May 20, 2008

(AP) - The LSU Tigers were in big trouble a month ago.

After missing the Southeastern Conference baseball tournament last season for the first time in 23 years - a sacrilege to many in Baton Rouge - the Tigers were again struggling with a 6-11-1 conference mark.

That's when LSU turned it all around. The Tigers have won 16 straight games, the longest streak among Division I teams, and are heading into the SEC tournament as the Western Division champions and the No. 2 seed.

"It's been quite a ride the last few weeks," second-year coach Paul Mainieri said. "I've been asked the question often: What has been the difference with our team? I really don't have a good answer for that. If you look at our statistics, nothing really jumps off the page at you."

Except the record, which stands at 39-16-1, including 18-11-1 in conference play. LSU actually has a 17-game unbeaten streak, counting a 10-10, 12-inning tie with Georgia - the SEC's top seed - on April 20. That's a month without a loss.

"I think the kids are just playing great baseball in every phase and it's been a total team effort," Mainieri said. "I've coached for 26 years now in college baseball and this team as much as any I've coached would define the word 'team' because everybody has contributed."

LSU, which placed no players on the All-SEC first or second teams, opens tournament play Wednesday morning against seventh-seeded South Carolina. The Tigers swept the Gamecocks a few weeks ago after beating Tulane and McNeese State earlier that week.

"They had been up and down a little bit like a lot of us, and hadn't won as many games in the league to that point as they had hoped, but they had a good midweek," Gamecocks coach Ray Tanner said. "So, when we went in there on Friday, it almost seemed like they felt better. Did they have the swagger then that they have now? I certainly wouldn't think so, but they were feeling better."

The Tigers' 16-game run is the team's longest since the 1997 national champs won their first 19 games, and their 12-game SEC streak is their longest in one season.

"We haven't spoken much about the streak," Mainieri said. "Obviously, a lot of people in the media are and it's been a hot topic of conversation, but I've just tried to keep the kids' eye on the most immediate challenge, and that's the next ballgame."

Some questioned Mainieri's decision to leave Notre Dame after the 2006 season. He opted to leave a program that often reached the NCAA tournament during his 12 years for one of the most pressure-packed jobs in the country.

"A lot of people still think I'm crazy," he said, with a laugh.

After last year's 29-26-1 finish, Mainieri overhauled his team by making several roster cuts and bringing in a recruiting class that was ranked as the top in the country.

"I don't feel vindicated at all," said Mainieri, who played at LSU for one season in 1976 and met his wife, Karen, on campus. "I took the job here because I was very confident that we could get the job done. The first year was a little bit rough, but I thought in some ways we overachieved. This year, we were able to bring in some players that are high-character kids."

The offense has certainly been a major factor in the team's recent success. The Tigers are hitting .335 and outscoring opponents 150-76 during the last 16 games, and their 26 home runs have brought comparisons to the slugging "Gorilla Ball" teams of the 1990s under Skip Bertman.

First baseman Matt Clark, a junior college transfer from Riverside Community College, is hitting .333 with a team-leading 19 home runs while driving in 47 runs. Sophomore outfielder Blake Dean leads the team with a .340 average and 48 RBIs while hitting 13 homers. Six others are hitting .300 or better, including freshman shortstop DJ LeMahieu (.335, 5, 38), JUCO transfer Derek Helenhi (.328, 2, 37), freshman catcher Micah Gibbs (.323, 1, 29), senior infielder Michael Hollander (.304, 4, 34), and sophomore outfielders Ryan Schimpf (.300, 10, 39) and Jared Mitchell (.305, 5, 21), also a wide receiver for the football team.

The pitching staff hasn't been too shabby, either, with a 3.65 ERA and 146 strikeouts and 46 walks in 153 innings. Left-handers Ryan Verdugo (8-2, 3.54) and Blake Martin (4-3, 5.30), and rightys Jared Bradford (9-4, 4.07, four saves) and Louis Coleman (5-0, 1.56, two saves) have been key contributors.

"All of the sudden, you've got some well-rounded kids that care about the right things and they define a team in an unselfish way," Mainieri said, "and I just figured the success was inevitable."

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BUBBLE BEAVERS: Oregon State might be sweating it out when the NCAA announces its tournament field on Monday.

The two-time defending champion Beavers are 25-24 and completed their Pac-10 schedule at 11-13, leaving them in eighth place in the conference. The Pac-10 doesn't play a postseason tournament, so Oregon State will have to hope for a sweep of Pacific at home this weekend and some generosity from the NCAA selection committee.

The record might not indicate the Beavers are worthy of an at-large berth, but they're 50th in the RPI and won series earlier this season against Arizona, Arizona State, Georgia and Pepperdine. The committee also might consider giving Oregon State, one of college baseball's best stories of the last few years, the opportunity to join UCLA (1970-74) as the only teams to win at least three straight College World Series titles.

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COMEBACK COUGARS: BYU was down and far from out.

The Cougars entered the eighth inning against Utah last Saturday trailing 10-0 when the offense went to work. BYU scored 12 runs on 11 hits and one error in the inning in a stunning 13-10 victory.

"I've never witnessed anything like this before in my life," said BYU coach Vance Law, a former big leaguer.

Kasey Ko, Steve Parker, Jonathan Cluff, Brandon Relf, Bryce Ayoso and Andrew Law all drove in runs with no outs. Kent Walton walked with the bases loaded to make it 10-7, Ko hit a two-run single and Cluff tied it with an RBI single. Relf followed with a go-ahead single and Tyler Anderson balked in another run as BYU took a 12-10 lead.

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MR. VERSATILITY: Jason Buursma did everything he could to lead Bucknell to the Patriot League title.

The senior outfielder and pitcher was the tournament MVP after scoring the winning run in the deciding game against Navy, an 8-7 comeback victory last weekend. Buursma had all four of the Bison's postseason wins with a 0.00 ERA in 10 innings. He also had a triple and homer in the two victories over the Midshipmen.

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AROUND THE HORN: The College of Charleston's Jeremie Tice had three multiple homer performances in four games last week, batting .524 with 15 RBIs and scoring eight runs. ... Kyle Heckathorn of Kennesaw State struck out 13, tying a school Division I record, in seven innings in a 7-1 victory over Jacksonville last Thursday. ... Winthrop's Joe Hudak recorded his 800th career coaching win last Friday night, when the Eagles beat UNC Asheville 13-12 in 10 innings. "It did not come easy," he said. "I've got a lot of gray hair from these guys over the years." ... Auburn coach Tom Slater resigned Saturday after the Tigers failed to make the SEC tournament in his four seasons.