Two key bats will be back for LSU baseball when they kick off regional play on Friday in Hattiesburg, a welcome sight for the Tigers.
Those bats will be swung by Jacob Berry (broken finger) and Cade Doughty (injured shoulder), both of whom were rested in the SEC Tournament and aiming for a return when and wherever the Tigers landed in regional play.
Johnson updated the status of his two injured players on SportsTalk with Bobby Hebert, Mike Detillier and Kristian Garic Tuesday afternoon. Listen to the full interview in the player atop the page. Can't see the embed? Click here.
On Berry: “He is ready to go. He hit on the field today and looked like himself and that was great to see. He really took one for the team and played while we were Vanderbilt. He’s a switch hitter and actually went up there and batted right handed against a right-handed pitcher for the first time in his life because he couldn’t swing left-handed yet. Had a great weekend, got on base like 11 times in that series. Really helped propel us to that sweep. It was a little sore after that weekend, so we rested him in the SEC Tournament, which was a hard decision but I think it was the right decision. Because he’ll be ready to roll this weekend.”
On Doughty: “He is rehabbing well. I think if there was a guy that was going to have a tough injury and still be able to play it’d be Cade. He’s the toughest guy on our team. He’s highly determined to play and we’ll get the best that he’s got, there’s no question about that. I’m sure he’ll be out there on Friday.”
Related
Berry has been battling the injury since it occurred in batting practice prior to a matchup with Alabama earlier in the season. His impact is clear to see, considering he batted .400 in SEC play, and has rolled up 47 RBIs with 15 home runs on the season. Doughty suffered his dislocated shoulder injury while diving for a ball in the season-ending sweep of Vanderbilt. He batted .286 with 51 RBIs and 12 home runs on the season.
The LSU offense didn't miss a beat without them in an 11-6 victory over Kentucky in the SEC Tournament opener, but that punch didn't punch as hard as the weekend wore on. LSU scored just four runs combined in the losses to Tennessee and Kentucky (in a rematch) that bumped them from the action in Hoover, and likely eliminated the team from contention to host a regional.
The good news: LSU did enough in the regular season to at least secure a bid close to home, with the team just headed a few hours east to Hattiesburg for the regional hosted by Southern Miss. LSU will open against Kennesaw State on Friday at 6 p.m., and will play either Southern Miss or Army depending on how the opening games play out. The Tigers will be looking to advance to Omaha without hosting a regional for the first time in the program's storied history. Of the program's 18 trips, each have come after the Tigers hosted a regional of their own.
Related
“If you’re at the highest level of college baseball, there’s one word that means more than anything else. And that’s Omaha," Johnson said. "I really want to take this group of players there. They want to go there and compete for a national championship. We’ve got a tough road ahead and we’re ready to dive into that and go for it.”