Softball RPI LSU #13

A question for bhs or handicap 18 or Grand Guru 357:

What is the back story on our senior pitchers??

Hoover dealt with some back issues, I heard back spasms.


Walljasper was hit in the elbow during a freak accident in batting practice.

Both should be fine and were held out for precautions this weekend

Gorsuch and Sunseri did very well and definitely held their own vs a top 5 team on the road

Depending how they feel, both should be able to pitch this weekend unless Torina wants to be careful. I would rather have healthy senior all Americans this post season. I heard Sunseri will possibly pitch again this weekend. She looked really good last weekend, maybe she could be of some benefit later this post season

She could be the X factor for this team, especially with the pop in her bat. She did well vs Ocasio and Barnhill for game 3

What if they sweep hawgs and sweep SEC-T? They could.......then do you see a top 8 seed?

I tell you what, Oregon looks the best of all teams as of now. They are fundamentally sound in every aspect, but what makes them even more difficult is that they have multiple pitchers who are very good.

UCLA is good but the issue with them is outside of garcia, its a bit of a drop off on the mound. In a tournament format that can come back to really bite them. Basically they need their offense to be lights out when she isn't on the mound to have a chance.

Arkansas is ridiculously improved this year. Their freshman haff is a stud but top to bottom they hit the ball much better too. If LSU can win 2/3 minimum, maybe even a sweep it will really push LSU's resume.

Kinda sucks that we dropped that Mizzou and Tennessee games, those two extra wins would really help for SEC standings and just overall resume. Take care of business this weekend and pick up some solid wins in the SECT we will have a good seed.

I'll have to post the resumes later but the NCAA has been strict about peoples schedules and top 25 wins. Luckily LSU has been solid in both. Teams such as Kentucky, Baylor, possibly Auburn will be hammered when it comes to that. Which reminds me, the race for seed #16 will be one to watch. No way will Bama and Auburn both host, especially with their play as of late. Arkansas is literally outside that bubble

quote:

---

22. Louisiana 33-13

---

Like the whole state?

That's got us all scratching our heads....... "Louisiana"... wonder if that includes Tulane?

Dont know why they'd go out on a limb like that.

I may know, but it's up to LSU to comment on injuries and player statuses, not me. The coach in me that deals with HIPPA and FERPA laws keeps me from commenting unless something official is said. But from listening to comments on the radio, y'all are probably right.

quote:

---

he only chance I see LSU possibly picking up a national seed at this point is a sweep vs Arkansas and we win the SECT

---

Arkansas is improved as far as their stats are concerned. I looked up their stats this morning just to see how they compare to the girls.

Arkansas batters have struck out 142 times
LSU has struck out 229 times.
Arkansas strike outs have one with 20 and 7 with dbl digit SO's.
LSU has Serrett with 34 SO's, Doyle with 28, Sanchez with 22 and a few more with above 19.

Arkansas has a batting ave of .284
LSU batting ave is 258.

Arkansas ace pitcher has 194 K's(and she is a freshman)
Hoover has 174 with 9 less innings.

So it will be a challenge if you go by stats.

quote:

---

Arkansas is improved as far as their stats are concerned. I looked up their stats this morning just to see how they compare to the girls.

---

I like to look at the stats for SEC games only, which by now at the end of the season, is a great comparison since it sums up what teams have done against similar competition.

The one thing that jumps out at me the most is that in 21 SEC games, Arkansas has exactly ONE stolen base, and that came over the weekend vs. Ole Miss. Since allowing runners to steal bases is by far and away LSU's most glaring weakness, the fact that Arkansas doesn't run is a relief to see.

And they have only sacrificed 4 times in SEC games, so "little ball" isn't part of what they do.

They have only struck out 87 times in SEC games, which is the fewest of any team.

Their team batting average in SEC games is .250, but that got a big bump over the weekend against Ole Miss. Before the series they were hitting .232. LSU hits .221 vs. SEC pitching. Only Auburn and Ole Miss are worse.

Arkansas did most of their SEC damage at home. They were 10-2 at home and 2-7 on the road.

They missed having to face Florida, Texas A&M, and Tennessee, all of whom have outstanding pitching. LSU went 3-6 against those teams.

They were swept at Georgia, lost 2 of 3 at South Carolina, and 2 out of 3 at Auburn. Here is their game-by-game run production in each of their 3 road series against top pitching:

at Georgia 0,0,4 L,L,L
at SC 1,4,2 L,W,L
at Auburn 1,4,2 L,W,L

So they had 2 games where they were pretty well shut down and one game in each series where they scored 4 runs.

In SEC games, Haff's ERA is 2.21 and Storms is 3.27, so they haven't been untouchable. Those numbers came down a good bit during the Ole Miss series when they faced the feeble Ole Miss offense (not that ours is so hot either)

My take is that this should be a good matchup for our pitchers, assuming Hoover and Walljasper are healthy this weekend, which I expect they should be. They seem to do just fine against teams that are free-swingers and who don't try to play little-ball. Stringing together 3 hits to score a run against Hoover and Walljasper is usually not a winning formula.

The top of the LSU order needs to get out of the "post-Barnhill" funk. Andrews, Griggs, and Doyle provided ZERO on offense at Florida. Barnhill will not show up at Tiger Park wearing Hog paraphenalia, so maybe they can get back to hitting the way they were before that series. And perhaps Sanchez, Schlattman, and Sunseri can stay hot.

I think haff will be a difficult matchup, she is a very good pitcher. I know she is only a freshman but she has some nice movements on her pitches. LSU has to show discipline at the plate, if not it could be pretty rough.

My only issue with the offense this weekend is it seemed like many players were already deciding to swing or not to swing before the pitch was thrown. You cannot do that. Which is why we saw a ridiculous amount of strike outs, and strike outs that weren't even close.

That had to have been one of the worst performances in terms of at bats from Amanda Doyle I have ever seen, she is much better than that.

I hope the top of the order can be productive this weekend and put base runners on.

Sunseri, Schlattman and Sanchez were the only players last week who made adjustments in their at bats which is nice to see. I hope they can keep it up. We will really need everyone come post season.

For the best regional pairing this, we need to take care of business this weekend, absolute must.