BATON ROUGE — Top-ranked LSU seeks to maintain its lead in the SEC standings this weekend as the Tigers travel to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas in a three-game series at Baum Stadium.
Game 1 is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday, Game 2 starts at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Game 3 begins at 1 p.m. Sunday.
All three games can be heard on the LSU Sports Radio Network (98.1 FM in Baton Rouge) and on the Internet at www.LSUsports.net. Friday’s game will be televised live by College Sports Southeast (Cable Ch. 18 in Baton Rouge) and Sunday’s game will be televised live by the Guaranty Sports Network (Cable Ch. 6 in Baton Rouge).
LSU (36-13-1 overall, 17-7 SEC) is ranked No. 1 this week by ESPN/Baseball Weekly, and the Tigers are No. 2 in both the Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America polls. LSU holds a one-game lead in the SEC race over Ole Miss (16-8), with third-place Georgia (15-9) two games behind the Tigers.
LSU has won eight straight games, including a 12-1 victory over New Orleans Tuesday night at Zephyr Field in Metairie.
Arkansas is 24-26 overall after defeating Oral Robers, 10-0, Tuesday night in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks enter Friday’s game with an 8-16 SEC record.
Freshman left-hander Lane Mestepey (8-1, 3.10 ERA) will start Friday’s game for LSU. Mestepey defeated Alabama last Friday with a complete-game four hitter, limiting the Tide to just one earned run while recording two walks and six strikeouts.
Senior right-hander Jason Scobie (3-1, 5.07 ERA) will start Saturday’s game for the Tigers, and senior left-hander Tim Nugent (6-1, 3.05 ERA) will take the mound on Sunday.
Arkansas will counter with junior right-hander Charlie Isaacson (3-6, 6.62 ERA) on Friday, sophomore right-hander Gary Hogan (3-3, 2.58 ERA) on Saturday, and senior left-hander Wes McCrotty (3-2, 5.45 ERA) on Sunday.
Second baseman Mike Fontenot enter the series as LSU’s leading hitter, batting .386 (61-for-158) with 12 doubles, nine homers and 36 RBI. First baseman Bryan Moore is hitting .380 (70-for-184) with 21 doubles, six homers and 42 RBI, and shortstop Ryan Theriot is batting .360 (71-for-197) with 11 doubles, three triples, one homer and 35 RBI.
Outfielder Todd Linden is LSU’s home runs (16) and RBI (58) leader, and he has homered nine times in the Tigers’ last 15 games.
LSU enters the series ranked No. 1 in the SEC in team batting average (.326), No. 7 in team ERA (4.46) and No. 10 in fielding percentage (.959).
Arkansas is No. 9 in the league in team batting average (.288), No. 8 in team ERA (4.69) and No. 12 in fielding percentage (.954).
LSU holds a 30-11 advantage over Arkansas in the series between the schools. Since the Razorbacks joined the SEC in 1992, LSU has won eight of the nine league series with Arkansas, including a three-game sweep last season in Alex Box Stadium. Arkansas’ only series victory over LSU came in 1999, when the Razorbacks took two of three games from the Tigers in Fayetteville.