LSU baseball's title defense hasn't exactly gone to plan, and that's a kind way to put it.
A year after so much went right for the Tigers, a 3-9 record in SEC play (22-12 overall) has them just one game out of the cellar for the worst record in the conference. It's a start that is as perplexing as it is surprising, Bobby Hebert explained this week on WWL.
"Everybody would’ve lost a lot of money. ... Are they in a funk or what?” Hebert said of the Tigers.
Listen to the full interview with Bobby Hebert in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
Things have been particularly troubling of late, with losses in 8 of 10 games, including a 12-7 defeat to Southern, before the Tigers got right in a mid-week win over McNeese. Three of those losses came at the hands of No. 1 Arkansas. Pitching and defense has been an issue, with LSU surrendering of 8.5 runs per game in that stretch of losses. The Tigers have dropped four consecutive SEC series after losing just two in the entire 2023 season.
"[Coach Jay Johnson] says we can’t put anybody away with two strikes and we can’t put anybody away with two outs," Hebert continued. "We all know that’s not a very good winning formula."
Still, there is a positive way to look at the situation: There's a long way to go. The Tigers have the talent and need to get it together. If they're to do that, a couple examples of recent SEC turnarounds would be helpful to emulate.
In 2023 the Tennessee Volunteers followed up a record-setting 57-9 season with a 5-10 start in SEC play, only to turn around and streak all the way to Omaha and the College World Series. They would ultimately fall to LSU.
In 2022 it was Ole Miss that went 14-16 in SEC play and was the last team in the postseason bracket, only to run through the tournament to win the whole thing. It's been done, and that's what LSU needs to try to do again.
“Fans are shocked and they ask me, like I have an answer," Hebert said. "Like, I’m not a baseball player, I’m a fan like you. … And then I tell them, well, Tennessee came back last year, but the utmost comeback was Ole Miss was the last team to get in the tournament and they became national champs. So I try to leave with a positive note, it ain’t over til it's over. Just look at what Ole Miss did."
The Tigers would do well to kickstart that turnaround this week when they visit, fittingly, the No. 4 ranked Tennessee Volunteers.
