BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 9 LSU (16-5, 0-3) resumes Southeastern Conference play this weekend as the Tigers travel to Athens to face the Georgia Bulldogs (9-12, 1-2).
Live audio and stats of the games may be accessed in the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net/live. The games can also be heard on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network.
Friday’s game will be televised by WSB-TV in Atlanta, and it will be shown in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lafayette on Cox Cable Ch. 4. Saturday’s game will be televised by Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS).
“We’re looking forward to our first SEC road trip of the season,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “Georgia is a very talented club that will present us with a lot of challenges. Many of our guys will be playing in an SEC road series for the first time in their careers, so their ability to adapt to a new environment will be very important for us this weekend.”
Mainieri said freshman right-hander Kurt McCune (3-0) will start on the mound Friday for the Tigers, followed by freshman right-hander Kevin Gausman (2-1) on Saturday and senior right-hander Ben Alsup (3-2) on Sunday.
Georgia coach Dave Perno will counter with sophomore lefty Alex Wood, junior right-hander Michael Palazzone and junior southpaw Craig Gullickson.
McCune and Gausman each delivered outstanding starting pitching efforts against top-ranked Florida last weekend . McCune worked seven innings on Friday, limiting the Gators to one earned run on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Gausman pitching eight innings on Saturday, allowing just one run on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
The Tigers dropped three games last weekend to the Gators to open SEC action. The LSU-Florida series in Alex Box Stadium drew an actual attendance figure of 28,215 (an average of 9,638 per game), establishing a stadium record for a three-game set. The paid attendance figure for the series of 34,562 (11,521 average) also set a stadium mark.
LSU enters Friday’s game ranked No. 4 in the SEC in team batting average and No. 9 in the league in staff ERA. The Tigers are batting .313 as a team with 46 doubles, five triples, 15 homers and 43 steals on the year. The LSU pitching staff has a 3.62 ERA with 163 strikeouts and a .227 opponent batting average in 189 innings.
The Tigers are led at the plate by freshman second baseman JaCoby Jones, who is hitting .384 with two doubles, one triple, three homers and 17 RBI. Sophomore designated hitter Raph Rhymes is batting .376 with eight doubles, one homer and 20 RBI while junior centerfielder Mikie Mahtook is hitting .351 with six doubles, one triple, an SEC-high six homers and 22 RBI.
Georgia is No. 12 in the SEC in both team batting average and staff ERA. The Bulldogs are batting .258 with 34 doubles, two triples, eight homers and 16 stolen bases. The UGA pitching staff has a 4.88 ERA with 155 strikeouts and a .281 opponent batting average in 182.2 innings.
The Bulldogs are led at the plate by junior infielder Levi Hyams, who is hitting .360 with seven doubles, one homer and 12 RBI. Sophomore infielder Curt Powell is batting .306 with three RBI, while junior outfielder/first baseman Chase Davidson is hitting .295 with seven doubles, two homers and 14 RBI.
LSU leads the all-time series with Georgia, 57-19-2, including a 2-1 series victory over the Bulldogs last season in Baton Rouge.
LSU has won six of its last seven SEC regular-season series versus UGA.
The Bulldogs’ lone series victory in that span came in 2008 in Baton Rouge when Georgia won the first two games and Game 3 ended in a 10-10 tie. The game had to be halted after 12 innings to allow the Bulldogs time to catch their flight home to Athens.
#9 LSU Fighting Tigers (16-5, 0-3 SEC) at Georgia Bulldogs (9-12, 1-2 SEC)
GAME DATES/TIMES
Friday, March 25 – 7:30 p.m. ET; Saturday, March 26 – 4 p.m. ET; Sunday, March 27 – 2 p.m. ET
STADIUM
Foley Field in Athens, Ga.
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 9 by Collegiate Baseball; No. 10 by ESPN/USA Today; No. 11 Baseball America
UGA – unranked
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates/flagship station is WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge
INTERNET
www.LSUsports.net – live audio and stats
TV
Friday – WSB-TV (may been seen on Cox 4 in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lafayette)
Saturday – Comcast Sports Southeast
Sunday – no TV
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads the all-time series with Georgia, 57-19-2, including a 2-1 series victory over the Bulldogs last season in Baton Rouge.
LSU has won six of its last seven SEC regular-season series versus UGA. The Bulldogs’ lone series victory in that span came in 2008 in Baton Rouge when Georgia won the first two games and Game 3 ended in a 10-10 tie. The game had to be halted after 12 innings to allow the Bulldogs time to catch their flight home to Athens.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
GAME 1
LSU – Fr. RHP Kurt McCune (3-0, 1.15 ERA, 31.1 IP, 7 BB, 21 SO)
UGA – So. LHP Alex Wood (2-2, 3.60 ERA, 25.0 IP, 5 BB, 27 SO)
GAME 2
LSU – Fr. RHP Kevin Gausman (2-1, 2.76 ERA, 32.2 IP, 10 BB, 31 SO)
UGA – Jr. RHP Michael Palazzone (2-1, 2.64 ERA, 30.2 IP, 3 BB, 27 SO)
GAME 3
LSU – Sr. RHP Ben Alsup (3-2, 3.42 ERA, 26.1 IP, 11 BB, 20 SO)
UGA – Jr. LHP Craig Gulllickson (1-1, 6.00 ERA, 15.0 IP, 7 BB, 9 SO)