B.T. Riopelle shares what he sees in LSU pitchers

Florida and LSU, despite being SEC foes, have not played each other this season as the two squads prepare for the College World Series finals on Saturday, Sunday and, perhaps, Monday. One thing that’s been on full display for Gators catcher B.T. Riopelle are the many arms LSU features on the mound.

Ace Paul Skenes is, of course, the headliner. But after throwing 120 pitches on Thursday, Florida will be facing one of LSU’s many other fine arms to start. Riopelle knows that whoever the Tigers send out, they’ll be capable of getting outs — be it usual Saturday starter Ty Floyd or a bullpen guy.

“Ty Floyd is a fantastic pitcher on Saturday. And they’ve looked to fill on Sunday. They’ve had a bunch of guys that stepped up out of the pen, different guys in different roles on Sundays, but they’ve pieced together and that’s why they’re here,” Riopelle said. “We’ve had a whole year to scout them practically because it’s a team we like to watch. They play great baseball and we’re excited to play them.”

LSU needed some special pitching performances throughout the week to even get to the championship series.

On Tuesday, reliever Nate Ackenhausen started and delivered a masterful performance in an elimination game against Tennessee. Against Wake Forest on Wednesday in a must-win game for LSU, reliever Griffin Herring came out of the bullpen and slammed the door on Wake Forest after the Demon Deacons played two runs. He lasted 4.2 innings and let the Tigers get to the back of their bullpen.

And then it was Skenes on Thursday, dazzling for eight innings as he struck out nine and held Wake Forest scoreless.

What’s been impressive to Riopelle, more than any individual performance, is that LSU hasn’t change their strategy much for piecing together starts. They lean on Skenes, then Floyd, then figure it out.

And figure it out LSU has.

“I don’t think they’ve done anything special than what — or anything different than what they’ve done all year long,” Riopelle said. “They’ve really relied on their Friday guy in Skenes. And he’s provided a lot of really good and effective innings for them down the stretch. He’s done that here.”

Be it Floyd or someone else getting the ball to start for LSU on Saturday against Florida, the Tigers will still need a strong showing no matter what. The Gators have one of the more potent offenses in college baseball and have been stingy giving up runs, themselves.

First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. EST on Saturday on ESPN.