NEW ORLEANS — For the first time in the 270-game history of the long baseball rivalry between LSU and Tulane, the two teams will meet on the floor of the Louisiana Superdome as the Tigers and Green Wave collide Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The game will be broadcast by the full LSU Sports Network (WDGL-98.1 FM in Baton Rouge and WWL-870 AM in New Orleans) and carried live on the Internet at www.lsusports.net. There will also be live television throughout Louisiana on the Jumbo Sports Network (WB-10 in Baton Rouge, WNOL-38 in New Orleans), and on Comcast Sports Southeast in other Southeastern Conference markets.
Through the close of business on Friday, more than 21,100 tickets had been sold for the game, assuring that the crowd will surpass the current NCAA record for a single regular-season date, which currently stands at 21,043 for a May 4, 1996 doubleheader between Texas and TCU at The Ballpark in Arlington (Texas), the home of the Texas Rangers.
The NCAA attendance record for any college baseball date is 24,859, set on June 13, 1999 at the College World Series for a doubleheader that saw Miami defeat Alabama and Rice defeat Oklahoma State.
This game was originally scheduled for Zephyr Field, but was moved due to a large demand for tickets from fans of both teams. This marks LSU’s first game in the Superdome since defeating Ole Miss in the final game of the 1999 Winn-Dixie Showdown. LSU was 25-14 in 13 years (1987-1999) in the Winn-Dixie Showdown (known as the Busch Challenge from 1987-1992). The Tigers’ only other dome experience came in 1995 when it swept Florida State, Michigan and Minnesota in the 1995 Hormel Foods Classic at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
LSU (20-13) comes to the Superdome playing some of its best baseball of the season, having won four of its last five contests. The Tigers took two of three this past weekend at Auburn for their first SEC series victory of 2002, improving to 5-6 in conference play.
The Tigers will send junior right-hander Bo Pettit (3-5, 4.07) to the mound against the Green Wave. Pettit has been a starter in the Tigers’ SEC rotation, but struggled at Auburn on Saturday, giving up five walks and three runs in just 2.1 innings. Pettit threw four shutout innings last Tuesday in a victory over New Orleans.
LSU’s batting average has steadily improved to .292, the highest it has been since March 15. The Tigers feature three hitters at .370 or better in junior third baseman Wally Pontiff (.378-4-25), senior right fielder Sean Barker (.373-2-29) and sophomore shortstop Aaron Hill (.371-3-21).
Tulane (18-16) has struggled just one year after making its first ever College World Series appearance. The Green Wave has won five of its last seven contests, including a 2-1 series victory this past weekend at Memphis to move to 5-7 in Conference USA play.
The Green Wave will start sophomore left-hander Kris Kline (1-1, 4.56), one of seven southpaws on the Tulane staff. One of those seven lefties, senior reliever Joey Charron, has notched five saves and a 3-4 record in 17 appearances this year.
At the plate, Tulane features six regulars with a batting average over .300, led by senior infielder James Jurries (.336-8-36) and junior outfielder Aaron Feldman (.337-2-12).
Tulane has won five of the last six meetings in this series, although LSU holds a 151-115-3 all-time edge dating back to 1893 in the oldest athletic series for both schools. Tulane won this year’s first meeting at Baton Rouge on March 5, 6-5, overcoming a 5-0 LSU lead with four runs in the fifth and two in the sixth. The Green Wave won four of five in 2001, including two of three in the NCAA Super Regional at Zephyr Field
The Tigers return to SEC action starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. when they host SEC East division leader Georgia in a three-game set. The Green Wave is at UAB for a three-game C-USA set this weekend.