BATON ROUGE, La. – Top-ranked LSU (18-2) travels across town Tuesday to take on the Southern University Jaguars (3-10). First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT at Lee-Hines Field on the SU campus.
The games will be carried on affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network, including WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge, and live audio and stats for the contest may be accessed at www.LSUsports.net.
The LSU-Southern game will be televised by Cox Sports Television.
Watch Live in Geaux Zone (blackouts apply in CST footprint)
“We’re really looking forward to playing at Southern,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “We have a lot of respect for (Southern coach) Roger Cador and his program, and now he has (former LSU pitching coach) Dan Canevari as his pitching coach. They have very good ball players, and we know them well because their players often work at our summer camps. It’s the first time we’ve played there since 2008, and it should be a great environment. It’s important that we continue to play a high level, and Southern will certainly challenge us.”
LSU is ranked No. 1 in the Baseball America magazine poll released Monday as the Tigers won three of four games last week, including a 2-1 series victory over Ole Miss in the opening weekend of Southeastern Conference play. LSU leads the SEC in team batting average (.323), hits (229), triples (15) and fewest times struck out (83). The Tigers hit .328 (41-for-125) in the Ole Miss series, outscoring the Rebels, 27-15, and outhitting them, 41-26.
LSU senior third baseman Conner Hale helped lead LSU to a series win over Ole Miss, batting a remarkable .692 (9-for-13) with one double, one homer, four RBI and six runs scored. He was 3-for-3 with a double, two runs and two RBI in Friday’s 6-4 win over the Rebels, and he was 3-for-4 with a homer, three runs and two RBI in Sunday’s 18-6 LSU victory. On the year, Hale, who had a 16-game hitting streak to begin the season, is batting .378 (31-for-82) with seven doubles, one triple, two homers, 17 runs and 19 RBI.
Senior catcher Kade Scivicque hit .500 (6-for-12) in the Ole Miss series with three RBI and two runs scored, while junior centerfielder Andrew Stevenson also hit .500 (6-for-12) in three games with two RBI, five runs and one stolen base. Scivicque is LSU’s leading hitter this season, batting .420 (21-for-50) with four doubles, three homers, 13 runs and 14 RBI, and Stevenson is hitting .361 (22-for-68) on the year with one double, five triples, 18 runs and nine RBI.
Junior shortstop Alex Bregman homered three times in the Tigers’ four games last week and also collected one double, six runs and seven RBI Bregman enters the Tigers’ game at Southern riding an eight-game hitting streak.
Southern is hitting .258 as a team with three home runs and 17 steals in 23 attempts. Marcus Tomlin is batting .359 (14-for-40) with five RBI and eight runs, Tyler Kirksey is batting .345 with one double, one homer and three RBI, and D.J. Wallace is hitting .333 with five doubles, one triple, one homer and nine RBI.
LSU leads the series with its intra-city rival, 49-2, as the squads first met in 1970. LSU has won 10 consecutive games over Southern, including an 8-0 victory last season in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. The Jaguars’ last win over the Tigers came on May 3, 2005, a 9-5 SU triumph in the original Alex Box Stadium. Southern’s only other win in the series occurred on March 6, 2001, an 11-6 victory in Alex Box Stadium.
The Tigers are 5-0 all-time at Lee-Hines Field with wins over the Jaguars in 1991, 1993, 1995, 2004 and 2008.
#1 LSU Fighting Tigers (18-2) at Southern Jaguars (3-10)
DATE/TIME
Tuesday, March 17 – 6 p.m. CT (Cox Sports Television)
STADIUM
Lee-Hines Field on the Southern University campus in Baton Rouge, La.
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 1 by Baseball America; No. 2 by USA Today; No. 3 by Collegiate Baseball
Southern – unranked
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates, including WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge
LSUsports.net – live audio and live stats
TV
Cox Sports Television
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads the series with its intra-city rival, 49-2, as the teams first met in 1970. LSU has won 10 consecutive games over Southern, including an 8-0 victory last season in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. The Jaguars’ last win over the Tigers came on May 3, 2005, a 9-5 SU triumph in the original Alex Box Stadium. Southern’s only other win in the series occurred on March 6, 2001, an 11-6 victory in Alex Box Stadium. The Tigers are 5-0 all-time at Lee-Hines Field with wins over the Jaguars in 1991, 1993, 1995, 2004 and 2008.
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU – So. RHP Russell Reynolds (1-0, 5.40 ERA, 6.2 IP, 4 BB, 4 SO)
SU – Fr. RHP Tyler Robinson (0-0, 4.61 ERA, 13.2 IP, 4 BB, 9 SO)