METAIRIE, La. — LSU and Tulane renew the oldest intercollegiate athletic rivalry for both schools on Tuesday night when the Fighting Tigers and the Green Wave meet in a battle of nationally ranked baseball teams at 7:05 p.m. at Zephyr Field.
The game will be broadcast on the full LSU Sports Network (WDGL-98.1 FM in Baton Rouge) and can be heard on the Internet at www.lsusports.net. The contest will also be broadcast live throughout Louisiana by the Jumbo Sports Network (WBBR-cable channel 10 in Baton Rouge) and throughout other Southeastern Conference markets on Comcast Sports Southeast.
LSU (11-6) enters the contest on the crest of a five-game winning streak, the Tigers’ longest streak this season. LSU (No. 18 Collegiate Baseball, No. 16 Baseball America) is coming off of a three-game sweep of Winthrop at home this past weekend, winning by scores of 10-2, 11-1 and 3-2. Sunday’s finale featured a remarkable LSU rally, with the Tigers overcoming a 2-0 deficit by scoring three runs with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning.
As has been the case for the Tigers’ previous midweek contests, true freshman right-hander Justin Meier (3-0, 0.60) has received the starting nod on the mound from coach Smoke Laval. Meier has allowed just one run in 15 innings of work this season, and struck out a career high five batters in his last start, a 4-2 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday.
Junior infielder Ivan Naccarata leads the Tigers at the plate with a .367 batting average, and he enters Tuesday’s contest on a 14-game hitting streak, batting .396 (21-for-53) with 11 RBI and seven two-hit games during the streak. The Tiger lineup has been energized by a resurgence from junior shortstop Aaron Hill, who is hitting .381 during the Tigers’ winning streak to raise his season average to .310.
Tulane (13-4) has won four games in a row, and is 13-1 at home this year. The Green Wave (No. 21 Baseball America, No. 28 Collegiate Baseball) bounced back from an 0-3 performance in the Kia Baseball Bash at Cal St. Fullerton with a three-game sweep of Manhattan this past weekend, outscoring the Jaspers 33-5.
Tulane coach Rick Jones has three freshmen among his top four starting pitchers, and one of them, right-hander Matt Goebel (2-0, 2.10) will draw the starting assignment against LSU. Former Kentucky pitcher Cory Hahn (4-1, 1.44) and relief ace Joey Charron (0-2, 4.50, 4 saves) headline a Tulane staff that has a solid 3.06 team ERA.
The Green Wave features its usual hard-hitting lineup, carrying a team batting average of .344 into Tuesday’s game. Junior first baseman Michael Aubrey, the 2001 National Freshman of the Year, is on his way to one of the top seasons in Tulane history, batting .492 with 28 RBI on the year. Two other Wave starters, second baseman Tommy Manzella (.412) and right fielder Brian Bogusevic (.407) are also above the .400 mark.
LSU holds a 153-115-1 all-time edge in the series, which began in 1893. The Tigers won two of three meetings in 2002, winning 9-5 at the Louisiana Superdome on April 10 and 4-2 in the NCAA Baton Rouge regional on June 1 after the Wave won 6-5 at Alex Box Stadium on March 5. The game at the Superdome drew an NCAA record crowd of 27,673.
Tulane has enjoyed much success against LSU at Zephyr Field, owning a 5-2 mark at the Triple-A park. The teams last met at Zephyr Field in the 2001 NCAA super regional, with the Wave winning 2 games to 1 to advance to their first College World Series. LSU is 9-5 all-time at Zephyr Field, going 5-0 against New Orleans and 1-0 each against Southern and Louisiana-Lafayette.
LSU opens Southeastern Conference play this weekend at home with a three-game series against Florida. Friday’s game starts at 6:30 p.m., followed by contests at 2 p.m. Saturday and 12:30 p.m. Sunday.