BATON ROUGE — No. 15 LSU (32-13) plays host to Southeastern Louisiana (33-13) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Alex Box Stadium.
The game will be carried by the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network. Live video, audio and stats may be accessed in the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net.
The LSU-SLU contest will be televised by Cox Sports Television.
LSU is ranked No. 15 in this week’s USA Today/ESPN poll, No. 17 by the NCBWA and No. 24 by Baseball America.
“We’ve got 11 games left in the regular season, and we’re looking to get things moving in a positive direction during this stretch run,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “Everything we want to accomplish this season is still in front of us. It starts with a tremendous challenge against Southeastern as they have an excellent ball club.”
Mainieri said junior right-hander Austin Ross (3-4, 5.54 ERA) will start Tuesday’s game on the mound for the Tigers. SLU coach Jay Artigues will counter with sophomore right-hander Josh Janway (3-0, 2.08 ERA).
LSU sophomore rightfielder Mikie Mahtook batted .500 (9-for-18) in the Tigers’ four games last week with two doubles, one homer, five RBI and five runs. He was 7-for-14 in LSU’s series at Florida with one double, one homer, three RBI and three runs. Mahtook leads the SEC in doubles this season with 16, and he is No. 2 in the league in steals (21), total bases (120) and slugging percentage (.727).
Junior centerfielder Leon Landry hit .583 (7-for-12) in the Florida series with one double, one homer, four RBI and three runs. Freshman Alex Edward, who recently has played as the Tigers’ starting leftfielder, hit .357 (5-for-14) in four games last week with one double and two RBI.
Right-hander Ben Alsup continues to pitch effectively out of the bullpen, as he fired three shutout innings against Florida on Saturday, limiting the Gators to one hit with no walks and two strikeouts. In his last 12 innings of work (three appearances), Alsup has allowed just one run on seven hits with one walk and eight strikeouts.
Reliever Paul Bertuccini has made 99 career appearances for LSU, and he is just nine shy of tying the school record for appearances set by Mark LaRosa (108 appearances from 1988-91).
LSU senior first baseman Blake Dean has 306 career hits and is No. 5 on the all-time LSU hits list. Dean has 244 career RBI, which is No. 4 on the school career RBI list; he is also No. 4 in career homers (52) and No. 3 in career doubles (62).
Catcher Micah Gibbs is No. 4 in the SEC this season with a .406 batting average. Gibbs, a 2010 preseason All-America selection, has eight doubles, three triples, five homers, 41 RBI and seven steals on the year.
Southeastern Louisiana is hitting .293 as a team this season with 30 homers and 59 stolen bases. The Lions are led at the plate by junior outfielder Jeff Harkensee, who is hitting .330 with 21 doubles, one triple, five homers and 35 RBI.
Sophomore infielder Justin Boudreaux is batting .326 for SLU with 11 doubles, one triple, 10 homers and 53 RBI.
LSU leads the overall series with Southeastern Louisiana, 59-17, and the Tigers defeated the Lions twice last season – 16-5 in Hammond and 6-5 in Baton Rouge.
LSU has won 13 of the last 14 meetings between the schools — SLU’s win in that stretch came in 2008, a 6-3 victory over the Tigers in the original Alex Box Stadium. LSU has a 32-3 mark against Southeastern Louisiana since 1990.
Southeastern Louisiana Lions (33-13) at #15 LSU Fighting Tigers (32-13)
GAME DATE/TIME
Tuesday, May 4 – 6:30 p.m. CT
STADIUM
Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. (10,150)
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 15 by USA Today/ESPN; No. 17 by NCBWA; No. 24 by Baseball America
SLU – unranked
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates/Baton Rouge affiliate is WDGL 98.1 FM
INTERNET
www.LSUsports.net – live video, audio and stats
TV
Cox Sports Television
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads, 59-17, in a series that began in 1937.
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU – Jr. RHP Austin Ross (3-4, 5.54 ERA , 50.1 IP, 13 BB, 57 SO)
SLU – So. RHP Josh Janway (3-0, 2.08 ERA, 39.0 IP, 9 BB, 37 SO)