re: Baseball Preview: Yale Bulldogs vs. #1 LSU – Fri 7 / Sat 2 / Sun 12

2013 Yale Offense: (2014 LSU numbers in parentheses)
Team BA: .249 (.286)
Team OBP: .324 (.389)
Team SLG: .291 (.393)

As mentioned above, the players on this Yale club are very versatile, and in addition to the 5 two-way players, most of the full-time position players can be interchanged between the infield and outfield at any time. Yale lost just two of its offensive starters from a year ago. They were a very young group and they look to build on that experience this year. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, they return their top two hitters in outfielder Green Campbell (.391 BA, .481 OBP, .435 SLG) and Jacob Hunter (.339 BA, .391 OBP, .410 SLG). Campbell is a native of Shreveport, LA, where he attended Byrd High School. He is listed as an infielder, but will likely see full time this year as an outfielder. Hunter led the team with 41 hits a year ago as the every day first baseman; he also lead the team with 8 stolen bases in 11 attempts. Soph Brent Lawson and Jr. Eric Hsieh look to build on their solid production as first year starters. I have Lawson listed as the DH to make room for true freshman Richard Slenker at third, but Brent will probably find some time both at third and behind the dish many times throughout the season. Lawson hit .281 last year and lead the team with 7 doubles.

After a spectacular freshman campaign, second-sacker David Toups suffered through the dreaded sophomore slump in 2013 hitting just .201, but still lead the team in RBIs (18), runs scored (19), and home runs (2). His freshman season, Toups hit .306 with 5 doubles, a triple, and a homer. Team captain is shortstop Cale Hanson. Cale battled an injury last season, which hurt his production and eventually sidelined him for half of the season. Despite some dreadful numbers in 2013, Hanson is a .296 career hitter looking to bounce back for a strong senior campaign both at the plate and on the hill.



Considering the team hasn’t played a game yet, predicting the lineup would be almost impossible. Instead, I’ll give you the “probable” starters at each position, which is nothing more than my educated guess of who to expect to take the field on Friday night.

Yale Projected Lineup: (2013 Stats)
C – Jr. Robert Baldwin (.095 BA in 21 AB, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 8 K)
1B – Sr. Jacob Hunter (.336 BA, 6 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 17 R, 10 BB, 17 K)
2B – Jr. David Toups (.201 BA, 3 2B, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 19 R, 11 BB, 20 K)
SS – Sr. Cale Hanson (.171 BA, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 3 R, 4 BB, 8 K)
3B – Fr. Richard Slenker (1st collegiate game)
LF – So. Nate Adams (.211 BA, 1 2B, 5 RBI, 7 R, 6 BB, 9 K)
CF – Jr. Green Campbell (.391 BA, 2 2B, 10 RBI, 11 R, 7 BB, 14 K)
RF – Jr. Eric Hsieh (.280 BR, 2 2B, 5 RBI, 17 R, 10 BB, 14 K)
DH – So. Brent Lawson (.281 BA, 7 2B, 13 RBI, 17 R, 8 BB, 32 K)

Other guys we will see:
C Fr. Andrew Herrera (1st collegiate game)
SS/3B So. Tom O'Neill (.157 BA, 2 2B, 1 3B, 15 RBI, 2 R, 4 BB, 22 K)
1B/DH Sr. Kevin Fortunato (.270 BA, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 5 R, 5 BB, 11 K)
OF Jr. Joe Lubanski (.242 BA, 1 2B, 1 3B, 12 RBI, 8 R, 10 BB, 12 K)

Defense:
Last year Yale’s fielding percentage was a very poor .956 and LSU is fielding .979 this season.

Season Stats
Roster
Schedule (via Warren Nolan)

Media Coverage:
TV: NONE
Online: GeauxZone
Radio: Friday 98.1 FM, Saturday 100.7 FM, Sunday 98.1 FM

PREDICTION: Yale's offensive numbers should improve, and I expect them to come out swinging the bat with enthusiasm this weekend. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they have to open their season against one of the toughest pitchers in the country. I think they will score a few runs in the daylight on Saturday and Sunday. Although they return most of their pitching, they do not have anything spectacular to throw out to shut down the LSU bats who should be able to take advantage of the average Yale arms.
Fri: Yale 1, LSU 5
Sat: Yale 3, LSU 9
Sun: Yale 4, LSU 7