Make no mistake about it, the Chanticleers pose a real threat to the Tigers? chances to make it to Omaha.
LSU coach Paul Mainieri compared Coastal Carolina to two great teams the Tigers have faced in the last two season, saying they reminded him of the Texas A&M Aggies of this season and the Tigers super regional opponents last season, the UL Ragin? Cajuns.
1. They?ve got serious power
The Chanticleers have hit 91 home runs this season as a team and have four hitters who have at least 15 home runs on the season.
For comparison, LSU has only hit 45 home runs as a team with only one hitter who has 10 home runs this season in Greg Deichmann who has hit three in the last two weeks.
LSU?s Saturday starter Alex Lange said he wasn?t concerned about the team?s power numbers and would pitch the way he?s pitched all season.
?I don?t care if I?m pitching to Alex Rodriguez; I?m going to pitch to my game plan,? Lange said. ?I?m not going to go up there and pitch timid.?
Lange has given up 11 home runs this season, the most of any LSU pitcher.
The Chanticleer?s home park is smaller than Alex Box, but Mainieri said the team?s home run totals aren?t only a product of the small dimensions of the park.
?If you look at their pitching numbers, it doesn?t look like they play in a small park,? Mainieri said.
Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore said the Chanticleer?s field wasn?t that much smaller than Alex Box and that a 22-foot wall in centerfield makes up for the shorter length to dead center.
?It?s a little deeper in center, it?s not that much deeper down the lines,? Gilmore said. ?We?re going to try and put the barrel on the ball and in a series like this it?s going to come down to a couple of crucial at-bats on either side.?
Zach Remillard is the Chanticleer?s leader in RBIs with 67 on the season and also leads the team in home runs with 18.
2. Star power at shortstop
With Kramer Robertson, LSU is used to having the advantage at the shortstop position against whatever opponent they face.
But the Chanticleer?s have a serious shortstop on their hands as well in Michael Paez, who was drafted in the fourth round of the MLB draft on Friday by the New York Mets.
