Readjusting the Rotation
The rotation now has just under a week to rest and regather which opens the question does the rotation change for this upcoming series against Tennessee? And if so, how? Let's not forget that Tennessee swept a 3 game weekend series against LSU and as much as I would love to forget that series, we just can't. So let's look at how our starters fanned in that series:
In game 1, Landon Marceaux went 5.0 innings. Over those 5 innings, he gave up 3 hits, 3 walks, hit a batter, and allowed 2 runs, only 1 earned however, striking out 9 batters. He had a 1.80 game ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, a 16.20 K/9, and a 3.00 K/BB.
In game 2, this gets a little tricky because it was Jaden Hill who is now injured. But Ma'Khail Hilliard went after him for 3.0 innings and over those 3 innings, he gave up 2 hits, a walk, hit a batter, gave up an earned run and struck out 3. He had a 3.00 game ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, a 9.00 K/9, and a 3.00 K/BB.
In game 3 was AJ Labas. Labas went 7.0 innings. He gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, struck out 3, and hit a batter (seems to be a common theme), giving up 2 earned runs. His game ERA was 2.57, his WHIP was 0.86, his K/9 was 3.86, his K/BB was 1.50.
After analyzing all of this, it seems as if though each starter (or pitcher of interest in the case of Hilliard) had their own forte, whether that be limiting the walks, limiting the hits, limiting the runs, racking up the strikeouts, or going the distance. But in this series specifically, we need a guy who is going to limit the runs. So I'm going to base my rotation off of each pitcher's game ERA, which brings us to Marceaux going in game 1, Labas going in game 2, and Hilliard going in game 3.
But what about other relivers who shined in regionals. Yes, Garrett Edwards was great against Central Connecticut, going 5.0 shutout innings, only allowing 2 runners on base, but he didn't do too well against Tennessee the first time. If you remember, it was Edwards who was on the mound when Tennessee walked it off to win the series against us. So maybe Edwards has improved since then, but I like him as a long reliever as opposed to a starter. Javen Coleman also impressed as he relieved opener Trent Vietmeier. Coleman threw 95 pitches over 6.0 innings in which he only gave up 1 earned run. However we didn't get to see him in the Tennessee series which puts him in the same boat as Edwards. In the finale, we finally got to see Will Hellmers go 2.0 innings which he didn't give up a run. I was a bit shocked we didn't see him ealier given he was a starter albeit a weekday starter. He was the only pitcher who didn't give up a single earned run other than Hilliard who was pulled after only throwing 1 innings. In the Tennessee series, Hellmers went the final 2 innings of game 1 giving up only 1 earned run, so I wouldn't mind seeing Hellmers come out the pen if we find a starter struggling early.
The bottom line is this is a best of 3 game series, so all we need to do it is just not lose twice.
(All stats courtesy of LSUsports.net)
