BATON ROUGE – Seventh-ranked LSU (23-6, 6-3 SEC) begins a three-game SEC series against the top-ranked Florida Gators at 7:30 p.m. ET Thursday. Game 2 of the series starts at 7 p.m. ET Friday, and first pitch for Game 3 is 4 p.m. ET Saturday.
The games will be carried by the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network, with Baton Rouge affiliate WDGL 98.1 FM serving as the flagship station. Live audio and stats of the game may be accessed in the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net/live. Live video will be available in the Geaux Zone on Friday and Saturday at www.lsusports.net/HDbaseball.
Thursday’s game will be televised by ESPNU, and Friday’s game will be televised by Fox Sports Florida. Saturday’s game will not be televised.
“We’re playing very well right now, and we’re going to Gainesville with a lot confidence,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “We know that Florida has an ultra-talented ball club, but our players are looking forward to the challenge. Florida is especially tough at home, but we’ll compete hard on every pitch and we’ll see where we stand at the end of the weekend.”
Mainieri said that sophomore right-hander Kurt McCune (1-3, 4.76 ERA) will start Thursday’s game for the Tigers. McCune, who has worked out of the Tigers’ bullpen since March 18, will make his first start since March 11 versus Notre Dame. McCune was moved into a starting role this week after freshman right-hander Aaron Nola was diagnosed with muscle fatigue in his throwing shoulder and is listed as doubtful for the Florida series.
Sophomore right-hander Kevin Gausman (5-0, 2.27 ERA) will start for the Tigers on Friday, and sophomore right-hander Ryan Eades (4-1, 1.91 ERA) will take the mound on Friday.
Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan will counter with junior left-hander Brian Johnson (4-0, 3.28 ERA) in Game 1, sophomore right-hander Karsten Whitson (1-0, 4.05 ERA) in Game 2 and junior right-hander Hudson Randall (3-1, 3.56 ERA) in Game 3.
LSU’s three-game SEC sweep of third-ranked Arkansas last weekend was the Tigers’ first league sweep over a ranked team since May 3-4, 2008, at Kentucky. LSU’s three homers in its 10-6 win over Arkansas on Friday marked the Tigers’ first three-homer game since May 21, 2010 versus Mississippi State.
LSU enters the Florida series ranked No. 1 in the SEC in fielding percentage (.980), No. 3 in batting average (.309) and No. 3 in ERA (3.00)
LSU junior leftfielder Raph Rhymes was named SEC Player of the Week Monday after he enjoyed a phenomenal week at the plate, batting .588 (10-for-17) with one homer, six RBI and three runs in leading LSU to four wins in four games. Rhymes batted .583 (7-for-12) in the Tigers’ sweep of Arkansas with one homer, six RBI, one run, one steal and a .643 on-base percentage. Rhymes, who is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak, is the leading hitter in the SEC this season, batting .491 (53-for-108) on the year with six doubles, one homer, 34 RBI, 22 runs and a .533 on-base percentage
Sophomore catcher Ty Ross batted .462 (6-for-13) in the Arkansas series with one double, one homer, two RBI and three runs. Ross provided the game-winning, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over the Razorbacks.
Sophomore second baseman JaCoby Jones batted .429 (6-for-14) in the Arkansas series with a double and an RBI, while senior shortstop Austin Nola hit .400 (4-for-10) with one double and two RBI.
Junior left-hander Chris Cotton appeared in all three Arkansas games in relief, firing a total of 2.2 scoreless innings and allowing just one hit with one walks and one strikeout. The LSU bullpen was exceptional throughout the series, limiting Arkansas to just one run on five hits in 8.2 innings with one walk and 11 strikeouts.
Florida leads the SEC with 41 homers on the year, and the Gators are No. 5 in the league with a .293 team batting average. The Gators are fifth in the conference with a 3.08 team ERA and second in the league with a .979 fielding percentage.
The Gators are led at the plate by junior catcher Mike Zunino, who is batting .350 with eight doubles, nine homers and 33 RBI. Senior outfielder Daniel Pigott is batting .333 with six doubles, two triples, three homers and 20 RBI, while senior infielder/outfielder Preston Tucker is hitting .324 with six doubles, two triples, nine homers and 26 RBI.
LSU leads the all-time series with Florida, 51-38-1, though the Gators have won seven of the last eight meetings between the teams. The Gators have won the last seven regular-season meetings between the clubs, including three-game sweeps of the Tigers in 2010 and 2011. LSU’s only win over the Gators in the last eight meetings came in the first round of the 2010 SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.
#7 LSU Fighting Tigers (23-6, 6-3 SEC) at #1 Florida Gators (24-5, 6-3 SEC)
DATES/TIMES
Thursday, April 5 – 6:30 p.m. CT; Friday, April 6 – 6 p.m. CT; Saturday, April 7 – 3 p.m. CT
STADIUM
McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 7 by Collegiate Baseball; No. 12 by USA Today/ESPN; No. 12 by Baseball America
UF – No. 1 by USA Today/ESPN; No. 1 by Baseball America; No. 2 by Collegiate Baseball
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
The Baton Rouge affiliate is WDGL 98.1 FM
Pregame show starts 15 minutes prior to first pitch
INTERNET
www.LSUsports.net – live audio and stats for all three games; live video Friday and Saturday available to members of the Geaux Zone, shared from www.Gatorzone.com
TV
Thursday – ESPNU
Friday – Fox Sports Florida
Saturday – No TV
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads the all-time series with Florida, 51-38-1, though the Gators have won seven of the last eight meetings between the teams. The Gators have won the last seven regular-season meetings between the clubs, including three-game sweeps of the Tigers in 2010 and 2011. LSU’s only win over the Gators in the last eight meetings came in the first round of the 2010 SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – So. RHP Kurt McCune (1-3, 4.76 ERA, 22.2 IP, 10 BB, 16 SO)
UF – Jr. LHP Brian Johnson (4-0, 3.28 ERA, 35.2 IP, 8 BB, 29 SO)
Game 2
LSU – So. RHP Kevin Gausman (5-0, 2.27 ERA, 47.2 IP, 13 BB, 62 SO)
UF – So. RHP Karsten Whitson (1-0, 4.05 ERA, 6.2 IP, 3 BB, 4 SO)
Game 3
LSU – So. RHP Ryan Eades (4-1, 1.91 ERA, 47.0 IP, 9 BB, 39 SO)
UF – Jr. RHP Hudson Randall (3-1, 3.56 ERA, 43.0, 3 BB, 38 SO)