LSU Sports Interactive
BATON ROUGE — LSU is ranked No. 5 in the Collegiate Baseball magazine pre-season poll released Wednesday. Texas is No. 1 in the poll, followed by Miami (Fla.), defending national champion Cal State Fullerton and Tulane.
The Tigers, who are seeking their third straight College World Series berth, open the 2005 season on Feb. 11 when they play host to Nicholls State at 6:30 p.m. in Alex Box Stadium.
Smoke Laval‘s first three seasons as coach of the LSU program have produced magnificent results, including College World Series appearances in 2003 and 2004, the 2003 SEC championship, the best winning percentage in conference regular-season games and two SEC Players of the Year.
The task now for Laval and his squad is to perpetuate the success of the past three years, earn a third consecutive trip to the CWS, and mount a serious challenge for the 2005 national championship.
The ’05 team features 21 returning lettermen — including eight pitchers and six starters in the batting order