Scott Rabalais: In SEC tournament, how much LSU wants to win is one of biggest questions

Scott Rabalais: In SEC tournament, how much LSU wants to win is one of biggest questions
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No one gets to the level of college baseball that is the Southeastern Conference without possessing a competitive streak as wide as the Mississippi.

But when it comes to conference baseball tournaments, sometimes that river of competitiveness is diverted by postseason pragmatism.

The SEC tournament is not a nothing burger. It’s a championship in the most competitive conference going. Given the talent in this league, the coaching, the money poured into every program, and the compressed schedule, it may be harder to win in some respects than the College World Series. And attached to the championship trophy by a string is an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

But the NCAA tournament is, of course, the more important prize. Coaches don’t want to sacrifice their pitching in the SEC tournament for a chance that it may not align properly in NCAA play. That road leads to career ruin.

There have been different schools of thought through the years at LSU. Under Skip Bertman, the Tigers won seven SEC tournament or SEC Western Division tournament titles (including one tie with Mississippi State because of rain). But his Tigers also went 1-2 or 0-2 six times, earning Bertman a reputation for being willing to sacrifice SEC tournament glory for bigger NCAA glory. If that was the mantra it worked, to the tune of five College World Series titles.

Under Paul Mainieri, the Tigers went for it every time in the SEC postseason. His teams won six SEC tournaments in a 10-year span from 2008-17 and went to the final a sixth time as well.

In year two, current LSU coach Jay Johnson is in an intriguing spot. After some late-season disappointment against Auburn and Mississippi State, the Tigers righted the ship of their reputation with a series win at Georgia.

Frustratingly, perhaps, LSU lost the last game to come up a half-game short of winning the SEC regular-season title, but the resume emerged looking pretty platinum regardless. Going into tournament week, LSU had a No. 4 RPI. With a 42-13 record (19-10 SEC), virtually assuring the Tigers will be a top-eight national seed that gets to play at home all the way to Omaha if they can advance that far.

The question remains, though: How far do the Tigers want or need to get in Hoover?

Against a suddenly clutch-hitting South Carolina team, which skunked Georgia 9-0 Tuesday morning in the SEC tournament opener, Johnson is virtually certain not to send out SEC pitcher of the year Paul Skenes. A good guess is LSU will start with the rubber-armed Riley Cooper, then try to stitch together a winning bunch of relievers after he leaves the mound. The Tigers got a bye into the double-elimination part of the convoluted SEC tournament bracket — Hey, lords of the SEC, go to an ACC-like pod format when Texas and Oklahoma show up, please — which means they’re guaranteed to play two games. That means Skenes gets a start Thursday either to keep LSU alive or propel the Tigers into the semifinals.

If Skenes leads LSU to a win, that likely means Johnson handing the ball to Ty Floyd. After that, what does it matter? Perhaps little, but perhaps a lot, other than getting to take home yet another SEC tourney trophy. Perhaps, most importantly, it will be a golden opportunity to try to find a third starter who, if LSU gets to Omaha, will be needed to get the Tigers to the championship series or win there.

Right now, frankly, it doesn’t look like LSU has enough pitching to win the CWS. But this is the time of the season where heroes start to rise. Perhaps the Tigers can find one this weekend out of this flammable oil drum of pitchers they have dwelling in their bullpen.

If that’s true, if that’s what’s needed most, then it behooves LSU to stick around Hoover as long as possible. To try to win the whole thing. The Tigers, despite their pitching question marks, go into the tournament as co-favorites with SEC regular season co-champion Florida.

LSU was denied a chance at that regular-season title because it had a game rained out at South Carolina, leaving them with one less SEC game played than the Gators or Razorbacks. Unfortunately, the SEC doesn’t think its regular-season baseball championship is important enough to have contingencies or backup scenarios built into ensure that a team doesn’t lose out on a chance to win a title because of weather.

Wednesday brings a chance for the Tigers to get a little payback against the Gamecocks. After that, one thing is for sure: if LSU plays this one all the way to the end, it can win a title no technicality will take away. Whether the will to win, and the pitching, is there are the key questions.

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About Mary Weyand 15933 Articles
Mary founded Scoop Tour with an aim to bring relevant and unaltered news to the general public with a specific view point for each story catered by the team. She is a proficient journalist who holds a reputable portfolio with proficiency in content analysis and research. With ample knowledge about the Automobile industry, she also contributes her knowledge for the Automobile section of the website.

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