BATON ROUGE — The LSU baseball squad (16-10) travels across town on Tuesday to face Southern University (10-10) at Lee-Hines Field.
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game can be heard on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network, and it will be televised by the Pelican Sports Network (Cox Cable Ch. 113 in Baton Rouge).
Tuesday’s game will mark the Tigers’ first visit to Lee-Hines Field since 2004, when LSU posted a 21-10 win over the Jaguars.
“I have the greatest respect for (Southern coach) Roger Cador, and I’m pleased that we can play at Southern and hopefully generate ticket sales to benefit their program” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “However, we still want to win the game. It’s a big game for us, and Southern has an outstanding team. We know we’ll have to play well to win, especially on the road.”
Mainieri said that junior right-hander Louis Coleman (1-0) will start on the mound for the Tigers against Southern. Coleman turned in a excellent outing in his first start of the season last Tuesday against Northwestern State. He limited the Demons to one unearned run on four hits in six innings with no walks and seven strikeouts.
Coleman also delivered a strong relief effort on Saturday at Florida, firing 1.2 scoreless innings with no walks and two strikeouts.
Cador will counter Tuesday with junior right-hander Sherrard Brooks (2-0). The Jaguars have won three of their last four games, including a 2-1 SWAC series victory over Prairie View last weekend.
Senior right-hander Jared Bradford fired LSU’s first complete game of the season in Sunday’s win at Florida, as he limited the Gators three runs on nine hits with one walk and two strikeouts. The outing was the first complete game by an LSU pitcher since Bradford defeated Tennessee on April 28, 2007 in Baton Rouge.
Bradford’s victory on Sunday came after he endured a rough outing in relief on Friday night, when he allowed five runs on five hits without recording an out. He came back on Sunday in a starting role and threw 121 pitches to lead LSU to the 6-3 triumph.
LSU freshman centerfielder Leon Landry enjoyed an outstanding week, batting .556 (10-for-18) in five games with one double, one triple, one homer and two RBI. The Baker, La. product also scored four runs and recorded a stolen base. Landry hit .500 (6-for-12) in the Florida series, and he unloaded one of the Tigers’ four homers in Sunday’s 6-3 victory.
Another true freshman, shortstop DJ LeMahieu, hit a sizzling .600 (6-for-10) in the Florida series with two runs scored.
Junior first baseman Matt Clark batted .462 (6-for-13) at Florida with three homers and four RBI. Clark homered twice ? a two-run blast and a solo shot ? in Sunday’s victory against the Gators. Clark is LSU’s leading hitter this season, batting .378 (34-for-90) with three doubles, 13 homers, 27 RBI and 25 runs.
LSU enters the Southern contest with a .303 team batting average, and the Tigers have launched 35 homers in 26 games. LSU hit just 40 homers in 56 games last season.
Southern is led at the plate by first baseman Calvin Anderson, who is hitting .323 with seven homers and 15 RBI. Infielder Romey Bracey is batting .324 with two homers and 13 RBI.
The Jaguars are hitting .287 as a team, and they have belted 20 home runs.
LSU leads the overall series with Southern, 42-2, as the squads first met in 1970. Tuesday’s game marks the second meeting this season between the teams ? LSU posted a 6-1 victory over the Jaguars on Feb. 26 in Alex Box Stadium.
Southern’s two wins over LSU have both come in Alex Box Stadium ? an 11-6 victory in 2001 and a 9-5 triumph in 2005. The Tigers are 4-0 all-time at Lee-Hines Field with wins over the Jaguars in 1991, 1993, 1995 and 2004.
LSU Fighting Tigers (16-10) at Southern Jaguars (10-10)
DATE/TIME
Tuesday, April 1 ? 6 p.m. CDT
STADIUM
Lee-Hines Field in Baton Rouge, La.
RANKINGS
Neither team is ranked
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates (WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge)
INTERNET
www.LSUsports.net ? live audio
TV
Pelican Sports Network (Cox Cable Ch. 113 in Baton Rouge)
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads, 42-2 (the teams first met in 1970)
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU ? Jr. RHP Louis Coleman (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.1 IP, 0 BB, 12 SO)
SU ? Jr. RHP Sherrard Brooks (2-0, 4.91 ERA, 14.2 IP, 4 BB, 19 SO)