BATON ROUGE — Second-ranked LSU (23-8) plays its first home game in 10 days at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday as the Tigers meet Grambling State (5-23) 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 games may be accessed in the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net.
LSU is ranked No. 2 this week by Baseball America magazine after posting an SEC series victory last weekend at Georgia, which was ranked No. 1 at the time of the series. LSU has won eight straight conference series, dating back to last season.
LSU resumes SEC play this weekend at Alabama. LSU coach Paul Mainieri hopes Wednesday’s game will give the Tigers momentum heading into the series in Tuscaloosa.
“We’re excited about the first meeting in baseball between Grambling and LSU,” Mainieri said. “Grambling’s coach, Barret Rey, was an assistant coach at Southern under Roger Cador, and he’s worked in our camps over the summer. Barret called me and asked if we would play his team, and I’m glad we were able to add them to our schedule.”
Mainieri said freshman left-hander Randy Zeigler (0-0, 6.00 ERA) will make his first career collegiate start on Wednesday versus Grambling.
GSU is scheduled to counter with senior right-hander Baron Hinton (0-0, 5.40 ERA).
Friday’s 8-4 win over Georgia marked 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.
Sophomore catcher Micah Gibbs was named SEC Player of the Week Monday after he was LSU’s leading hitter in its series victory Georgia. Gibbs batted .444 (4-for-9) with two homers, four RBI and four runs scored against the Bulldogs. 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.
Freshman third baseman Tyler Hanover also helped lead LSU over Georgia last weekend, batting .385 (5-for-13) in three games with two doubles, four RBI and three run. 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.
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.
Grambling is hitting .296 on the year with 18 home runs and 21 stolen bases. GSU is led by Anthony Clifton (.361, 2 HR, 18 RBI), Manny Kumar (.345, 0 HR, 12 RBI) and Steve Kletke (.324, 3 HR, 15 RBI).
LSU is 2-0 against Southwestern Athletic Conference teams this season, having defeated Southern (11-5) on Feb. 25 and Mississippi Valley State (10-4) on March 4.
Grambling State Tigers (5-23) at #2 LSU Fighting Tigers (23-8)
DATE/TIME
Wednesday, April 8 ? 6:30 p.m. CT
STADIUM
Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. (9,200)
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 2 by Baseball America, No. 4 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 4 by USA Today/ESPN
GSU – unranked
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
The Baton Rouge affiliate is WDGL 98.1 FM
INTERNET
www.LSUsports.net ? live video, audio and stats in the Geaux Zone.
TV
None
SERIES RECORD
First Meeting
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU ? Fr. LHP Randy Zeigler (0-0, 6.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 2 BB, 4 SO)
GSU ? Sr. RHP Baron Hinton (0-0, 5.40 ERA, 16.2 IP, 18 BB, 9 SO)