| Top LSU reliever Gavin Guidry has become something of the unicorn of the Tigers' pitching staff. He hasn't seen action yet this season, and with LSU coming off a shaky bullpen performance losing two of three at Texas this past weekend, it would seem the Tigers need him more than ever. Is Guidry ready to be back on the mound as LSU hosts baseball archrival Mississippi State this Thursday through Saturday? Here's what the LSU availability report has to say. Our Koki Riley also has this story about one of the biggest problems for the LSU pitching staff: too many walks. ------------------------------- LSU baseball has a walks problem. Here's why its been an issue for Jay Johnson's staff A saying in baseball is: "Let them hit it." There's a lot of truth in that line of thinking. From a pitcher's perspective, forcing a hitter to put the ball in play and earn his way on base, instead of walking the batter, is logical. But LSU baseball's biggest issue through 26 games has been limiting free bases. The Tigers are tied for fourth in the SEC in walks. They haven't hit many batters, but they're also tied for first in the conference in wild pitches. The lack of command is the leading issue with LSU's staff as conference play continues this weekend when the Tigers host Mississippi State for a three-game series beginning Thursday at Alex Box Stadium (7 p.m., SEC Network). "We look at everything in terms of strikes," LSU coach Jay Johnson said. "There's a premium on strike one, there's a premium on two (strikes) out of the first three (pitches), and there's a premium on executing the strike to finish the hitter, whether that's a strikeout or weak contact." Free passes haven't been an issue for sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson, freshman right-hander Casan Evans or junior right-hander Zac Cowan. As the competition has improved, they've elevated with it. But that hasn't been the case for many LSU pitchers through two weekends of SEC play. Pitchers other than Cowan, Anderson and Evans walked nine batters in 12⅓ innings last weekend against Texas. Against Missouri the week before, they walked 11 hitters. "I'm optimistic that the best is yet to come for those guys," Johnson said Saturday. The walks have created more traffic on the bases, leading to bigger innings and more runs on the board. But throwing strikes won't solve every issue LSU has. It also needs to limit big hits and big innings, a problem it faced Saturday and Sunday against the Longhorns. The bullpen, besides Evans and Cowan, gave up seven runs, nine hits and two home runs in four innings combined over the two days. Junior right-handed starter Anthony Eyanson let five of the last nine batters he faced reach base on Saturday, and redshirt sophomore right-handed starter Chase Shores surrendered seven hits — including a crucial two-run home run — on Sunday. "Ones are better than a crooked number," Johnson said Saturday. Besides the Texas series, LSU has done a good job of limiting contact this season. It's fifth in the conference in batting average against. But the struggles last weekend will be something to keep in mind as the Tigers face tough lineups throughout the rest of their SEC schedule. "I think the guys that we put in the game, I definitely believe in them," Johnson said Wednesday. "And just as we've constantly talked about with Jared Jones over three years and even three weeks before the season ... (with) guys getting better, like, we're on top of that." Improvement will be the name of the game for the pitching staff moving forward, but the good news for LSU is that it's missing bats. The Tigers are fifth in the nation in strikeouts and seventh in strikeouts per nine innings. LSU has the pitching talent to excel in the SEC. It's just a matter of consistently executing pitches and gaining more experience against a higher level of competition. LSU hardly brought back anyone from last year's pitching staff. The Tigers lost 12 of their top 14 pitchers in terms of innings. Anderson and junior right-hander Gavin Guidry were the pitchers who came back, but Guidry has been out with a back injury since February and hasn't pitched this season. "I've said this before: The best coach any player ever has is playing time and experience," Johnson said Wednesday. "And it gets lost sometimes because of talented players, but they haven't been there in a lot of ways." The LSU pitching staff improved as last year went along. Christian Little became a key piece in the bullpen. Gage Jump arguably became the best starter after a slow start. Thatcher Hurd and Will Hellmers stepped up with big performances in the Chapel Hill Regional. Even with an improved offense, LSU will need that to happen again this spring. And like last season's team, throwing more strikes will have to be a part of that growth. "Something I tell the team is, most games are lost in college baseball, not won," Johnson said. "And we just want to be a hard team to play where we don't really give the other team anything." ------------------------------- Wednesday was Pro Day at LSU for former Tigers preparing for the NFL Draft, April 24-26. One of those former Tigers is tackle Will Campbell, a projected first-round pick who has been dogged by questions about his arm length. Campbell had this to say about that, in no uncertain terms. Wednesday was also SEC gymnastics awards day. I'd try to keep you in suspense about who won SEC freshman of the year, but it's little doubt it was the Tigers' Kailin Chio. She only won the SEC freshman of the week award nine of 11 weeks this season. See which other LSU gymnasts earned All-SEC honors. The Tigers are heading to Penn State for an NCAA regional starting April 3. Finally, what is your favorite Baton Rouge restaurant? Flau'jae Johnson and some of the other LSU women's basketball players shared theirs. Let's just say, in the NIL era they aren't talking fast food drive-ins. Thanks for reading and subscribing, and follow us for the best coverage of LSU women's basketball and all the LSU teams. Scott Rabalais | 