ATHENS, Ga. — With its eight-game road trip reduced to seven games by Mother Nature, the LSU baseball team looks to continue its strong start in Southeastern Conference play this weekend in a three-game series against Georgia at Foley Field.
The series gets underway at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) on Friday in a game that will be televised by Comcast Sports Southeast, although that telecast will not be available in most Louisiana markets. Saturday’s game is set for 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT) with the finale at 1 p.m. ET (Noon CT) on Sunday. Sunday’s game will be televised live across Louisiana by the Jumbo Sports Network, and will be available on Comcast Sports Southeast in other SEC markets.
The games on Friday and Saturday will be broadcast by the full LSU Sports Network (WDGL-98.1 FM in Baton Rouge), but the status of Sunday’s game will not be known until the outcome of Friday’s LSU-Purude game in the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in Birmingham. Should the Tigers defeat the Boilermakers, Sunday’s game would be available in Baton Rouge only on WJNH-107.3 FM. If LSU loses, Sunday’s game will also be on the full network.
All three games can be heard on the Internet at www.lsusports.net. Live statistics will also be available for all three contests.
LSU (13-7-1) got in 4 1/2 innings of its game with cross-town rival Southern on Tuesday, but when a heavy thunderstorm passed over the Jaguars’ Lee-Hines Field, the field quickly became unplayable and the game was called with LSU holding a 3-2 lead. Since Southern did not get its turn at bat in the bottom of the fifth, the game was declared a no contest, and all statistics were nullified.
The Tigers opened SEC play last weekend by going 2-0-1 against Florida at Alex Box Stadium, winning the first two games 9-0 and 3-2 before playing to an 8-8 tie on Sunday when the Gators had to leave after the ninth inning due to their travel itinerary.
LSU batted .381 in the Florida series and scored 20 runs on 41 hits, raising the Tigers’ season batting average by 14 points to .301, the first time LSU’s season average has been at or above .300 in three weeks.
The Tigers’ hottest hitter has been junior shortstop Aaron Hill, who enters the weekend on a nine-game hitting streak, batting .457 (16-for-35) during the streak to raise his season average by 93 points from .268 to .361. Hill became the first LSU player to collect four hits in a game when he did so in the Tigers’ 9-0 victory over Florida last Friday, and three of those hits were doubles, tying an LSU single-game record.
LSU’s leading hitter remains junior third baseman Ivan Naccarata, who is batting .372 on the year and has hit safely in the Tigers’ last 18 games, hitting .394 (28-for-71) during the streak. Three other LSU batters, all sophomores, enter the weekend over the .300 mark: right fielder Ryan Patterson (.322), left fielder Bruce Sprowl (.314) and designated hitter Quinn Stewart (.305).
LSU coach Smoke Laval will keep the Tigers’ rotation the same as it has been for the previous two series against Winthrop and Florida, starting junior right-hander Brian Wilson (4-2, 3.16) on Friday, senior right-hander Bo Pettit (3-0, 1.57) on Saturday and senior right-hander Jake Tompkins (0-2, 5.13) on Sunday.
Georgia (11-7, 0-3 SEC) had its only midweek game at Georgia State rained out this week. The Bulldogs are tied with Kentucky for last place in the East division and in the overall league race after being swept last weekend by Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Georgia had 5-0 leads in the first and third games of the series, only to see the Crimson Tide rally.
Georgia entered Thursday’s game batting a solid .329, with two switch-hitters batting above .400: junior center fielder Jon Armitage (.435) and sophomore second baseman Marshall Szabo (.420).
The Bulldogs will start a pair of freshmen in the first two games of the seires, going with right-hander Sean Ruthven (2-2, 3.00) on Friday and left-hander Will Startup (2-0, 2.95) on Saturday. Ruthven is the son of former Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs pitcher Dick Ruthven.
Georgia coach David Perno had not decided on a starter for Sunday’s game at press time.
LSU holds a commanding 43-13-1 lead in the all-time series over Georgia, and the Tigers completed a three-game sweep last year in Baton Rouge by outscoring the Bulldogs 35-10 (8-2, 14-4, 13-4). The sweep was LSU’s seventh of UGA since 1990, but first series victory since 1999. The Bulldogs beat LSU two of three in both 2000 and 2001 under coach Ron Polk, who has since returned to Mississippi St.
Georgia won the last series between the teams in Athens, winning two of three games in 2001 in a series that saw all three games extended to 11 innings. LSU, which was 23-2-1 against UGA in the 19909s, holds a 16-6-1 edge in games played in Athens, and swept the Bulldogs on their home field in 1991 and 1994.
LSU continues the road trip on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. CT when the Tigers return to Zephyr Field for the first of two meetings this season with the University of New Orleans. The Tigers continue Southeastern Conference play next weekend at West division rival Alabama.