BATON ROUGE — The LSU baseball team plays host to the University of New Orleans at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Alex Box Stadium. The Tigers (21-8-1 overall, 8-4 SEC) have won eight of their last 10 games and are ranked No. 4 this week in all three college baseball polls — ESPN/Baseball Weekly, Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball.
The game can be heard on the LSU Sports Network (98.1 FM in Baton Rouge) and on the Internet at www.LSUsports.net.
Tuesday’s contest begins an April stretch for LSU of 20 games in 27 days. Also on tap for the Tigers this week is an exhibition game Wednesday at the New Orleans Zephyrs and a three-game SEC series this weekend at No. 7 South Carolina.
UNO enters Tuesday’s game with a 15-13 mark, and the Privateers are 6-3 in Sun Belt Conference play.
Freshman right-hander Brian Wilson (0-1, 9.00 ERA) will start Tuesday’s game for LSU. In seven innings this season, Wilson has recorded eight strikeouts and six walks. Wilson will make his first appearance on the mound since March 6, when he started against Southern University.
The Privateers will counter with junior left-hander Rory Shanks (1-2, 4.60 ERA). In 29 innings this season, Shanks has allowed 29 hits while recording 19 strikeouts and 16 walks.
The Tigers enter Tuesday’s game with a .322 team batting average, which is second-best in the SEC. Second baseman Mike Fontenot leads LSU with a .405 (32-for-79) average, and he has 10 doubles, four homers and 23 RBI.
Third baseman Wally Pontiff is batting .381 (45-for-118) with four doubles, one triple, four homers and 26 RBI, while first baseman Bryan Moore is hitting .373 (41-for-110) with 12 doubles, five homers and 27 RBI.
LSU leads UNO, 36-29, in the all-time series between the schools, which began in 1976. The Tigers have won six straight games against the Privateers, as UNO’s last win over LSU came in 1997, an 11-8 victory in Alex Box Stadium.
LSU and UNO will meet again this season on May 1 at Zephyr Field in Metairie.