re: Gameday: LSU v. Notre Dame 7:00pm at the Box!

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Does anyone know who our closer & setup man are supposed to be?

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“If you asked me who our closer is going to be, I can’t tell you the answer to that question,” Mainieri said. “How are we going to find out which guys we can count on unless we run them out there?”

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Freshmen Ma’Khail Hilliard and Devin Fontenot remain the odds-on favorites to be LSU’s go-to relievers at some point, but Mainieri hinted that he’d prefer to give first dibs to more veteran options, at least on Opening Night. The reason is simple: it’s hard to simulate the adrenaline of 12,000 people screaming in the ninth inning of a 3-2 ballgame.

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“Opening day is different than every other day, so typically I like to go with the veterans,” Mainieri said. “They’ve been around here. They know what the environment is like. They’ve pitched in Omaha. They’ve pitched in front of big crowds and so forth.”

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That essentially leaves three options out of a bullpen that’s awfully short of collegiate experience: Matt Beck, Austin Bain and lefty Nick Bush. What order they’re used could depend simply on how Notre Dame’s batting order lines up and game situations.

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