BATON ROUGE — Second-ranked LSU (9-1) concludes a four-game road swing Wednesday as the Tigers travel to Shreveport to face Centenary (3-5) at Fair Grounds Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
LSU won two of three games at Houston last weekend in the Tigers’ first road trip of the season. Centenary lost two of three games last weekend in a home series versus Michigan State.
The LSU-Centenary game can be heard in Baton Rouge on WTGE 107.3 FM and on the Internet at www.LSUsports.net.
Wednesday’s game marks the fifth time in six seasons LSU has traveled to Fair Grounds Field to face Centenary. The Tigers have won 22 consecutive games in their overall series with the Gents, including a 9-3 victory last season.
“It’s always nice to have the opportunity to go to Shreveport and visit with the fans in North Louisiana,” said LSU coach Smoke Laval. “There is a tremendous base of support for the Tigers in that area of the state, and we enjoy playing up there.”
Senior right-handed pitcher Brandon Nall (0-0, 4.50 ERA) will make his first career LSU start Wednesday. Nall — a former late-inning reliever who missed all of last season while recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum — has made one relief appearance this year. He pitched two innings versus Nicholls State on Feb. 12 (a 19-2 LSU victory), allowing one run on one hit with no walks and one strikeout.
“We’re going to give Brandon the ball and see how much he has progressed in his recovery,” Laval said. “We’re looking forward to seeing how he performs as a starter.”
Centenary coach Ed McCann is expected to counter with senior right-hander J.C. Biagi (0-0, 6.23 ERA).
With the series victory at Houston last weekend, the Tigers have now won nine consecutive regular-season series, dating back to last season. LSU last lost a weekend series on April 9-11, 2004, when Arkansas swept three games in Alex Box Stadium.
LSU dropped a 2-1 decision to UH on Friday night, but the Tigers rebounded with a doubleheader sweep (11-5, 8-1) on Sunday after Saturday’s game was rained out.
Senior left fielder Ryan Patterson led the LSU offense against UH, as he hit .385 (5-for-13) in the series with two homers, six runs and five RBI. Senior second baseman Clay Harris was 5-for-10 at the plate with one double, one homer, three runs and two RBI.
Senior infielder Blake Gill saw his 20-game hitting streak end Friday, when he was hitless in four at-bats. Gill ended the 2004 season on a 15-game streak and had collected hits in each of his first five games this year.
Senior left-hander Lane Mestepey became LSU’s all-time leader in innings pitched on Friday, as he worked six frames in the 2-1 loss. Mestepey has now fired 401.1 career innings, surpassing the previous LSU mark of 398 set by Scott Schultz from 1992-95.
Mestepey was charged with the hard-luck loss on Friday despite limiting Houston to two unearned runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
Junior left-hander Greg Smith delivered the best performance of his career Sunday, limiting UH to just one run on five hits in seven innings with three walks and six strikeouts.
LSU returns to Alex Box Stadium this weekend for a three-game series against Alabama-Birmingham. Game 1 is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday, Game 2 starts at Noon Saturday and Game 3 begins at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Saturday’s LSU-UAB game time was moved to Noon due to the 3 p.m. start of the LSU-Vanderbilt men’s basketball game in the Maravich Center.
GAME FACTS
#2 LSU Fighting Tigers (9-1) at Centenary Gents (3-5)
DATE/TIME:
Wednesday, March 2 — 7 p.m. CST
STADIUM:
Fair Grounds Field in Shreveport, La.
RANKINGS:
LSU (# 2 ESPN/Sports Weekly, # 3 Baseball America, # 3 Collegiate Baseball); Centenary (unranked)
RADIO:
WTGE 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge
INTERNET:
Radio broadcast at www.LSUsports.net
TV:
None
SERIES RECORD:
LSU leads, 26-7-1
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU — Sr. RHP Brandon Nall (0-0, 4.50 ERA, 2.0 IP, 0 BB, 1 SO)
CC — Sr. RHP J.C. Biagi (0-0, 6.23 ERA, 4.1 IP, 2 BB, 8 SO)