BATON ROUGE, La. – Top-ranked LSU (32-6,10-5 SEC) travels to Athens, Ga., this weekend for a three-game SEC series against Georgia at Foley Field.
Game 1 of the series starts at 6 p.m. CT Friday, Game 2 is set for 1 p.m. CT Saturday, and first pitch for Game 3 is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT Sunday.
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 may be accessed at www.LSUsports.net.
The LSU-Georgia games may be viewed on SEC Network +, accessible at WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.
LSU is ranked No. 1 in the Perfect Game poll this week, marking the fifth week this season the Tigers are No. 1 in at least one poll. The Tigers are in second place in the SEC Western Division, 1.5 games behind first-place Texas A&M (11-3). This weekend’s series marks the beginning of the second half of the SEC schedule.
“Georgia is always a very talented team with a lot of outstanding players,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “They’ve had some injuries to their pitching staff, but some of their pitchers are returning to full strength. (Georgia coach) Scott Stricklin is in his second year of implementing his system, and he’s an excellent coach who knows how to build a successful program. This is a very important series for us as we move into the second half of the league schedule, and we know we have to be at our best this weekend, especially in a road environment.”
Mainieri said that freshman right-hander Alex Lange will start Friday’s game on the mound for the Tigers after sitting out last weekend’s series versus Auburn with tightness in his arm. Lange is 6-0 on the year, and he leads the SEC with a 1.39 ERA.
LSU leads the SEC with a .319 team batting average, and the Tigers have launched 36 home runs, just five shy of the 41 they hit for the entire 2014 season. LSU also has 65 stolen bases, already 16 more than the 49 steals it had in all of 2014.
Sophomore left-hander Jared Poche’ (6-1, 3.11 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday’s game for the Tigers, and freshman right-hander Austin Bain (0-1, 3.29 ERA) will start on Sunday. LSU is fourth in the SEC with a 3.02 team ERA.
LSU senior catcher Kade Scivicque is LSU’s leading hitter on the year, batting .388 (50-for-129) with 12 doubles, four homers and 29 RBI. Scivicque enters the Georgia series riding a 21-game hit streak, the longest by an LSU player since shortstop Alex Bregman had a 23-game streak in 2013.
Junior first baseman Chris Chinea is hitting .347 with 10 doubles, five homers and 33 RBI, and junior shortstop Alex Bregman is batting .333 with 13 doubles, three triples, eight homers, 34 RBI and an SEC-high 22 stolen bases.
Georgia is hitting .273 as a team, which is 10th in the SEC. The Bulldogs have collected 29 homers and 52 steals in 62 attempts. UGA is led at the plate by sophomore outfielder Stephen Wrenn, who is hitting .327 with two doubles, three triples, five homers, 21 RBI and 20 stolen bases.
UGA senior first baseman/pitcher Jared Walsh is hitting .308 with 10 doubles, one triple, two homers and 19 RBI, and junior catcher/DH Zack Bowers is batting .273 with 11 doubles, one triple six homers and 21 RBI.
LSU leads the all-time series with Georgia, 62-22-3, including a 2-0-1 series victory last season in Baton Rouge. The Tigers won the first two games of last year’s series before Game 3 ended in a tie due to SEC travel curfew regulations. LSU has won eight of its last 10 SEC regular-season series versus UGA, and the Tigers have an 11-7-2 advantage over the Bulldogs in games played over the past seven seasons.
This weekend’s series marks LSU’s first visit to Athens since 2011, when Georgia won two of three games over the Tigers.
#1 LSU Fighting Tigers (32-6, 10-5 SEC) at Georgia Bulldogs (20-18, 6-9 SEC)
DATES/TIMES
Friday, April 17 – 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
Saturday, April 18 – 1 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
Sunday, April 19 – 12 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
STADIUM
Foley Field in Athens, Ga.
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 1 by Perfect Game; No. 2 by Baseball America; No. 2 by USA Today; No. 2 by D1 Baseball; No. 3 by Collegiate Baseball
UGA – unranked
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates, including WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge
LSUsports.net – live audio and live stats
ONLINE
The games may be viewed on SEC Network +, accessible at WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads the all-time series with Georgia, 62-22-3, including a 2-0-1 series victory last season in Baton Rouge. The Tigers won the first two games of last year’s series before Game 3 ended in a tie due to SEC travel curfew regulations. LSU has won eight of its last 10 SEC regular-season series versus UGA, and the Tigers have an 11-7-2 advantage over the Bulldogs in games played over the past seven seasons. This weekend’s series marks LSU’s first visit to Athens since 2011, when Georgia won two of three games over the Tigers.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – Fr. RHP Alex Lange (6-0, 1.39 ERA, 51.2 IP, 20 BB, 61 SO)
UGA – Jr. RHP Sean McLaughlin (3-2, 5.13 ERA, 47.1 IP, 24 BB, 45 SO)
Game 2
LSU – So. LHP Jared Poche’ (6-1, 3.11 ERA, 55.0 IP, 16 BB, 37 SO)
UGA – Jr. LHP Ryan Lawlor (4-4, 2.96 ERA, 48.2 IP, 20 BB, 62 SO)
Game 3
LSU – Fr. RHP Austin Bain (0-1, 3.29 ERA, 27.1 IP, 11 BB, 32 SO)
UGA – TBA