The LSU Pitching Plan: Jay Johnson Reveals This Weekend's Lineup
LSU head coach Jay Johnson addressed the media on Wednesday where he dissected this weekend's pitching plan.
The reigning National Champions will face Northern Illinois and Stony Brook for four games over the next four days.
Thursday: Northern Illinois
Friday: Stony Brook
Saturday: Northern Illinois
Sunday: Stony Brook
Johnson broke down who will take the mound for the first three games.
Thursday: Gage Jump
Jump will earn his first start in the purple and gold after transferring to LSU during the offseason. The former UCLA Bruin, who has battled injuries during his career, is ready to take the mound for Johnson and Co.
The first-year Tiger is expected to throw 45-50 pitches on Thursday as he eases his way back to full form.
Jump missed the 2023 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but fought all offseason in order to be ready for the 2024 season.
A member of the Bruins 2021 recruiting class, Jump was a hot commodity before committing to UCLA. Once in Los Angeles, his first season was cut short due to injuries, forcing the youngster to undergo Tommy John surgery.
In seven appearances and three starts during the 2022 season, Jump tallied a 1-1 record with a 3.86 ERA, .172 batting average against and 22 strikeouts across 16.1 innings.
Jump passed on the 2021 MLB Draft despite being rated as MLB.com’s No. 41 overall draft prospect. Perfect Game had Jump rated as the No. 7 overall lefty.
Coming out of high school, Jump was ranked No. 4 overall and No. 1 among southpaws in the state of California.
The UCLA to LSU pipeline carries on after the Tigers also welcomed former Bruin Thatcher Hurd last offseason. Hurd, a gifted righty who burst onto the scene late this season, came to Baton Rouge last offseason.
Friday: Thatcher Hurd
LSU's ace, Thatcher Hurd, will take the mound for the Tigers on Friday against Stony Brook. Despite a shaky performance last week against VMI, Hurd remains the Friday night starter as he looks to bounce back this week.
Hurd earned the Opening Day start but struggled after allowing four earned runs and five hits in just 2⅔ innings. Every run he surrendered came with two outs in the third inning.
Against VMI, Hurd struggled to get ahead of hitters in the count consistently, only throwing 38 strikes on 61 pitches.
Now, he has a chance to bounce back against Stony Brook in Alex Box Stadium.
Saturday: Luke Holman
Holman earns the start once again after an impressive Saturday showing last week against Central Arkansas.
On Saturday, the Alabama transfer earned the start and impressed in his Alex Box Stadium debut. The first-year Tiger went 5.1 innings with 10 strikeouts, 1 walk and zero earned runs on just three hits allowed.
Johnson was proud of his pitching staff last week as they navigate the talent:
“It’s a great situation and I’m really confident with where we’re going to land once all the pitching pieces are in full swing. I’m even more confident leaving the weekend than I was going into the weekend and that’s a good thing. There are certainly things we’re going to improve on, but they were in control of themselves. The pitching was a lot better than how it looked on the stat sheet. That’s how I came away from this weekend.”
Looking ahead to this weekend, it'll be Jump, Hurd and Holman handling the first three games with Sunday still up in the air.