LSU is ranked second in the NCAA tournament.
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HOOVER, Alabama — Without a doubt, LSU baseball will advance to the NCAA playoffs.
In the first round of the SEC tournament on Wednesday morning, the No. 11 seed Tigers defeated No. 3 Kentucky, which was ranked third in RPI coming into the day. The Tigers won 11-0 in eight innings.
At 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, they take on No. 10 South Carolina in the winner’s bracket at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. On Wednesday, the Gamecocks overcame Arkansas, ranked second, 6–5, to advance.
Following the win, LSU rose to No. 21 in the RPI. With four wins versus RPI top-10 teams, the Tigers currently own 20 victories against Quads 1 and 2.
There ought to be no doubts about LSU’s likelihood of qualifying for an NCAA regional. All that’s left to determine are its opponents, the regional it must visit, and whether it can secure enough victories in Hoover to secure a two seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The results of this week’s conference tournaments will determine the answers to the first two questions. But figuring out whether the Tigers can play their way into becoming a two seed will depend on pitching — both whom they’ll face and whom they’ll pitch for the remainder of their stay in Hoover.
In theory, LSU will need to win at least two more games to be in contention for a two seed. But it’ll have to do it without left-hander Gage Jump and right-hander Luke Holman after both tossed gems in the first two games against Georgia and Kentucky, respectively.
