For six consecutive games, LSU needed Alex Milazzo to step up to the plate, literally and figuratively.
The catcher and fifth-year senior hadn't started much during Southeastern Conference play. But a shoulder injury to Brady Neal after LSU's win over Missouri on April 19 created an opportunity.
Milazzo took advantage of it. He started six consecutive games, helping LSU win four of them and going 5 for 16 at the plate. He delivered a leadoff single in the ninth inning of LSU's walk-off win over Auburn last Saturday and had two singles the next day.
But Milazzo's greatest contributions during this stretch didn't come from the batter's box, they came from behind the plate.
"Frankly, he's catching now because they're not scoring nearly as much when he's catching," LSU coach Jay Johnson said after its loss to Auburn Sunday.
In the six games that Milazzo started, LSU pitchers posted a 3.29 ERA (excluding the final four innings Neal caught on Saturday against Missouri). They struck out 59 batters and walked only 13 in 41 innings.
"Alex Milazzo is the man. And I mean, we've got three great catchers," right-hand pitcher Christian Little said. "(Milazzo), just on the receiving side of things, at the catching position is elite."
Fellow catcher Hayden Travinski credits Milazzo's ability to help maintain the composure of the pitchers he's working with to his presence behind the plate. He's been with the program since the fall of 2019 and that experience has assisted his pitchers.
Travinski has seen Milazzo "block some of the craziest wild pitches" he's ever seen, but it's still Milazzo's presence that stands out to him more than anything else.
"He's been in the position that we're in right now," Travinski said, referencing LSU's 2021 season when the Tigers snuck into the NCAA tournament after a 1-8 start to SEC play. "I think that's what sticks out to me the most."
For Little, Milazzo has gained his respect in part because of his importance to the team in the locker room. He considers Milazzo to be the one of the team's primary leaders. Milazzo and Travinski are the only fifth-year players on the team.
"He's probably our toughest guy on the team," Little said.
Milazzo's starting streak came to an end on Tuesday against Grambling State. Six straight games behind the plate is a massive workload for any catcher, and Neal had just returned from his injury.
Neal feasted off Grambling pitching in his return, blasting a homer run and a double.
"He got some extensive treatment yesterday and (his shoulder) was much better today," Johnson said after Tuesday's game. "Really good to see."
But the return of Neal doesn't spell the end of Milazzo's time at catcher as a starter. His contributions in helping turn around LSU's pitching staff haven't been forgotten by Johnson.
On Friday night against Texas A&M, he was back in the starting lineup, catching all nine innings on a night where LSU allowed just three earned runs against the No. 1 team in the county.
"He's a big part of our team, has been since I've been here," Johnson said.