GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Now, you knew you were not going to get through a clean sweep of an NCAA baseball postseason weekend without one rain delay.
Game two of the best-of-three Super Regional between No. 6 national seed LSU (47-15) and West Virginia (44-15) at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge is scheduled to start at 7:56 p.m. Sunday on ESPNU after an original first pitch scheduled at 5 p.m. The game was previously moved back to 6 p.m. in an announcement at 4:30 p.m., then to 8:06 p.m. with a 5:30 p.m. announcement and finally to 7:56 p.m. in an announcement just before 7 p.m.
“There is bad weather in the area,” Alex Box announcer Bill Franques said of the delay to 8:06 p.m. that drew boos, then added that the longer delay is “for the integrity of the game.”
What Franques means by “integrity of the game” is that NCAA officials do not want to start the game, then have to stop it because of weather. That would likely scratch each starting pitcher during a delay after they had started. They would likely each have to be replaced, thus hurting the integrity of the game. NCAA game officials in the postseason try to play games without interruption once they start to give teams a chance to use their best pitchers.
DEREK CURIEL DELIVERS HUGE HOMER AGAINST THE LEFT
LSU won the opener of the series, 16-9, on Saturday afternoon with no weather delays. The winner of the best-of-three series advances to the College World Series to meet No. 3 seed Arkansas (48-13), which eliminated Tennessee on Sunday. That game will be either on Friday or Saturday in Omaha, Nebraska.
LSU coach Jay Johnson released his starting lineup shortly before the first weather announcement. And freshman left fielder Derek Curiel is back at the lead-off spot after batting seventh on Saturday for the first time all season. He previously batted first or very high in the order all season.
Johnson moved Curiel down Saturday because the left-handed hitter had struggled against left-handed pitchers all season, going 19-for-88 for a .215 average, and WVU threw left-handed ace Griffin Kirn. But Curiel drew a walk off Kirn, then hit a three-run home run off of him in the fourth inning for a 3-1 lead to up his average vs. lefties to .224 (20-for-89). He finished 3-for-3 (including two hits off right-handers) with five RBIs and three runs scored.
Curiel is hitting .349 overall on the season for second on the team and has seven home runs with 52 RBIs, which is also second on the team. Against right-handers, Curiel is hitting a robust .424 (62-for-146), and WVU is throwing senior right-hander Jack Kartsonas (6-3, 2.94 ERA) tonight.
JOSH PEARSON IS LSU’S ONLY FOUR-YEAR SENIOR
Senior right fielder Josh Pearson, a hero of Saturday’s win with a grand slam in a 2-for-5 afternoon, is not in the lineup. He is a left-handed hitter who has hit well against left-handed pitchers all season – .324 (12-for-37), but just .288 against right-handed pitchers (26-for-90). He is a unicorn from the righty-lefty perspective as he is hitting better against pitchers who are same handed as him. Usually, it’s the opposite.
Sophomore left-handed hitting Jake Brown, for example, is starting in right field tonight and batting fourth. He mainly plays against right-handed pitchers as he is hitting .346 against them (44-for-127) and just .176 versus left-handers (6-for-34). Brown is hitting .311 overall on the season with seven home runs and 40 RBIs.
Junior left-handed hitting Tanner Reaves (.274, 3 HRs, 12 RBIs) is in the starting lineup at third base instead of senior right-handed hitting Michael Braswell III, who is hitting .203 on the season with two homers and 17 RBIs. Reaves tends does better against righties, and Braswell tends to do better against lefties.
The rest of LSU’s batting order has designated hitter Ethan Frey batting second, shortstop Steven Milam third, Brown fourth, first baseman Jared Jones fifth, second baseman Daniel Dickinson sixth, Reaves seventh, catcher Luis Hernandez eighth and center fielder Chris Stanfield ninth.
As expected, junior Anthony Eyanson (10-2, 2.50 ERA) will start on the mound for the Tigers.
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