BATON ROUGE — LSU catcher Micah Gibbs was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week Monday by the league office.
Gibbs, a sophomore from Pflugerville, Texas, was LSU’s leading hitter in its series victory over No. 1 Georgia, batting .444 (4-for-9) with two homers, four RBI and four runs scored. Gibbs also walked three times and was hit by a pitch, posting a .500 on-base percentage.
Gibbs reached base in all five plate appearances in Friday’s win over UGA with a homer, a single, two walks and a hit-by-pitch.
For the entire week, Gibbs hit .385 (5-for-13) in four games with two homers, four RBI and four runs.
LSU (23-8) remained No. 2 in this week’s Baseball America poll, and the Tigers are No. 4 in both the Collegiate Baseball and USA Today/ESPN rankings.
LSU returns to action at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday when the Tigers play host to Grambling in Alex Box Stadium.
Overall Record: 23-8
SEC Record: 8-4
Last Week: 2-2
April 1 ? at Tulane (L, 7-8)
April 3 ? at #1 Georgia (W, 8-4)
April 4 ? at #1 Georgia (L, 8-10)
April 5 ? at # 1 Georgia (W, 7-5)
Nominee for Player of the Week
Micah Gibbs, C, So., Pflugerville, Texas
Catcher Micah Gibbs was LSU’s leading hitter in its series victory over No. 1 Georgia, batting .444 (4-for-9) with two homers, four RBI and four runs scored … for the entire week, Gibbs hit .385 (5-for-13) with two homers, four RBI and four runs … he also walked three times and was hit by a pitch, posting a .500 on-base percentage … Gibbs also threw out a Georgia base runner attempting a steal during the weekend series.
33 Micah Gibbs
AVG GP-GS AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB SLG% BB HBP SO GDP OB% SF SH SB-ATT .385 4-4 13 4 5 0 0 2 4 11 .846 3 1 0 0 .500 1 0 0-1
Nominee for Pitcher of the Week
Louis Coleman, RHP, Sr., Schlater, Miss.
Senior right-hander Louis Coleman turned in another superb effort this weekend as the Tigers won two of three games over No. 1 Georgia in Athens … Coleman pitched in relief in LSU’s 8-4 win on Friday night, working 2.1 innings and allowing one run on two hits with no walks and four strikeouts … Coleman returned to the mound as LSU’s starter on Sunday and pitched eight innings to clinch the series victory for the Tigers … he limited the Bulldogs to five runs on eight hits with one walk and nine strikeouts in the 7-5 LSU triumph … for the series, Coleman worked a total of 10.1 innings, allowing six runs on 10 hits with one walk and 13 strikeouts.
ERA W-L APP GS CG SHO/CBO SV IP H R ER BB SO 2B 3B HR AB B/Avg 5.23 1-0 2 1 0 0/0 0 10.1 10 6 6 1 13 3 0 3 40 .250
Nominee for Freshman of the Week
Tyler Hanover, 3B, Fr., Kernersville, N.C.
True freshman Tyler Hanover helped lead LSU to a series victory over No. 1 Georgia last weekend, batting .385 (5-for-13) in three games with two doubles, four RBI and three runs … for the entire week, Hanover hit a team-high .438 (7-for-16) with two doubles, seven RBI and three runs scored … Hanover also walked once and recorded a .471 on-base percentage.
AVG GP-GS AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB SLG% BB HBP SO GDP OB% SF SH SB-ATT .438 4-4 16 3 7 2 0 0 7 9 .563 1 0 5 0 .471 0 0 0-2
Notes on the Tigers
LSU won two of three games last weekend at No. 1 Georgia, marking the Tigers’ eighth straight SEC series win, dating back to last season … the Tigers have not lost an SEC series since April 18-20, 2008 versus Georgia in Baton Rouge … Friday’s 8-4 win over Georgia marked LSU coach Paul Mainieri‘s 100th victory at the helm of the Tiger program … Mainieri has a 101-53-2 mark (.654) in three seasons at LSU, and he has guided the Tigers to 49 wins in 60 games (.817) since April 22 of last season … senior right-hander Louis Coleman turned in another superb effort this weekend as the Tigers won two of three games over No. 1 Georgia in Athens … Coleman pitched in relief in LSU’s 8-4 win on Friday night, working 2.1 innings and allowing one run on two hits with no walks and four strikeouts … Coleman returned to the mound as LSU’s starter on Sunday and pitched eight innings to clinch the series victory for the Tigers … he limited the Bulldogs to five runs on eight hits with one walk and nine strikeouts in the 7-5 LSU triumph … for the series, Coleman worked a total of 10.1 innings, allowing six runs on 10 hits with one walk and 13 strikeouts … catcher Micah Gibbs was LSU’s leading hitter in its series victory over No. 1 Georgia, batting .444 (4-for-9) with two homers, four RBI and four runs scored … for the entire week, Gibbs hit .385 (5-for-13) with two homers, four RBI and four runs … he also walked three times and was hit by a pitch, posting a .500 on-base percentage … Gibbs also threw out a Georgia base runner attempting a steal during the weekend series … true freshman third baseman Tyler Hanover helped lead LSU to a series victory over No. 1 Georgia last weekend, batting .385 (5-for-13) in three games with two doubles, four RBI and three runs … for the entire week, Hanover hit a team-high .438 (7-for-16) with two doubles, seven RBI and three runs scored … Hanover also walked once and recorded a .471 on-base percentage .. sophomore right-hander Anthony Ranaudo earned his first career SEC regular-season win Friday, defeating top-ranked Georgia in Athens … Ranaudo blanked the Bulldogs through six innings, allowing just four hits with five walks and 10 strikeouts … Ranaudo leads the SEC in Ks with 70 this season; he is now 3-2 on the year with a 2.66 ERA and a .192 opponent batting average … LSU launched six homers in the Georgia series, including three against All-SEC right-hander Trevor Holder on Friday … Holder had allowed just three HRs all season prior to facing LSU … the Tigers’ final homer of the weekend was a two-run blast by freshman rightfielder Mikie Mahtook in the sixth inning on Sunday, a dinger that gave LSU a 6-5 lead and proved to be the game-winning hit in a 7-5 win .. Mahtook hit .364 (4-for-11) in the UGA series with one homer, three RBI, two steals and two runs scored.
