 "Photo: Hannah-Piper Moore")
While some baseball players allegedly injected steroids to gain a competitive edge, LSU coach Paul Mainieri injected his team with the No. 1 recruiting class in hopes of surpassing his 29-26-1 record this past season. Mainieri did not predict a national title on media day Tuesday like he did Feb. 13 in front of fans at the First Pitch Banquet, but he did note nothing was out of the picture. "I am not going to put any limitations on what I think this team is capable of accomplishing," Mainieri said. "Nothing would surprise me." The second-year coach said his squad is one of the Southeastern Conference's most talented, despite being picked fifth in the SEC West by coaches. "Last year, everything had to go perfectly for us to win an SEC game," Mainieri said. "We were able to win some pretty big games, but it was tough to maintain consistency because there was so many weaknesses on our team. There is no question in my mind that we are significantly better this season." Senior Michael Hollander, who moved from shortstop to third base to make room for freshman DJ LeMahieu, said the new talent has infused energy into the squad. "We have a blend of old and new guys that are capable of taking this team and this program back to Omaha," Hollander said. "That's our ultimate goal, and I think you have to talk about it." And as Hollander enters his last season at LSU, the same applies for 70-year-old Alex Box Stadium. Mainieri said he wants to bring postseason play back to Alex Box Stadium after LSU missed the NCAA and SEC tournaments for the first time since Skip Bertman's first season in 1984. "I think it's only appropriate to send out this old stadium out in a proper way," Mainieri said. "Our goal is to get postseason play back into old Alex Box Stadium one last time so we could relive a little bit of the glory days of LSU baseball." The Tigers will begin their journey with a weekend series against Indiana on Friday. Senior ace Jared Bradford, who went 10-4 in 2007, will take the mound Friday. Junior college transfer Jordan Brown will start Saturday and junior Ryan Byrd will finish the series Sunday. Freshman pitcher Daniel Bradshaw will begin the season as the closer after Bradford led the team with five saves. "We wanted to bring the best power arms in the country that we thought would end up in college to this campus," said Terry Rooney, LSU pitching coach. "We really feel like we have achieved that with this recruiting class and our staff." Four new faces have made their way into the offensive lineup, but football safety and outfielder Chad Jones is not one of them. Jones did not participate in fall practice because of football, and freshman Leon Landry was named this weekend's starter. "I had a big smile on my face when [Mainieri] told me the news," Landry said. "I worked hard for the spot, and I want to show gratitude to the coaches. Chad and I are friends, and I want the best player to get the starting spot." Junior college transfers Matt Clark and Matt Gaudet round out the new starters, manning first base and designated hitter, respectively.
INJURY REPORT Freshman pitcher Anthony Ranaudo is expected to miss two to four weeks with elbow tendonitis. Junior infielders Rene Escobar and Derek Helenhi went down with injuries, bringing sophomore Ryan Schimpf from the outfield to start at second base. Escobar fractured his hand on the first day of practice and is expected to be out for several more weeks. Helenhi's injury was not specified.
---- Contact Matt Vines at mvines@lsureveille.com
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