LSU baseball dropped its first game of the 2024 season this weekend.

Stony Brook clipped the Tigers, 5-2, on Friday during the four-game round robin series along with Northern Illinois at Alex Box Stadium from Thursday through Sunday.

No. 3 LSU (7-1) took care of business the other three games, winning by a combined scored of 33-14, including two double-digit run contests, a 10-2 victory against NIU Thursday and an 18-10 win over Stony Brook on Sunday afternoon.

Here are a few takeaways from a 3-1 weekend for the Tigers:

Thatcher Hurd continues to struggle in the early going for LSU baseball

One of the more prominent returning players for the Tigers from last season's College World Series championship team, Thatcher Hurd, has not had an easy start to the season.

Through two starts, against VMI and Stony Brook mind you, Hurd has managed seven innings, giving up seven runs, walking five batters and allowing opponents to hit .355 off of him. He took the loss against Stony Brook on Friday, when he could never really get into a rhythm, giving up three earned runs off six hits and walked four.

The more shocking bit is his two wild pitches so far. As of now, Hurd is LSU's Friday night starter but that could change.

LSU's depth at catcher will be key

LSU coach Jay Johnson mentioned last week that he's loving the fact that he can rotate and allow his catchers to get some rest. Both Alex Milazzo and Brady Neal have recently dealt with significant injuries and having the opportunity to keep them healthy as this season progresses could play big for the Tigers later on.

Not only that, but Milazzo and Neal, along with senior Hayden Travinski, who got his first start at catcher of the season this weekend, are all playing well. The trio have played error-free through the first eight games of 2024 and each are swinging the bat well.

Milazzo is hitting .556 in seven game appearances with three RBIs and five runs scored in nine at-bats. Neal has a .267 average with a 1.021 on-base-plus-slugging with a home run and six RBIs.

Tigers pitching staff running up strikeouts, one of best staffs in college baseball

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Two pitching staffs in the country have recorded more strikeouts through the first two weekends of the season than LSU: Arkansas with an NCAA-leading 102 and Abilene Christian with 101.

LSU has 99 strikeouts in eight games, good enough for 12.3 Ks per game, a mark that ranks seventh in college baseball. The Tigers staff averages 1.4 strikeouts per inning-pitched.

Despite some struggles, Hurd is tied for the team-lead in Ks with 12. Reliever Nate Ackenhausen has had a solid start to 2024 and has compiled 12 Ks in 6⅔ innings.

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU baseball falls to Stony Brook but wins 3 in 2nd series. What we learned