players grounded, reminding them there’s more work to do. They still must beat an impressive UC Irvine squad in a best-of-three super regional next weekend just to get to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., where eight of the best teams in the country will play for a national title.

Yet Mainieri can’t hide the fact that he is awe-struck by what his team has done only one season after winning 29 games in all of 2007.

“To win 23 games in a row is an amazing accomplishment by a group of young men, but to do it at this time of the year against the schedule we’ve done it against — it’s beyond explanation,” Mainieri said. “Now we’re getting to taste the fruits of victory and they taste very sweet, I might add. ... It’s an amazing thing. It really is. They should be tight but they’re not. They’re just having fun and playing the game.”

The streak has included three-game regular season sweeps of SEC foes South Carolina, Mississippi State, Kentucky and Auburn. Sprinkled in were road victories over in-state rivals Tulane and New Orleans, which both qualified for the NCAA tournament.

At the SEC tournament in Hoover, Ala., LSU beat South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Alabama and Mississippi in succession, needing comebacks to win three of those games.

The Tigers won their regional last weekend with relative ease, starting with a 12-1 win against Texas Southern, followed by victories against Southern Miss of 13-4 and 11-4.

They’ve won with solid starting pitching and excellent relief. They’ve hit for power and for average. They’ve stolen bases and taken the extra base. They’ve made few errors. They’ve made spectacular diving catches, which was perhaps to be expected when they have players like Jared Mitchell, a receiver on LSU’s national championship football team, running down balls in the outfield.

“Great defense, great clutch hitting, great base running, relief pitching, starting pitching,” Mainieri rattled off while describing what has impressed him during the winning streak.

Dean, LSU’s leading hitter with a .351 average, has been the Tigers’ most dangerous hitter in recent weeks.

He was the SEC tournament MVP after batting .438 with three homers, nine RBI and five runs scored in four games. His grand slam highlighted LSU’s 12-8 comeback victory over Alabama and his two-run homer helped LSU beat Mississippi for the tournament championship. He went deep three times during the Baton Rouge regional, when he also hit a towering RBI double and a bases-clearing triple.

He now has 19 home runs on the season, which is second to Matt Clark, whose three homers during the regional gave him 25 to go with a .340 average.

The wisdom of pitching around Dean and Clark is questionable, however. None of LSU’s regulars are hitting below .287 and only two are below .300. Hollander, LSU’s leadoff hitter, and center fielder Leon Landry, who hits eighth, also had homers during the regional, along with pinch hitter Sean Ochinko.

“There’s just no break for the (opposing) pitcher,” Mainieri marveled.

Meanwhile, LSU hitters step to the plate relaxed and confident, content to focus on just getting on base rather than pressing for a big hit.

“There’s really no pressure,” Hollander said. “Somebody’s going to get that big hit. I think we have that in the back of our minds that, hey, if I don’t do it this at-bat, somebody else is going to pick me up.”

Mule · 06-07-2008, 11:05 AM

I'm thinking they'll be tough to scare. 42 home runs in "the streak." That's almost 2 per game. Blake Dean is averaging 2 rbi's per game. If they keep it up, they'll finish the year with a 31 game streak.

The Tigers, riding a 23-game win streak, are No. 2 in this week’s Collegiate Baseball poll, No. 5 in the Baseball America rankings and No. 7 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll.

UC Irvine, which advanced to the CWS last season, is ranked No. 8 by Baseball America, No. 12 by USA Today/ESPN and No. 13 by Collegiate Baseball.

LSU enters Saturday’s NCAA Super Regional opener riding a 23-game winning streak, the longest single-season streak in Southeastern Conference history. Sixteen wins in the Tigers' 23-0 run have come against SEC teams. LSU finished the regular season with 12 straight SEC wins, and the Tigers posted victories over South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Alabama and Ole Miss to win the SEC Tournament May 21-25

LSU extended the streak last weekend with consecutive victories over Texas Southern and Southern Mississippi (twice) to win the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional.

LSU has won 28 times this season after facing a deficit, including all four wins in the SEC Tournament.

LSU has rallied to overcome a deficit in 17 of its 23 victories during the current win streak.

