BATON ROUGE, La. — No. 1 LSU (12-2) travels to north Louisiana on Tuesday as the Tigers face UL-Monroe (8-6) at Indian Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
The game will be televised statewide on the Jumbo Sports Network, and it can be heard on the LSU Sports Radio Network, including flagship WDGL-FM 98.1 in Baton Rouge. The radio broadcast may be also be accessed at www.LSUsports.net.
LSU’s 12-2 mark through 14 games is the Tigers’ best since the 2001 club also posted a 12-2 record through its first 14 contests. LSU’s lossto Houston last Saturday ended its win streak at nine games, the longest for the Tigers since the ’01 squad won 10 straight from Feb. 17-March 3.
The Tigers (#1 Collegiate Baseball, #5 Baseball America, #5 ESPN/Sports Weekly) defeated Houston — an NCAA Super Regional team in each of the past two seasons — in two of three games last weekend in Alex Box Stadium.
UL-Monroe took two of three games from Jacksonville State last weekend at Indian Field.
The Tigers hit .378 (42-for-111) in the Houston series with eight doubles, one triple and one homer. Junior right fielder Jon Zeringue paced LSU’s offensive effort by hitting .538 (7-for-13) in the series with three doubles, one triple, one homer, six RBI and three runs scored. Zeringue is LSU’s leading hitter on the year, batting .434 (23-for-53) with 10 doubles, one triple, three homers and 14 RBI.
Sophomore catcher Matt Liuzza extended his hitting streak last weekend to 13 games, the longest of his career. Liuzza hit .462 (6-for-13) in the Houston series with one double and four RBI. He also launched a two-run homer in the Tigers’ win over Tulane on Tuesday. On the year, Liuzza is hitting .396 (21-for-53) with four doubles, two homers and 13 RBI.
LSU is hitting .347 (182-for-524) as a team entering the ULM game with 31 doubles, four triples and 15 homers, and the Tigers average nearly nine runs per game.
The Tigers’ staff ERA is 2.15, as LSU has allowed just 30 earned runs in 125.1 innings.
LSU coach Smoke Laval will send freshman left-hander Clay Dirks (2-0, 1.37 ERA), the SEC Pitcher of the Week, to the mound Tuesday. UL- onroe will counter with senior left-hander Ryan Schwabe (2-2, 4.50 ERA).
LSU blanked eighth-ranked Tulane, 6-0, on March 2 behind the pitching of Dirks, who fired a complete-game shutout in only his third collegiate start. Dirks limited the Green Wave to no runs on four hits in nine innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. He allowed just two Tulane runners to advance to second base, and he retired 20 of the final 22 batters he faced.
Dirks’ shutout on Tuesday was the first by an LSU pitcher since March 14, 2003, when Brian Wilson blanked Florida on five hits. The Tulane game was also the first time LSU held an opponent scoreless since April 15, 2003, when LSU recorded an 8-0 shutout of the Green Wave in Alex Box Stadium.
Tuesday’s game marks the second meeting of the season between the clubs, as LSU defeated ULM, 7-1, on Feb. 17 in Alex Box Stadium. LSU leads the all-time series with ULM, 34-8, and the Tigers have won the last seven meetings between the schools. The Indians’ last victory over LSU came on February 14, 2001, a 7-6, 11-inning victory in Baton Rouge in Skip Bertman’s final season as the Tigers’ coach.
Tuesday’s game marks LSU’s first visit to Monroe since April 23, 2002, when the Tigers recorded a 10-3 victory. LSU has a 6-2 mark in its eight trips to Monroe since 1984.
Laval has a 6-0 mark against the Indians as LSU’s coach; ULM coach Brad Holland has a 1-7 mark in his career versus the Tigers. Laval served as the ULM coach for seven seasons (1994-2000), and he led the Indians to three NCAA Regional appearances and two Southland Conference championships.
Holland, Laval’s top assistant at ULM, is in his fourth season as the Indians’ coach.
LSU pitching coach Brady Wiederhold worked as an assistant coach under both Laval and Holland at ULM, and LSU administrative assistant Ted White is a former all-conference catcher for the Indians. White played for both Laval and Holland during his ULM career.
GAME FACTS
#1 LSU (12-2) at Louisiana-Monroe (8-6)
DATE/TIME: Tuesday, March 9 – 6:30 p.m.
STADIUM: Indian Field (3,000) – Monroe, La.
RANKINGS: LSU (#1 Collegiate Baseball, #5 Baseball America, #5 ESPN/Sports Weekly); UL-Monroe (unranked)
RADIO: LSU Sports Network, including flagship WDGL-FM 98.1 in Baton Rouge
INTERNET: www.LSUsports.net
TV: Jumbo Sports Network, including WZUP (Cable Ch. 13) in Baton Rouge
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU – Fr. LHP Clay Dirks (2-0, 1.37 ERA, 19.2 IP, 4 BB, 18 SO)
ULM – Sr. LHP Ryan Schwabe (2-2, 4.50 ERA, 22.0 IP, 9 BB, 17 SO)