Overall Record: 6-1
Last Week’s Results
Feb. 19 (Tue.) – LAMAR (W, 8-1)
Feb. 21 (Thu.) – BYU (W, 6-5)
Feb. 22 (Fri.) – SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (W, 13-1 – game was completed on Sunday, 2/24)
Feb. 23 (Sat.) – BYU (L, 4-9)
This Week’s Schedule
Feb. 26 (Tue.) – at Louisiana-Lafayette, 6 p.m. CT
March 1 (Fri.) – BROWN, 7 p.m. CT (Cox Sports Television)
March 2 (Sat.) – BROWN, 6:30 p.m. CT
March 3 (Sun.) – NICHOLLS STATE, 3 p.m. CT (Cox Sports Television)
Notes on the Tigers
LSU won three of its four games last week to improve to 6-1 this season … senior leftfielder Raph Rhymes batted .533 (8-for-15) in the Tigers’ four games last week with two doubles, six RBI, five runs and a .632 on-base percentage … he delivered the game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning on Thursday to lift LSU to a 6-5 walk-off victory over BYU … Rhymes recorded the fourth four-hit game of his career on Sunday in LSU’s win over Southeastern Louisiana, going 4-for-5 at the plate with two doubles, five RBI and three runs scored … Rhymes is batting a team-high .423 (11-for-26) on the year with two doubles and six RBI … he has a .516 on-base percentage and has not yet struck out this season in 31 plate appearances … freshman outfielder Mark Laird batted .500 (8-for-16) in four games last week with two doubles, one RBI and seven runs scored … he recorded a .529 on-base percentage and recorded two sacrifice bunts from his No. 2 position in the Tigers’ batting order … Laird was 3-for-4 with two doubles and four runs scored in LSU’s win Sunday over Southeastern Louisiana, and he was 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored in the Tigers’ victory on Thursday over BYU … senior first baseman Mason Katz enjoyed an exceptional week at the plate, batting .412 (7-for-17) with two doubles, two homers, 10 RBI and three runs … his three-run blast in the first inning against Southeastern Louisiana ignited the Tigers’ 13-1 victory over the Lions … junior right-hander Ryan Eades earned his first win of the season, defeating Southeastern Louisiana with six solid innings of work … Eades limited SLU to one run on seven hits in six innings with one walk and five strikeouts – he threw 10 pitches in the first inning when the game began on Friday; after the game was suspended in the bottom of the first Friday and resumed on Sunday, he returned to fire 86 more pitches to secure the win … Thursday’s win 6-5 over BYU marked the Tigers’ first walk-off victory of the season – with LSU trailing 5-4 with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, junior third baseman Christian Ibarra launched his first career homer as a Tiger to tie the game at 5-5 … centerfielder Chris Sciambra walked before Laird and shortstop Alex Bregman delivered back-to-back singles to load the bases, setting the stage for leftfielder Raph Rhymes‘ game-winning single to end the contest.
Baseball America Top 25
Rk. Team, W-L, Prev.
1. North Carolina, 6-0, 1
2. Vanderbilt, 7-1, 2
3. Arkansas, 7-1, 3
4. Louisville, 6-1, 4
5. Mississippi State, 9-0, 5
6. Oregon State, 8-0, 6
7. South Carolina, 5-1, 7
8. Mississippi, 7-0, 8
9. LSU, 6-1, 9
10. NC State, 5-1, 10
11. Kentucky, 5-1, 11
12. UCLA, 4-2, 12
13. Rice, 5-2, 13
14. Oregon, 6-1, 14
15. Stanford, 5-2, 15
16. Georgia Tech, 6-1, 16
17. Cal State Fullerton, 8-0, 20
18. Oklahoma, 9-0, 18
19. Florida State, 7-0, 19
20. Arizona, 7-1, 23
21. UC Irvine, 6-1, 25
22. Notre Dame, 5-1, NR
23. Florida Gulf Coast, 5-1, NR
24. Southern Mississippi, 5-2, 21
25. Virginia Tech, 6-1, 24
Dropped out: Florida (17), Texas Christian (22).
USA Today Top 25 Baseball Coaches’ Poll
Rank, School (record), Points, rank, votes
1. North Carolina (6-0), 734, 4, 21
2. Arkansas (7-1), 709, 1, 7
3. Vanderbilt (7-1), 652, 8
4. LSU (6-1), 613, 3
5. Oregon State (8-0), 604, 14, 1
6. Florida State (7-0), 586, 9, 1
7. Oregon (6-1), 578, 6
8. South Carolina (5-1), 545, 5
9. Cal State-Fullerton (8-0), 450, 22
10. Arizona (7-1), 448, 10, 1
11. UCLA (4-2), 441, 2
12. Oklahoma (9-0), 439, 16
13. Mississippi State (9-0), 436, t18
14. Rice (5-2), 339, 17
15. Kentucky (5-1), 325, 15
16. Stanford (5-2), 324, 7
17. Mississippi (7-0), 311, NR
18. North Carolina State (5-1), 285, 11
19. Virginia (7-0), 202, t25
20. Georgia Tech (6-1), 190, 21
21. Miami (Fla.) (7-0), 180, NR
22. Louisville (6-1), 156, t25
23. Texas (6-1), 102, NR
24. UC-Irvine (6-1), 92, NR
25. Arizona State (4-2), 87, 20
Dropped out: No. 12 TCU (0-6), No. 13 Florida (3-5), No. 18 (tie) San Diego (3-4), No. 23 Baylor (2-5), No. 24 Texas A&M (5-3).
Others receiving votes: Clemson 49; Cal Poly 39; Florida 24; Florida Gulf Coast 18; Notre Dame 13; Oklahoma State 13; Pepperdine 12; Texas A&M 12; Alabama 10; Missouri State 9; Pittsburgh 9; TCU 8; Southern Mississippi 6; Virginia Tech 6; Auburn 5; South Alabama 5; Louisiana-Lafayette 4; Creighton 1; Mercer 1; Radford 1; San Diego 1; Tulane 1.
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s NCAA Div. I Poll
Rank School (Record) Points Previous
1. North Carolina (6-0) 496 1
2. Arkansas (7-1) 494 2
3. Vanderbilt (7-1) 493 3
4. LSU (6-1) 489 4
5. Oregon St. (8-0) 486 9
6. Oregon (6-1) 485 5
7. South Carolina (5-1) 483 7
8. Kentucky (5-1) 478 8
9. Mississippi St. (9-0) 475 12
10. Oklahoma (9-0) 471 14
11. N.C. State (5-1) 469 13
12. UCLA (4-2) 468 6
13. Rice (5-2) 465 10
14. Stanford (5-2) 464 11
15. Arizona (7-1) 463 15
16. Mississippi (7-0) 461 16
17. Cal. St. Fullerton (8-0) 459 19
18. Florida St. (7-0) 457 18
19. Georgia Tech. (6-1) 456 17
20. Miami, Fla. (7-0) 453 20
21. U.C. Irvine (6-1) 450 21
22. Texas (6-1) 448 25
23. Louisville (6-1) 447 26
24. Virginia (7-0) 445 29
25. Florida Gulf Coast (5-1) 442 –
26. Arizona St. (4-2) 439 23
27. Cal Poly (7-0) 438 –
28. Clemson (5-1) 436 28
29. Pepperdine (6-2) 433 –
30. South Alabama (7-0) 429 –