BATON ROUGE – No. 7 LSU (9-0) plays host to Princeton (0-0) this weekend in a three-game series that begins at 7 p.m. Friday Alex Box Stadium. Game 2 of the series starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, and Game 3 begins at noon on Sunday.
Live video, audio and stats of the games may be accessed in the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net/HDbaseball. The games can be also be heard on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network.
LSU is ranked No. 7 this week in the Collegiate Baseball magazine poll, and the Tigers are No. 9 in the USA Today/ESPN ranking. The Tigers have won their first nine games by a combined score of 99-29 while recording a .348 team batting average and a 2.56 team ERA.
LSU is undefeated through nine games for the third straight season. The Tigers began the 2009 season with nine straight wins, and LSU started the 2010 season with a 12-0 mark.
The Tigers have posted two wins already this week, defeating Southeastern Louisiana (7-3) on Tuesday and Mississippi Valley State (10-8) on Wednesday.
“I really like the way our team has played thus far,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “It’s still very early, but I feel the players are meeting nearly all of our expectations. Our pitching and hitting have been solid; the only area in which we haven’t played as well as I would like is on defense, but I’m confident we’ll get better there.”
Mainieri said that freshman right-hander Kurt McCune (2-0) will start on the mound Friday for the Tigers. McCune, a native of Norco, La., has a 0.75 ERA and has recorded two walks and 10 strikeouts in 12 innings of work.
“Kurt has really been outstanding for us the past two weekends,” Mainieri said. “He competes extremely hard, and he shows a tremendous amount of poise. I’m anxious to see how he performs under the lights in front of a big crowd.”
Friday’s game will mark the 2011 season opener for Princeton, which posted a 12-30 overall mark last season, 6-14 in the Ivy League. Princeton coach Scott Bradley will send sophomore right-hander Matt Bowman (1-4, 3.74 ERA in 2010) to the mound Friday.
The Tigers have scored in double figures in six of their past seven games. Three LSU players have reached base in all nine games this season – junior centerfielder Mikie Mahtook, junior leftfielder Trey Watkins and sophomore rightfielder Mason Katz. Dating back to the end of last season, Katz has hit safely in 13 straight games.
LSU second baseman JaCoby Jones was named SEC Freshman of the Week Monday after batting a blistering .636 (7-for-11) last week with one double, one homer, six RBI, five runs and two steals. Jones led the Tigers to a three-game weekend sweep over Holy Cross by hitting .750 (6-for-8) with one double, one homer, four RBI, four runs and two steals.
Jones recorded four hits in the Game 1 victory over the Crusaders, becoming the first LSU freshman to collect four hits in a game since catcher Micah Gibbs accomplished the feat versus New Orleans on May 13, 2008.
Jones is hitting a team-best .536 (12-for-21) on the year with one double, three homers, 12 RBI, nine runs and three stolen bases.
Princeton hit .263 as team last season with 37 homers and 26 steals in 34 attempts. Sophomore outfielder Jon Mishu is Princeton’s top returning hitter, batting .304 with seven doubles, two triples, five homers and 23 RBI.
LSU and Princeton will meet for the first time since 1976, when the Tigers won two of three games over their Ivy League opponent in the original Alex Box Stadium.
Princeton Tigers (0-0) at #7 LSU Fighting Tigers (9-0)
GAME DATES/TIMES
Friday, March 4 – 7 p.m.; Saturday, March 5 – 7 p.m.; Sunday, March 6 – 12 p.m.
STADIUM
Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. (10,150)
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 7 by Collegiate Baseball; No. 9 by ESPN/USA Today; No. 19 by Baseball America
Princeton – unranked
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates/flagship station is WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge
INTERNET
www.LSUsports.net – live audio, video and stats
TV
None
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads, 2-1 /LSU won two of three games over Princeton in 1976 in a series played at the original Alex Box Stadium.
PITCHING MATCHUP
GAME 1
LSU – Fr. RHP Kurt McCune (2-0, 0.75 ERA, 12.0 IP, 2 BB, 10 SO)
Princeton – So. RHP Matt Bowman (1-4, 3.74 ERA, 21.2 IP, 12 BB, 19 SO in 2010)
GAME 2
LSU – Fr. RHP Kevin Gausman (1-0, 3.86 ERA, 11.2 IP, 3 BB, 13 SO)
Princeton – Fr. RHP Mike Ford (first collegiate appearance)
GAME 3
LSU – Sr. RHP Ben Alsup (2-0, 0.82 ERA, 11.2 IP, 5 BB, 5 SO)
Princeton – So. RHP Zak Hermans (4-3, 7.38 ERA, 46.1 IP, 24 BB, 25 SO in 2010)