BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 5 LSU (26-11, 9-6 SEC) opens a three-game Southeastern Conference series versus No. 6 Mississippi State (25-12-1, 8-7 SEC) at 7 p.m. CT Friday in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
Game 2 of the series starts at 6 p.m. CT Saturday, and first pitch for Game 3 is set for 12 p.m. CT Saturday.
The games will be carried on affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network, including WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge, Live audio of the games may be accessed at www.LSUsports.net/live with live stats at www.LSUstats.com.
Friday’s game may be viewed online on SEC Network +, accessible at WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app. Saturday’s game will be televised by ESPNU, and Sunday’s game will be televised by ESPN2.
LSU enters Friday’s game riding a five-game win streak, including a three-game SEC series sweep at Missouri last weekend. The Tigers have a 9-6 conference mark and are two games behind Florida and South Carolina, and one game behind Texas A&M in the league standings.
Mississippi State is in third place in the SEC West, two game behind Texas A&M and one game behind LSU.
“We’re playing well right now, but Mississippi State will present a tremendous challenge,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “They are one of the best offensive clubs in the SEC, and they have some very talented arms on their pitching staff. LSU and Mississippi State have had a storied rivalry, especially during the ’80s and ’90s when (head coaches) Ron Polk (Mississippi State) and Skip Bertman (LSU) elevated SEC baseball, and arguably, all of college baseball, with the remarkable success of their programs. It’s going to be an outstanding matchup this weekend in front of our great Tiger fans, and we can’t wait for the series to start.”
Mainieri said that junior left-hander Jared Poche’ would start Game 1 for the Tigers, followed by sophomore right-hander Alex Lange in Game 3 and senior left-hander John Valek III in Game 3.
All three LSU starting pitchers worked six innings last weekend at Missouri, and the bullpen earned two three-inning saves while the Tigers did not commit an error in the series. LSU batted .342 (40-for-117) at Mizzou with three doubles, one triple, five homers and six stolen bases.
LSU has a .304 team batting average, which is No. 5 in the SEC. The Tigers are led at the plate by freshman rightfielder Antoine Duplantis, who is batting .365 with six doubles, four triples, 20 RBI and 29 runs. Sophomore leftfielder Beau Jordan is hitting .348 with seven doubles, four homers and 35 RBI, and junior centerfielder Jake Fraley is batting .340 with five doubles, four triples, one homer, 19 RBI and 38 runs.
Sophomore DH/catcher Bryce Jordan batted .400 (4-for-10) in LSU’s three-game sweep at Missouri with two homers, eight RBI and three runs scored. Junior centerfielder Jake Fraley hit .467 (7-for-15) in the Missouri series with one double, one RBI and three runs. Junior shortstop Kramer Robertson batted .462 (6-for-13) against Missouri with one double, two RBI and seven runs scored.
The Tigers, who have struck out the fewest number of times in the SEC (168) will face a Mississippi State pitching staff that has a 3.63 team ERA, which is No. 7 in the SEC.
The Bulldogs are hitting .309 as a team on the year (No. 3 in the SEC) with 28 homers and 32 steals in 38 attempts. Mississippi State is led at the plate by freshman outfielder Jake Mangum, who is batting .417 with six doubles, one triple, one homer and 19 RBI.
Junior outfielder Jacob Robson is batting .372 with four doubles, three triples, one homer and 19 RBI, and both sophomore outfielder Brent Rooker and junior outfielder/infielder Reid Humphreys are batting .336 – Rooker has 10 doubles, two triples, three homers and 30 RBI, and Humphreys has 15 doubles, one triple, four homers and 30 RBI.
LSU’s pitching staff is 10th in the league with a 4.09 ERA, and the Tigers are fifth in the SEC in strikeouts pitched with 336.
Mississippi State leads the overall series with LSU, 201-177-1, and the first meeting between the teams occurred in 1905. Last year, the Tigers won two of three games from the Bulldogs in Starkville. LSU has posted nine straight SEC series wins over the Bulldogs. Mississippi State’s last regular-season series win over LSU came in 2006, when the Bulldogs won two of three games in the original Alex Box Stadium. LSU has won 20 of the last 29 meetings between the clubs. LSU coach Paul Mainieri has a 23-11 career mark against Mississippi State.
#6 Mississippi State Bulldogs (25-12-1, 8-7 SEC) at #5 LSU Fighting Tigers (26-11, 9-6 SEC)
DATE/TIME
Friday, April 22 – 7 p.m. CT
Saturday, April 23 – 6 p.m. CT
Sunday, April 24 – 12 p.m. CT
STADIUM
Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Baton Rouge, La.
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 5 by Baseball America; No. 7 by USA Today; No. 10 by D1 Baseball
MSU – No. 6 D1 Baseball; No. 7 Baseball America; No. 7 NCBWA
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates (WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge); live audio and live stats at www.LSUsports.net
TV/ONLINE
Friday – digital only at SEC Network + (accessible at WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app)
Saturday – TV on ESPNU (also may be viewed at WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app)
Sunday – TV on ESPN2 (also may be viewed at WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app)
SERIES RECORD
Mississippi State leads the overall series with LSU, 201-177-1, and the first meeting between the teams occurred in 1905. Last year, the Tigers won two of three games from the Bulldogs in Starkville. LSU has posted nine straight SEC series wins over the Bulldogs. Mississippi State’s last regular-season series win over LSU came in 2006, when the Bulldogs won two of three games in the original Alex Box Stadium. LSU has won 20 of the last 29 meetings between the clubs. LSU coach Paul Mainieri has a 23-11 career mark against Mississippi State.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – Jr. LHP Jared Poche’ (5-3, 2.63 ERA, 54.2 IP, 22 BB, 49 SO)
MSU – Jr. RHP Dakota Hudson (4-3, 2.08 ERA, 60.2 IP, 21 BB, 67 SO)
Game 2
LSU – So. RHP Alex Lange (4-2, 4.88 ERA, 55.1 IP, 32 BB, 68 SO)
MSU – Jr. RHP Austin Sexton (3-2, 3.96 ERA, 52.1.0 IP, 16 BB, 55 SO)
Game 3
LSU – Sr. LHP John Valek III (6-1, 3.42 ERA, 50.0 IP, 6 BB, 40 SO)
MSU – TBA