LSU’s rash of injuries has spread from the pitchers to the position players, but there is some good news on the horizon.
While there is no update on the status of Garrett Edwards and Chase Shores, left-hander Nate Ackenhausen could possibly return this weekend against Ole Miss. Ackenhausen last pitched on March 30 against Tennessee, only tallying one out before having to exit the game. Before that, he hadn’t pitched in nearly two weeks due to a hamstring injury.
“Nate Ackenhausen threw a bullpen yesterday, which is great,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said on Tuesday night. “He felt good today – I walked down to talk to him to see how he felt and before I could get it out of my mouth he enthusiastically said that he felt great, so that was the highlight of my day.”
Gavin Dugas fell diving for a ball in the top of the seventh inning against Kentucky last Thursday, April 13. He missed the remainder of the series and Tuesday’s game against UL.
“He took ground balls today and was moving around,” Johnson said. “If you didn’t know there was a thing, he probably would’ve been able today and so we’re moving in a good direction. I have no idea if he will play this weekend or not, again, it’s: what can he or can he not tolerate? I know he can tolerate moving around and fielding a ground ball right now, which is a good start.”
Freshman catcher Brady Neal, who has started 26 of LSU’s 36 games so far, has not played since Friday, April 7 against South Carolina due to an undisclosed back injury.
“I don’t think he’ll be able to play (this weekend), would be my guess,” Johnson said. “I don’t know that for sure – if there’s any chance, he will travel with us. That’s probably what we’re leaning towards doing just in case there is an opportunity. I saw him running today, so that’s a good step forward. It’s not something we need to go backwards with and that’s the nature with a few of these injuries is the time to return is super important.”
As if the injuries weren’t piling up enough, Paxton Kling injured his hamstring while running for a fly ball in the bottom of the eighth against Tulane on Tuesday, April 11. He missed the entire series against Kentucky.
“Paxton took batting practice today, which was a good step in the right direction,” Johnson said. “I don’t believe he will be available this weekend, but we’re closer than you’d expect with the nature of the injury and how severe the injury looked like it was”
LSU did return left-hander Javen Coleman on Tuesday night against UL. Coleman threw 16 pitches to retire batters in order in the top of the first inning. It was his first outing since having Tommy John surgery last spring. The hope is that he is also an option for the Tigers this weekend. Coleman had warmed up twice in the bullpen during the Kentucky series.
“I hope he can pitch this weekend, we’ve been very closely monitoring how he responds,” Johnson said. “It’s not going to be a jump to five innings for sure, but this weekend we designed it to get some of the adrenaline going, getting him up in the bullpen a couple of times during a weekend series. He responded really well to the soreness, or should I say, lack of soreness and was obviously ready to go tonight.”
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