BATON ROUGE — The LSU baseball program embarks upon the Paul Mainieri Era Tuesday afternoon when the Tigers begin preseason practice in Alex Box Stadium.
The players will work in groups with their position coaches for eight days before LSU gathers for its first full-squad practice on January 25.
The Tigers open the 2007 season on February 9 at 7 p.m. versus Saint Mary’s (Calif.) in Alex Box Stadium.
Since becoming LSU’s baseball coach on June 28, Mainieri has learned much about the Fighting Tiger program, including its magnificent tradition, its loyal fans and its expectations of winning championships. Most importantly, Mainieri and his assistant coaches ? Terry Rooney, Cliff Godwin and Blair Barbier ? have spent the past several months educating themselves about the skills of the young men that comprise the ?07 LSU squad.
Mainieri said that the Tigers’ four-week fall practice session in October revealed much about the team’s assets.
“We found out an awful lot about our team this fall, and most of it was very good,” Mainieri said. “I don’t think we’re going to have many candidates for All-American this year, but I do think the kids are going to play hard, they’re going to play with a lot of enthusiasm, and I do think we have enough talent to win.”
The ’07 Tigers feature 19 returning lettermen, including five position starters and seven pitchers that recorded innings last season. The youthful squad includes 24 freshmen and sophomores ? and just four seniors — on a 38-man roster.
“I do think we have enough talent to be a very competitive team this spring,” Mainieri said. “The kids have really responded to a new style of coaching, and it’s been a lot of fun watching them develop.”
While pleased with the work ethic and energy displayed by the LSU position players during fall practice, Mainieri said he expected to have a clearer vision of what the Tigers’ Opening Day batting order would look like.
“We were hoping during the fall that we would have a group of position players separate themselves from the rest of the squad, but that didn’t really happen to my satisfaction,” Mainieri explained.
The Tigers’ returning starters include junior shortstop Michael Hollander, junior first baseman Jordan Mayer, sophomore infielder J.T. Wise, sophomore outfielder Jarred Bogany and senior outfielder Steven Waguespack.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that are good, solid ball players,” Mainieri said. “I told them that everybody was starting with a clean slate, so even the guys who played a lot last season will be in competition for starting jobs.”
Hollander was a 2006 second-team all-SEC selection at shortstop, as he batted .280 on the year with five homers and three RBI. The Mandeville, La., native features outstanding defensive instincts and a superb throwing arm.
“Michael Hollander demonstrated during the fall that he is one of our best all-around players,” Mainieri said. “I would compare him to (St. Louis Cardinals SS) David Eckstein, and we’d hope he would have the same type of success that Eckstein has had with the Cardinals.”
Wise, a 2006 Freshman All-American at second base, will start at third base this season. The product of Apopka, Fla., hit .299 last season with 11 homers, 40 RBI and a team-best 66 hits. Wise may also play in a reserve role at catcher, as he excelled behind the plate during fall drills.
Junior Chris Jackson, also a punter/placekicker for the LSU football team, is the Tigers’ projected starter at second base. Jackson, however, hasn’t played in a baseball game since the 2005 season, when he batted. 305 with one homer and 17 RBI and earned Freshman All-SEC honors. Jackson, a native of River Ridge, La., injured his elbow while covering a kickoff at Vanderbilt in October 2005, forcing him to miss the entire ’06 baseball season.
True freshman Sean Ochinko, a product of Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., enters the season as LSU’s starting first baseman after enjoying an exceptional fall practice session. Also contending for playing time at first base is Mayer, who hit .301 with six homers and 30 RBI as last season’s starter.
Several other infielders should make appearances in the LSU lineup, including junior Jeffrey Garidel and sophomores Buzzy Haydel, Chris McGhee and Nicholas Pontiff.
Mainieri said the Tigers possess an extremely talented group of catchers. Sophomore Robert Lara, Wise and Ochinko are all skilled receivers.
“I was really pleased with the way our catching corps came around,” Mainieri said. “I thought all three catchers played very well around the plate. This might be the strongest corps of catchers that I’ve ever had in 25 years as a college coach. Teams aren’t going to steal many bases against us.”
