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BATON ROUGE — No. 1 LSU (18-3, 2-1 SEC) continues a four-game road stretch at 7 p.m. Tuesday, as the Tigers travel to Shreveport, La., to face Centenary (8-11, 0-0 Mid-Continent Conference) at Fair Grounds Field.
The game 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, ranked No. 1 by Collegiate Baseball magazine for the fifth consecutive week, has won seven of its last eight games, including a series victory at fourth-ranked South Carolina last weekend. The Tigers took two of three games from the Gamecocks in the opening series of Southeastern Conference play.
LSU resumes SEC action this weekend at Alex Box Stadium as the Tigers play host to Mississippi State (13-4, 1-2) in a three-games series.
Centenary, a member of the Mid-Continent Conference, has won three of its past five games, including an 11-2 non-conference victory over Texas College last Friday. The Gents will open conference play on April 10, when they play host to Valparaiso.
LSU coach Smoke Laval will send sophomore left-hander Jason Determann (2-0, 0.77 ERA) to the mound Tuesday. Determann will be making his first start this season and the sixth of his career. His last start came on May 22, 2003, an SEC Tournament victory over Arkansas.
LSU catcher Matt Liuzza, a sophomore from Metairie, La., was named Monday as the SEC Player of the Week after leading the Tigers to the series victory at South Carolina.
Liuzza hit three homers and one double in the series, collecting five RBI and posting a .933 slugging percentage. He hit two homers in Sunday’s 12-7 victory, becoming the first LSU player to have a multi-homer game this season.
Liuzza’s two homers on Sunday came against USC ace Matt Campbell, who had not allowed run in 27.2 innings entering the game. Liuzza hit a solo shot in the second inning to tie the game at 1-1, and his three-run blast in the fourth gave the Tigers a 4-1 lead they would never relinquish.
Liuzza was 6-for-15 (.353) at the plate in LSU’s four games last week — including a 14-0 victory over UNO — with one double, four homers, seven RBI and five runs. Liuzza is hitting .361 (30-for-83) on the year with seven doubles, six homers, 22 RBI and 15 runs.
South Carolina entered last weekend’s series as the SEC leader in batting average, home runs and ERA, but the Tigers out-hit the Gamecocks in the series, 40-28, and LSU out-homered USC, 7-4. LSU hit .336 (40-for-119) in the series with nine doubles and seven homers.
Meanwhile, the Tigers’ pitching staff limited the potent Gamecock offense to a .259 (28-for-108) batting average.
Right fielder Jon Zeringue unloaded three homers in the series, driving in three runs and scoring five times. Left fielder Ryan Patterson hit .400 (6-for-15) over the weekend with one double and five RBI, and center fielder J.C. Holt batted .455 (5-for-11) with two doubles, one homer, four runs and two RBI.
LSU is now hitting .345 as a team with 53 doubles, eight triples and 26 homers. The Tigers have reached double-figures in hits in 12 consecutive games, including an 18-hit outburst in Sunday’s victory.
LSU leads the all-time series with Centenary, 25-7-1, and the Tigers have won 21 consecutive meetings against the Gents. Centenary last defeated LSU in 1956, 2-1, in Shreveport.
The Tigers defeated the Gents, 15-0, last season (Feb. 11) at Fair Grounds Field. Tuesday’s game marks the fourth time in five years LSU has faced Centenary at the Shreveport minor-league ball park.
Laval has a 17-2 career mark against the Gents, including a 2-0 record as LSU’s coach. Centenary coach Ed McCann is 0-4 versus the Tigers during his six-year career.
LSU has a 34-8 record against Louisiana schools during Laval’s three-year tenure as head coach. The Tigers are 6-0 this season against their in-state rivals.
GAME FACTS — #1 LSU (18-3) at Centenary (8-11)
DATE/TIME: Tuesday, March 23 – 7 p.m.
STADIUM: Fair Grounds Field – Shreveport, La.
RANKINGS: LSU (#1 Collegiate Baseball, #3 Baseball America); Centenary (unranked)
RADIO: LSU Sports Network, including flagship WDGL-FM 98.1 in Baton Rouge
INTERNET: www.LSUsports.net
TV: None
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU – So. LHP Jason Determann (2-0, 0.77 ERA, 11.2 IP, 2 BB, 8 SO)
CC – RHP Kevin Cassidy (2-3, 6.21 ERA)