BATON ROUGE — LSU looks to win consecutive games for the first time in three weeks when the Fighting Tigers (17-12) host the University of New Orleans (17-11) Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Alex Box Stadium.
The game will be broadcast over the full LSU Sports Network (WDGL-98.1 FM in Baton Rouge) and on the Internet at www.lsusports.net. WGMB-Fox 44 will televise the game on a tape-delay basis in Baton Rouge only starting at 9 p.m.
The Tigers haven’t played since a 7-3 Southeastern Conference victory over Mississippi State on Saturday, as rains that inundated the playing field Sunday morning canceled the series finale with the Bulldogs.
LSU will send junior right-hander Bo Pettit (2-4, 4.38) to the mound against the Privateers. Pettit has been the Tigers’ normal Friday night starter, but in his last two outings he has given up 14 runs in 7.1 innings in losing to Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Pettit is scheduled to throw three innings, allowing several other Tiger hurlers to see action.
The Tigers’ hottest hitter has been sophomore shortstop Aaron Hill, who comes in on a six-game hitting streak and has collected at least two hits in his last five games. Hill went 4-for-5 on Saturday and missed the cycle by a triple, raising his season average to .370. Junior third baseman Wally Pontiff continues to lead the Tigers with a .382 batting average.
UNO comes in after taking two of three from Middle Tennessee St. in a Sun Belt Conference series. The Privateers also played Mississippi St. last week, splitting a pair of games in Starkville.
The Privateers will start junior left-hander Brandon Migues (2-1, 3.46), who will be making just his second start of the year, although he leads UNO with 11 appearances. The Tigers are 4-8 this year when the opponent starts a left-handed pitcher.
UNO’s top hitter is senior third baseman J.D. Huether, who leads the team in batting average (.388) and RBI (31).
LSU holds a 38-29 series edge over the Privateers, taking the last eight meetings between the clubs. The Tigers won last year by scores 7-2 at Baton Rouge and 12-1 in seven innings at Zephyr Field. UNO’s last win in the series was an 11-8 triumph at Baton Rouge in 1997. Privateers coach Randy Bush, a former Minnesota Twins outfielder, is 0-4 against LSU, while LSU coach Smoke Laval was 2-3 against the Privateers during his tenure as coach at Louisiana-Monroe.
The Tigers will play an exhibition game on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. against the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs at Zephyr Field in Metairie, then will resume SEC play this weekend with a three-game series at Auburn.