Lara, a product of Nova High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., takes over as the starting catcher this season after appearing in 23 games (11 starts) in 2006. He batted .273 with two doubles, one triple and eight RBI, and he displayed excellent defensive abilities.
The LSU outfield features three veterans and two newcomers that give the Tigers versatility at all three positions. Waguespack, a Thibodaux, La. native was the Tigers leading hitter last season, batting .321 with eight doubles, one triple, three homers and 20 RBI. He will begin the ’07 season as the No. 1 centerfielder after starting at three different positions (16 games at 1B, 15 in LF, 13 at DH) last year.
Bogany, a 2006 Freshman All-SEC selection as a centerfielder, moves to right field this season. The Houston native hit .319 last season with six doubles, three triples, 16 RBI and six steals.
Steven Broschofsky, a fourth-year junior, impressed the LSU coaches during the fall and has earned a starting role in left field. The veteran outfielder from Metairie, La., appeared in 14 games (seven starts) last season, batting .217 with one triple and one homer.
True freshmen Blake Dean and Jared Mitchell are expected to make significant contributions in the outfield. Dean, a product of Crestview (Fla.) High School, will likely see action in left field while also working as a left-handed relief pitcher. Mitchell, a wide receiver on the LSU football team, is an exceptional athlete who can cover a lot of ground in center field. The product of Westgate High School in New Iberia, La. was the 10th-round draft selection last June of the Minnesota Twins.
Freshman left-handed hitter Ryan Schimpf of St. Paul’s High School in Covington, La., and junior right-handed hitter Jason Lewis of Chipola (Fla.) College are the primary candidates to fill the DH role. Reserve catchers Kevin Farnsworth and Cade Gautreau may also be factors as designated hitters.
Mainieri believes the Tigers have a pitching staff capable of suppressing opposing hitters.
“I’m really excited about this spring, because I think our pitching will be very good, and it will give us a chance to win every day,” Mainieri said.
“Terry (Rooney, LSU pitching coach) has stressed improvement from a mental standpoint; he’s taught the pitchers how to compete on a pitch-by-pitch basis. I think the kids are really starting to grasp his philosophies on pitching.”
Senior left-hander Clay Dirks and sophomore right-hander Louis Coleman are the Tigers’ top returning hurlers.
Dirks, a 2005 all-SEC selection, was 5-4 last season with a 4.70 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 88 innings. Dirks, a Hernando, Miss. native, pitched the Tigers to an SEC Tournament win over top-seeded Alabama, limiting the Crimson Tide to two runs on four hits in 7.2 innings with seven strikeouts.
Coleman worked 80.2 innings as a true freshman last season, posting a 5-6 mark and a 6.14 ERA with 50 strikeouts. The Schlater, Miss. native recorded impressive SEC wins over Tennessee, Alabama and Auburn. He was named last summer as one of the Top 5 prospects in the Illinois Central Collegiate League.
Joining Dirks and Coleman in LSU’s projected 2007 starting rotation are newcomers Jared Bradford and Charlie Furbush.
Bradford, a junior right-hander from Shelton State (Ala.) Community College, was the 21st-round draft selection of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2005. Furbush, a junior left-hander from South Portland, Maine, transferred to LSU from Saint Joseph’s (Maine), where he was voted the 2006 North Atlantic Conference Player of the Year, as he posted a 10-1 mark and a 2.89 ERA in 74.2 innings with 22 walks and 115 strikeouts. He was also voted the NCAA Division III New England Pitcher of the Year.
LSU’s relief staff is led by sophomore right-hander Nolan Cain (2-0, 6.31 ERA, 25.2 IP, 21 SO in 2006) and sophomore left-hander Ryan Byrd (0-0, 13.50 ERA, 6.2 IP, 6 SO), both of whom pitched very effectively in fall intrasquad games. Junior right-hander Michael Bonura (2-1, 4.40 ERA, 30.2 IP, 26 SO) should make a major impact on the mound after missing the final five weeks of last season with an elbow injury.
Freshman left-hander Blake Dean, also a candidate for playing time in the outfield, should provide bullpen support, as will freshmen right-handers Chris Sorce and Paul Bertuccini, and junior left-hander Kyle Beerbohm.