Suddenly, LSU's No. 1 recruiting class is playing like it just in time for the postseason

HOOVER, Alabama - Remember that No. 1 recruiting class that came into the LSU baseball program for the 2019 season?

It was one of the main reasons, the Tigers were a popular preseason No. 1 pick.

It was also one of the reasons, LSU fell from that No. 1 ranking into the 20s as the season went on.

But the season is not over, and some of the newcomers are coming into their own just in time for the postseason.

MORE: LSU's wild win over Auburn could send it home ... for NCAA Regional

That was freshman designated hitter/outfielder Giovanni DiGiacomo who led off the LSU bottom of the ninth inning while trailing Auburn, 3-2, Thursday with a single in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Then sophomore catcher Saul Garza, a junior college transfer, singled and wisely took second on a throw to third for DiGiacomo. And that was freshman Drew Bianco who pinch-ran for Garza.

DiGiacomo and Bianco both scored in that inning on a wild pitch for No. 17 LSU's 4-3 win that put the Tigers into a Friday night game against No. 4 Mississippi State. DiGiacomo is 3-for-8 at the plate (.375) with three RBIs and two runs scored over his last two games and 5-for-11 (.454) over his last four games.

MORE: A loss, but what an amazing game!

Giovanni's two-run home run in the eighth inning against Mississippi State Wednesday tied the game, 4-4, and sent it into extra innings. Then he hit a sacrifice fly in the 16th to put LSU up, 5-4, in the 16th before the Tigers fell, 6-5, in the 17th. 

"I just can't say enough about what Giovanni has meant to our team," LSU coach Paul Mainieri said Thursday. "His fearlessness and reaction that that play (the wild pitch) made it for us. He had the base hit to start the thing after the big home run and the sacrifice fly the other night (actually morning)."

Giovanni's average had dipped to .277 at the Missouri series in mid-April. He was at .298 entering Friday night's game.

"He's a kid that has blossomed before our eyes," Mainieri said. 

Garza is 12-for-24 (.500) over his last six games with two RBIs, four runs scored and a home run. He was hitting .213 going into the regular season finale series against Auburn last week. He was at .271 entering Friday night's game.

"Saul came through with a big hit, and then hustled to second base," Mainieri said.

The starting pitcher against Auburn who threw six and two-thirds inning without allowing an earned run while striking out five and walking only one was freshman Landon Marceaux. He is 4-2 with a 4.93 ERA on the season with three consecutive quality SEC starts under his belt as he continues to come back since sitting out at mid-season with arm soreness.

"The job that Landon did today was phenomenal," Mainieri said after the Auburn win. "I don't know what we would've done if he hadn't pitched deep into the game. Not only did he pitch successfully, he burned up a lot of innings for us, which is what you want your starting pitchers to do, especially at this point in the tournament."

And after LSU just used four pitchers in the 17-inning loss to Mississippi State with three of them throwing 70 or more pitches and a fourth throwing 60.

"I felt like I really needed to carry this team," Marceaux said. "Just get on my back and then, 'Let's go.' I go as deep and as hard as I can. That's all I was trying to do."

Marceaux carried LSU to a 5-1 win over Auburn to clinch fifth place on the second-to-last day of the regular season last week as he threw a season-high seven innings, limiting Auburn to one run on two hits with no walks and a season-high seven strikeouts for the win. He was then named the SEC's co-freshman of the week.

And LSU's top starting pitcher before he was sidelined with elbow soreness was freshman Cole Henry (4-2, 3.26 ERA), who just returned to the lineup on Tuesday. He allowed five hits and four earned runs in the start over an inning and two-thirds against South Carolina in LSU's SEC Tournament opener, but he struck out three and looked good at times amid some bad luck.

Henry will likely start in the NCAA Regional for LSU next week, which may be in Alex Box Stadium, considering the Tigers' showing in this tournament.

"I feel good about everything," Mainieri said.