Overall Record: 15-1
Last Week’s Results
March 5 (Tue.) – STEPHEN F. AUSTIN (W, 9-2)
March 6 (Wed.) – SACRED HEART (W, 10-2)
March 8 (Fri.) – WASHINGTON (W, 9-4)
March 9 (Sat.) – WASHINGTON (W, 8-4)
March 10 (Fri.) – WASHINGTON (W, 7-5)
This Week’s Schedule
March 13 (Wed.) – NICHOLLS STATE, 6:30 p.m. CT
March 15 (Fri.) – at Mississippi State, 6:30 p.m. CT
March 16 (Sat.) – at Mississippi State, 6 p.m. CT (TV – CSS/CST)
March 17 (Sun.) – at Mississippi State, 1:30 p.m. CT
Notes on the Tigers
LSU won all five of its games last week to improve to 15-1 this season and extend its win streak to 10 games … the 15-1 mark is the Tigers’ best 16-game record since the 2011 team also won 15 of its first 16 games … with the three-game sweep of Washington last weekend, the Tigers improved their all-time record against Pac-12 schools to 24-6-1 … senior first baseman Mason Katz led LSU to five wins last week, by launching three homers and recording 10 RBI … Katz hit .353 (6-for-17) on the week with one double, three dingers, six runs scored and 10 RBI … he also walked four times and recorded a .476 on-base percentage … Katz unloaded two homers and collected five RBI in Saturday’s win over Washington, marking the first two-homer game of his LSU career … his three-run blast in the first inning Saturday against UW ace Austin Voth gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead they would never relinquish in an 8-4 win … Katz’s two-run blast in the second inning on Sunday erased a 2-0 Washington lead and propelled the Tigers to a 7-5 victory … Katz is hitting .328 on the year, and he leads the Tigers with five homers and 24 RBI … Katz is batting .400 (14-for-35) over the past 10 games with three doubles, one triple, four homers and 19 RBI … freshman shortstop Alex Bregman batted .474 (9-for-19) in the Tigers’ five wins last week with three doubles, one triple, two RBI and seven runs scored … he also recorded two stolen bases and walked five times, posting a .583 on-base percentage … Bregman is LSU’s second-leading hitter on the year, batting .391 (25-for-64) with five doubles, two triples, one homer, 14 RBI, 16 runs and five steals … during LSU’s current 10-game win streak, Bregman is hitting .400 (16-for-40) with three doubles, two triples, one homer and eight RBI … freshman outfielder Mark Laird is batting a sizzling .500 (16-for-32) over the last 10 games with one double, five RBI, 13 runs scored and a .590 on-base percentage … junior third baseman Christian Ibarra is hitting .414 (12-for-29) over the last 10 games with three doubles, seven RBI and five runs scored … senior outfielder Raph Rhymes has posted a .400 (16-for-40) average over the past 10 games with six doubles, 12 RBI and 11 runs scored … junior second baseman JaCoby Jones has walked 16 times this season in 16 games, already surpassing his previous single-season high for walks (15) set in 2012 … sophomore right-hander Aaron Nola threw six perfect innings in his win against Washington Friday before allowing a single to open the seventh inning … senior left-hander Chris Cotton is a perfect 5-for-5 so far this season in save opportunities … Cotton posted two saves last week, firing three scoreless innings over three appearances with no hits, no walks and four strikeouts.
Baseball America Top 25
Rk., Team, W-L, Prev.
1, North Carolina, 14-0, 1
2, Vanderbilt, 15-2, 2
3, Oregon State, 15-0, 4
4, Louisville, 12-2, 5
5, South Carolina, 13-2, 6
6, Mississippi, 16-1, 7
7, LSU, 15-1, 8
8, Cal State Fullerton, 13-3, 10
9, Georgia Tech, 14-2, 14
10, Kentucky, 13-2, 11
11, UCLA, 11-3, 12
12, Florida State, 15-0, 18
13, Mississippi State, 17-2, 3
14, Arizona State, 10-2, 23
15, Arkansas, 11-5, 16
16, Oregon, 11-5, 15
17, Notre Dame, 10-3, 22
18, NC State, 12-4, 9
19, Rice, 9-7, 19
20, Arizona, 13-5, 20
21, Nevada-Las Vegas, 13-3, NR
22, Virginia, 14-1, 25
23, Oklahoma, 12-4, 17
24, Indiana, 8-3, NR
25, Florida Gulf Coast, 13-3, NR
Dropped out: Stanford (13), UC Irvine (21), Virginia Tech (24)
USA Today Coaches’ Poll
1. North Carolina (14-0)
2. LSU (15-1)
3. Vanderbilt (15-2)
4. Oregon State (14-0)
5. Florida State (15-0)
6. South Carolina (13-2)
7. UCLA (11-3)
8. Mississippi (16-1)
9. Cal State Fullerton (13-3)
10. Kentucky (13-2)
11. Mississippi State (17-2)
12. Georgia Tech (14-2)
13. Virginia (14-1)
14. Oregon (11-5)
t15. Louisville (12-2)
t15. Arkansas (11-5)
17. Oklahoma (12-4)
t18. Arizona State (10-2-1)
t18. Stanford (10-5)
20. Arizona (13-5)
21. NC State (12-4)
22. Notre Dame (10-3)
23. Cal Poly (13-2)
24. Oklahoma State (12-3)
25. UC-Irvine (12-4)
Others receiving votes: Central Arkansas 60; Florida Gulf Coast 56; UNLV 52; Miami (Fla.) 41; Rice 24; Clemson 22; Mercer 19; Louisiana-Lafayette 12; Austin Peay 6; Indiana 6; Texas 6; San Diego 3; Virginia Tech 3; South Alabama 2; Houston 1.