Tigers Weigh Slow Offensive Starts

As the Tigers took the field on Saturday afternoon after clawing into a victory over Dartmouth on Friday night, Cooper Moore shone bright in a near-perfect mound performance, grabbing another win and making the Tigers 10-1.

After clawing back for a win on Friday night after being down until the bottom of the fourth, the starting nine showed a rhythmic performance in the box. Not chasing the ball was what seemed to be tripping up the Tigers in other games, not only on Friday but also on Tuesday against McNeese.

Through the first four innings, although only two runs were tallied on the board, there were still no big hits. The most came from runs on misplays from Northeastern or singles that were able to drive in more numbers on the board.

But on the mound for the Tigers, the transfer Moore was putting on quite the show, with only one hit through the fourth in the form of a one-run bomb that landed in left field. It was a near-seamless performance, with almost no Huskies reaching base.

With a 72% strike rate, 101 pitches, and 10 strikeouts, it was the performance that everyone hoped would come from the transfer. Following this performance, Deven Sheerin took to the mound.

On the other side of the game, the bats, although they weren’t as dead as previously seen throughout the season, still have room for improvement. Coming from last season, with a lineup of stacked hitters, there is still room for these newbies and veterans to warm it up before getting to conference play later this spring.

That will be the key to another successful LSU season, if the bats are able to become alive and have more than just one or two hitters able to make contact with the ball. Before this week, LSU was able to score double-digit runs, and even run-rule came into play, but after coming back from Florida, there has been no contact with the ball this week.

So is this just an off week, and it’ll bounce back after a rest day?

Well, the answer would ideally be yes, but with a packed schedule, that might be the key to this lineup learning what it’s like to play tired and power through to still put big numbers on the board. Not every game will be a 20-run blowout, but as SEC play is sneaking up on LSU, there will need to be more than just a handful of runs scored.

Another prominent issue that the Tigers went through today was stranding runners on base. With only three runs through the sixth inning, there have been no major deliverances of bringing guys home, which ties right back in to the lack of batting power shown this week.

Sunday afternoon seemed to be no different, shutting out Dartmouth 3-0, but every run scored came from singles or errors made from the other side of the ball. But head coach Jay Johnson doesn’t seem to be worried at all.

And as the sun took its place in the night sky on Monday, LSU had one last chance to wake up the bats and prove that it was just a fluke. Unfortunately, in the top of the second, after a nearly 20-minute inning, Northeastern was able to knock four runs up on the board.

Compared to the bottom of the second, it took only seven minutes and had no runs knocked up on the board. After two ground outs and striking out looking, LSU looked flat, pressing at the plate and unable to respond to Northeastern’s early punch.

The Huskies didn’t let up. In the second, another crooked number went on the scoreboard, and by the middle innings the Tigers were staring down the very real possibility of being run-ruled at home. Northeastern capitalized on free passes and defensive miscues, stringing together quality at-bats and timely extra-base hits.

Meanwhile, LSU’s offense returned to the habits that plagued it earlier in the week — chasing pitches out of the zone and falling behind in counts.

Through five innings, the Tigers had little to show for their efforts. Hard contact was scarce, and when runners did find their way on base, they were oftentimes left stranded. It was a stark contrast from the disciplined approach Johnson’s squad showed earlier in the season, when double-digit run totals felt routine.

But in the bottom half of the game, a spark finally appeared. A leadoff single ignited the dugout, followed by a string of walks that forced Northeastern to make a move on the mound. As the firepower pitching dried out, there were now only fresh collegiate pitchers taking to the bump.

The Tigers began to string together competitive at-bats, fouling off tough pitches and working deeper into counts. A gap shot plated two, and suddenly the energy inside Alex Box Stadium shifted.

The comeback effort was on.

LSU clawed its way back inning by inning, trimming what once felt like an insurmountable deficit. The crowd, quiet just an hour earlier, found its voice again as the Tigers chipped away. It wasn’t the explosive, overpowering offense fans have grown accustomed to — it was gritty, manufactured, and fueled by urgency.

Still, the early damage proved too much to fully erase.

Despite the late push, LSU fell short, dropping a game that exposed the thin margin for error against disciplined opponents. Nearly being run-ruled at home was a wake-up call for a team with Omaha aspirations. The pitching depth was tested, the defense faltered at key moments, and the offense once again struggled to produce timely, impactful hits.

For a team now navigating the grind of a packed schedule with SEC play looming, Monday night underscored a simple truth: comebacks are encouraging, but slow starts are costly.

The Tigers showed fight — but the fight alone won’t carry them through conference play.

If LSU wants to reclaim the dominance it flashed earlier this season, the bats must come alive before first pitch, not after the damage is done.

Because in the SEC, digging early holes won’t just threaten a run rule — it could bury an entire weekend.