The Tigers are hitting .324 (280-for-864) as a team during their 23-game win streak with 65 doubles, eight triples and 42 home runs, and LSU has outscored its opponents, 219-101, in the past 23 contests.

The Tigers' pitching staff has been superb during the streak as well, recording a 3.53 ERA in 217 innings of work with 68 walks and 202 strikeouts.

LSU coach Paul Mainieri, who led Notre Dame to the 2002 CWS, said the Tigers are ready for their super regional challenge.

JBO · 06-07-2008, 11:26 AM

.....how Bout Them Dawgs!!!!

mattdavis11 · 06-07-2008, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mule

At the SEC tournament in Hoover, Ala., LSU beat South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Alabama and Mississippi in succession, needing comebacks to win three of those games.

They can't keep this up. I know the SEC is the toughest conference in every sport in the NCAA, but winning both the football and baseball titles in the same academic year just occured in 2005. It won't this year. They are a great team, and they play well as a group, but they're not the best this year. I don't whore for any team, but seeing LSU getting waxed is one of my favorite pastimes. And they will, it's just a matter of time.

Mule · 06-07-2008, 12:06 PM

Keep on hatin'! Does Mike look scared? Geaux Tigers!

mattdavis11 · 06-07-2008, 02:19 PM

Who's Mike? Is that him in the above pic? He doesn't even look intimidating, so yeah, I guess he does look scared. Scratch that, one pupil dilated and one not, he actually looks mentally handicapped. Just being truthful, and pc.

sammyg2 · 06-07-2008, 05:20 PM

UCI 11, LSU 4 in the 7th inning.

Irvine has a baseball team? I didn't even know they had an athletic department

the · 06-07-2008, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mule

I'm thinking they'll be tough to scare. 42 home runs in "the streak." That's almost 2 per game. Blake Dean is averaging 2 rbi's per game. If they keep it up, they'll finish the year with a 31 game streak.

The Tigers, riding a 23-game win streak, are No. 2 in this week’s Collegiate Baseball poll, No. 5 in the Baseball America rankings and No. 7 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll.

Dear LSU,

mattdavis11 · 06-07-2008, 07:33 PM

ROTFLMAO,

1 one more time UCI. I predict by 8pm CST on Sunday June 8, 2008, LSU will be out. Have a nice summer boys. Plenty of lawns that need mowing, or you can help tear down the pos you call a ball field.

Mule · 06-08-2008, 06:45 AM

A shame to see the streak die. 2 games to go. I still think there's some Cajuns working on a recipe for Anteater.

sammyg2 · 06-08-2008, 07:05 AM

My oldest brother pitched at cal state Fullerton for Augi Garrido.
He was the first freshman to make the starting rotation 1n 1976 and that was the first CSUF group to win the national title, in 1979 IIRC. They've had a bunch since then.

I remember sitting on the grass watching them play because they didn't have bleachers or lights yet but they sure playing ball well. Tim Wallach was on that team. If they didn't intentionally walk him, he'd hit it over. Amazing. totally dominated.

sammyg2 · 06-08-2008, 07:41 AM

Just did some checking, CSUF won the series in 79, the same year my brother went to the braves so he missed that championship.
Still, he's #2 in CSUF history in career winning percentage at 16-0 and 9-0 in 1978.

Winning Percentage
Minimum 2 seasons
1. 1.000 ....(17-0) ...Matt Sorensen (99-00)
1.000 ....(16-0) .....Lance Gore (76-78)
3. .900 ......(18-2) ..Larry Navilhon (79-80)
.900 ......(18-2) .Jack Reinholtz (83-84)
5. .875 ......(21-3) .....Huck Flener (88-90)
6. .852 ......(23-4) .....Dan Ricabal (93-94)
7. .842 ......(16-3) .....Eric Mustad (76-77)
8. .825 ......(33-7) Todd Simmons (82-84)
9. .808 .......(21-5) ...........Eric Barry (80-82)
10. .806 ......(29-7) ........Jon Smith (98-01)

Come to think about it he didn't lose a game at high school either.

Different story in the pros though, everyone there is the best in town. Hard to be a star when everyone around you is a star too. You go from being the top dog to just being a dog overnight. A very tough way to make a living. Lots of very good kids get a rude awakening there.