LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson provides update on Cade Doughty injury prior to SEC Tournament

LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson is hopeful second baseman Cade Doughty will be healthy enough to play in the SEC Tournament on Wednesday after he suffered a shoulder injury in the regular season finale against Vanderbilt on Saturday. Johnson made a media appearance Monday in which he provided an update on where Doughty is at currently.

“We stabilized his shoulder the other day after he had the injury for a 24-36 hour period,” Johnson said. “He’s out of the soft cast. He looks good. The thing I’ll say about him is, if he can play at all, he’ll play. The only fortunate thing about the injury is that’s the toughest guy on our team from a physical standpoint. We have to be smart about it with his future and wanting to get him right and ready for the SEC Tournament. That will play into whether he plays and when he plays.”

Doughty is one of the better hitters for the Tigers, with a batting average of .286 to go along with 12 home runs. He ranks fourth on the team with 63 total hits this season. The second baseman suffered the injury in the ninth inning of Saturday’s contest against the Commodores while diving in attempt to catch and line drive. Johnson said that the shoulder had “popped out of place,” but a doctor was able to “put it right back in.”

After finishing with a 17-13 conference record, LSU earned the four seed in the SEC Tournament. That means the Tigers get a first round bye to allow Cade Doughty an extra day to rest his shoulder injury. They are set to take on the winner between Auburn and Kentucky in the final game of the day on Wednesday.

“Fortunate for us, we’re still two days away from the game,” Johnson said. “I think there’s been a marked improvement between Saturday and Monday. We’ll obviously do what’s in his best interest for the two weekends in terms of the NCAA Tournament and for his career moving forward. I would assume he’ll be a pro player after this year.”