BATON ROUGE — The LSU baseball squad continues its six-game homestand at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when the Tigers play host to Northwestern State in Alex Box Stadium.
The game will be carried by the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network. The Baton Rouge affiliate is WDGL 98.1 FM.
Live stats, video and audio of the game may be accessed in the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net.
LSU concludes its homestand at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday versus McNeese State before traveling to South Carolina this weekend for a three-game Southeastern Conference series.
LSU is ranked No. 5 this week by Baseball America and by USA Today/ESPN after posting an SEC series victory last weekend over Kentucky. LSU has won five straight conference series, dating back to last season.
“We were pleased to take two out of three in our first SEC series, but we realize we must continue to get better,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “I’m proud of our players for earning two tough wins against an excellent Kentucky pitching staff. There are still several areas in which we need to show improvement, beginning Tuesday night against a very good Northwestern State team. We’ll need to be at our best because they have a talented club.”
Mainieri said true freshman left-hander Chris Matulis (3-0, 2.70 ERA), will start Tuesday’s game on the mound for the Tigers. Matulis defeated Southeastern Louisiana last Tuesday, allowing two runs on seven hits in six innings with three walks and three strikeouts.
Northwestern State coach J.P. Davis will counter with junior right-hander Ryan Zimmerman (0-0, 3.38 ERA).
LSU junior first baseman Sean Ochinko is hitting a robust .484 (31-for-64) on the year with five doubles, six homers, 27 RBI and 19 runs.
Ochinko had another outstanding week at the plate, batting .563 (9-for-16) in five games (March 10-15) with one double, two homers, four RBI and seven runs.
Junior leftfielder Jared Mitchell, batting .455 (15-for-33) this season, tied an LSU single-game record Sunday with four stolen bases in Game 2 of the doubleheader versus Kentucky. Mitchell was a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts during the series, and he is 17-for-17 on the season. He has already exceeded his stolen base output from last season, when he recorded 16 steals in 18 attempts
The Tigers are hitting a cumulative .332 on the year with 33 homers and 45 stolen bases in 56 attempts.
Northwestern State is batting .307 as a team this season with 16 homers and 42 stolen bases in 48 attempts. The Demons are averaging nearly nine runs per game.
Junior infielder Chase Lyles is hitting .446 (25-for-56) for Northwestern State with six doubles, two triples, six homers, 16 RBI, 23 runs and nine steals. Junior outfielder Tyler Baisley has three homers and 10 RBI, while junior infielder Dan Meyer has collected 12 RBI and 10 steals in 11 attempts.
LSU leads the overall series with Northwestern State, 47-10, including a 10-3 victory over the Demons last season in the original Alex Box Stadium. LSU has won the last nine meetings between the schools.
Northwestern State Demons (10-5) at #5 LSU Fighting Tigers (13-4)
DATE/TIME
Tuesday, March 17 ? 6:30 p.m. CT
STADIUM
Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. (9,200)
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 5 by USA Today/ESPN, No. 5 by Baseball America and No. 6 by Collegiate Baseball
NSU – unranked
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
The Baton Rouge affiliate is WDGL 98.1 FM
INTERNET
www.LSUsports.net ? live audio and stats in the Geaux Zone.
TV
None
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads, 47-10
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU ? Fr. LHP Chris Matulis (3-0, 2.70 ERA, 16.2 IP, 7 BB, 12 SO)
NSU ? Jr. RHP Ryan Zimmerman (0-0, 3.38 ERA, 8 IP, 4 BB, 8 SO)