Baseball America Top 25
April 6, 2009
Rk. Team W-L Last Week Prev.
1. Arizona State 23-5 4-1 3
2. LSU 23-8 2-2 2
3. Rice 21-7 4-0 4
4. North Carolina 24-7 4-1 5
5. UC Irvine 19-8 3-1 8
6. Cal State Fullerton 20-7 2-3 1
7. Baylor 20-8 3-2 7
8. Georgia 25-5 3-2 6
9. Texas 20-8 3-1 9
10. Miami 23-8 3-1 11
11. Oklahoma 25-7 3-1 12
12. Arkansas 22-6 3-1 13
13. Georgia Tech 19-6 1-2 10
14. Mississippi 22-8 6-0 15
15. East Carolina 25-5 5-0 16
16. Oregon State 18-6 3-0 19
17. Texas A&M 20-11 2-2 14
18. San Diego State 22-11 4-2 21
19. Texas Christian 19-9 4-0 22
20. Oklahoma State 21-10 2-3 17
21. Cal Poly 21-7 4-0 23
22. Virginia 26-5 4-1 24
23. Hawaii 19-10 3-1 NR
24. Coastal Carolina 24-7 5-0 NR
25. San Diego 22-11 3-1 NR
Dropped Out: New Mexico (18), Florida (20), Minnesota (25)
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s NCAA Div. I Poll
April 6, 2009
Rank School (Record) Points Previous
1. Arkansas (22-6) 493 4
2. Arizona St. (23-5) 492 7
3. North Carolina (24-7) 490 6
4. LSU (23-8) 487 5
5. Georgia (25-5) 486 1
6. Rice (21-7) 483 8
7. U.C. Irvine (19-8) 480 12
8. Cal. St. Fullerton (20-7) 479 2
9. Georgia Tech. (19-6) 478 3
10. Miami, Fla. (23-8) 477 9
11. Virginia (26-5) 475 10
12. Oklahoma (25-7) 473 13
13. Baylor (20-8) 469 11
14. Texas (20-8) 468 14
15. Mississippi (22-8) 466 17
16. Cal Poly (21-7) 463 16
17. Oregon St. (18-6) 459 23
18. Texas Christian (19-9) 457 27
19. Coastal Carolina (24-7) 452 ?
20. Oklahoma St. (21-10) 449 15
21. Texas A&M (20-11) 442 21
22. Florida (19-11) 438 19
23. New Mexico St. (28-4) 437 24
24. East Carolina (25-5) 434 29
25. George Mason (24-5) 430 ?
26. Georgia Southern (21-7) 429 ?
27. Eastern Illinois (21-5) 427 ?
28. San Diego St. (22-11) 425 25
29. San Diego (22-11) 424 30
30. Minnesota (16-9) 422 ?
USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 Coaches’ Poll
April 6, 2009
Rank School (first-place votes) Record Points Last week
1 Arizona State (14) 23-5 737 3
2 North Carolina (3) 24-7 685 6
3 Georgia (7) 25-5 678 1
4 LSU (5) 23-8 670 5
5 Miami (Fla.) 23-8 614 7
6 Cal State-Fullerton (2) 20-7 586 2
7 Rice 21-7 547 9
8 Georgia Tech 19-6 538 4
9 Arkansas 22-6 534 8
10 UC-Irvine 19-8 506 13
11 Oklahoma 25-7 495 10
12 Texas 20-8 397 14
13 Baylor 20-8 390 12
14 Virginia 26-5 331 16
15 Texas A&M 20-11 311 11
16 East Carolina 25-5 267 18
17 Mississippi 22-8 263 20
18 Oklahoma State 21-10 260 15
19 Coastal Carolina 24-7 207 19
20 Clemson 20-10 171 17
21 San Diego 22-11 146 25
22 Oregon State 18-6 115 NR
23 TCU 19-9 112 NR
24 Cal Poly 21-7 106 NR
25 Florida State 18-10 69 23
Dropped out: No. 21 Florida (19-11), No. 22 Ohio State (22-7), No. 24 New Mexico (25-8).
Others receiving votes: San Diego State 52; Florida 47; UC-Riverside 33; Ohio State 32; Kansas State 19; Gonzaga 17; New Mexico State 17; New Mexico 16; George Mason 14; Brigham Young 10; Hawaii 10; Minnesota 9; Missouri 9; South Carolina 9; West Virginia 7; Middle Tennessee 5; Georgia Southern 4; Illinois 4; Liberty 4; Alabama 3; Centenary 3; Eastern Illinois 3; San Jose State 3; UC-Santa Barbara 3; Wichita State 3; Boston College 2; Florida International 1; Pepperdine 1.