BATON ROUGE — LSU (7-1) seeks to build upon its five-game win streak as the Tigers play host to Michigan State (3-4) in a two-game series beginning Tuesday in Alex Box Stadium.
First pitch for Game 1 is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, and Game 2 starts at 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Tickets for each game are $8 for adults and $4 for children ages 3-12. Tickets are available at Alex Box Stadium each day two hours prior to first pitch, or they may be purchased and printed at www.LSUsports.net.
The games will be carried by the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network. The Baton Rouge affiliates will be WDGL 98.1 FM on Tuesday and WTGE 107.3 FM on Wednesday.
Live audio and video of the games may also be accessed in the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net.
Michigan State is coached by David Grewe, who worked under LSU coach Paul Mainieri for three seasons (2003-05) at Notre Dame. Mainieri and Grewe helped the Irish win three straight Big East titles and appear in three consecutive NCAA Regional tournaments.
“I know this will be a great series, because I know David Grewe is an outstanding young coach,” Mainieri said. “He is extremely well-organized, and he will have his team prepared to face us. He is doing an outstanding job in building the Michigan State program. He brings a lot of energy to the job, and he doesn’t take any shortcuts.
“It will be a bittersweet experience for me, because it’s tough to compete against such a good friend. For these two games, though, I’ll have to put friendship aside. Michigan State will certainly provide us with a great challenge.”
LSU posted wins over Southern and Mississippi Valley State last week before recording a three-game sweep of Duquesne over the weekend. The Tigers hit .397 (48-for-121) as a team versus Duquesne, scoring 44 runs and launching 13 homers in the series. LSU entered the series with only one home run in its first five games.
Mainieri said junior left-hander Blake Martin (1-0) will start Tuesday’s game on the mound for LSU. Martin was magnificent in his last start, defeating Mississippi Valley State on Feb. 27. He pitched five shutout innings against the Delta Devils, allowing just two hits while recording one walk and nine strikeouts.
Sunday’s win over Duquesne marked the 900th career coaching victory for Mainieri, now in his 26th season of collegiate coaching. He recorded 179 wins in six seasons at St. Thomas University, 152 wins in six seasons at Air Force, 533 wins in 12 seasons at Notre Dame, and he has 36 wins in his second season at LSU. Mainieri’s cumulative record is 900-519-5 (.634).
The Tigers’ 22-11 win over Duquesne on Saturday featured a 12-run third inning that included four home runs. Blake Dean, Matt Clark and Matt Gaudet drilled back-to-back-to-back home runs during the frame, and Clark hit another dinger in his second at-bat of the inning. LSU hit three consecutive homers and four in one inning for the first time since former Tigers Blake Gill, Ryan Patterson, Clay Harris and Nick Stavinoha hit four straight out of the park against Arizona State on March 13, 2005.
The 12-run inning marked LSU’s highest total for a single frame since that same Arizona State game on March 13, 2005. LSU tallied its most runs in a game (22) since it recorded 24 against Duquesne on Feb. 24, 2001, and LSU recorded its highest hits total (23) since collecting 23 hits versus Kentucky on May 9, 2004.
The Tigers came back to launch six homers in Sunday’s game versus Duquesne, the most by LSU since March 13, 2005 when it also hit six dingers versus Arizona State.
Junior first baseman Matt Clark enjoyed an exceptional week as he hit .474 (9-for-19) in five games with one double, five homers, 11 RBI and nine runs . Clark batted .667 (8-for-12) in the Duquesne series with one double, five homers, nine RBI and eight runs. Clark homered twice in one inning on Saturday, launching two dingers during the Tigers’ 12-run outburst in the third frame.
Clark, a transfer from Riverside (Calif.) Community College, is hitting .385 (10-for-26) on the season with team-highs of five homers and 12 RBI.
Junior left-hander Ryan Verdugo was named SEC Pitcher of the Week Monday after earning two wins in his first two career LSU starts last week, posting victories over Southern on Tuesday and Duquesne on Sunday. In a total of 10 innings, he allowed just one run on three hits, recording a 0.90 ERA.
Verdugo registered six walks and 13 strikeouts in his two appearances and limited opponents to a .097 batting average. In the win over Duquesne, he worked five innings, limiting the Dukes to one run on two hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Verdugo pitched five shutout frames against Southern, allowing just one hit with three walks and nine strikeouts.
Michigan State is led at the plate by junior Kyle Day, who is hitting .379 (11-for-29) with one double, one homer and 11 RBI. Infielder A.J. Shindler is batting .375 (6-for-16) with one double, one triple and three RBI.
Michigan State is making its second trip to Baton Rouge and its first in 33 years. The Tigers and the Spartans split a pair of games in 1975 in Alex Box Stadium.
Michigan State Spartans (3-4) at LSU Fighting Tigers (7-1)
DATES/TIMES
Tuesday, March 4 ? 6:30 p.m. CST; Wednesday, March 5 ? 3 p.m. CST
STADIUM
Alex Box Stadium (7,760) in Baton Rouge, La.
RANKINGS
Neither team is ranked
TICKETS
$8 adults, $4 children ages 3-12 — available at Alex Box Stadium each day two hours prior to first pitch; tickets may also be purchased and printed at www.LSUsports.net.
PROMOTIONS
Anyone who presents a business card to the Alex Box Stadium ticket office prior to Wednesday’s game will be admitted for only $1
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates (the Baton Rouge affiliate on Tuesday is WDGL FM 98.1; the Baton Rouge affiliate on Wednesday is WTGE 107.3 FM)
INTERNET
www.LSUsports.net ? live video, audio and stats
TV
None
SERIES RECORD
Series tied, 1-1 (the teams split a pair of games in 1975 in Alex Box Stadium)
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU ? Jr. LHP Blake Martin (1-0, 4.05 ERA, 6.2 IP, 2 BB, 10 SO)
MSU — TBA
Game 2
LSU ? Jr. LHP Ryan Byrd (0-0, 13.50 ERA, 6.0 IP, 2 BB, 1 SO)
MSU — TBA