BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 8 LSU (27-14, 10-8 SEC) opens a three-game Southeastern Conference series at No. 9 Ole Miss (31-11, 10-8 SEC) at 6 p.m. CT Thursday in Oxford-University Stadium, Swayze Field.
Game 2 of the series starts at 6:30 p.m. CT Friday, and first pitch for Game 3 is set for 11 a.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.
Thursday’s game will be televised by the SEC Network, Friday’s game may be viewed online on SEC Network +, accessible at WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app, and Saturday’s game will be televised by ESPN2.
LSU is ranked No. 8 this week in the Baseball America poll. The Tigers are in a three-way tie with Ole Miss and Mississippi State for second place in the SEC Western Division, two games behind Texas A&M.
“We’ve had some tremendous games with Ole Miss over the years, and this series should provide its share of excitement,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “Ole Miss has another outstanding team, and we’re looking forward to competing in a very challenging road environment. We’ve had some success on the road this year in some pretty tough places to play, and I’m hopeful we can continue to play at a high level in another team’s ball park.”
LSU is No. 4 in the SEC in hitting with a .300 team batting average. Freshman rightfielder Antoine Duplantis is the Tigers’ leading hitter, batting .358 (59-for-165) with six doubles, four triples, one homer, 25 RBI, 31 runs and 10 stolen bases. Duplantis is No. 9 in the SEC in batting average and No. 5 in the league in base hits, and he has compiled hitting streaks of 19 games and 14 games this season.
LSU shortstop Kramer Robertson has been named to the Watch List for the 2016 Brooks Wallace Award, given annually to the nation’s best shortstop. Robertson, a junior from McGregor, Texas, who is fifth in the SEC in runs scored( (42) and sixth in the league in doubles (13), is the Tigers’ leading hitter in SEC games, batting .384 with six doubles, one homer, 14 RBI and 17 runs.
Sophomore leftfielder Beau Jordan is batting .342 for the Tigers with eight doubles, four homers and a team-high 35 RBI; junior centerfielder Jake Fraley is hitting .333 with six doubles, five triples, one homer and 21 RBI; and junior catcher Jordan Romero is batting .318 with six doubles, a team-high six homers and 27 RBI.
The Tigers will face an Ole Miss pitching staff that is No. 4 in the SEC with a 3.05 team ERA. The Rebels’ Game 1 starter, junior right-hander Brady Bramlett, has the league’s sixth-best ERA at 2.28.
The Rebels are 11th in the SEC in hitting, batting .274 as a team with 27 homers and 28 steals in 47 attempts. Ole Miss is led at the plate by junior catcher Henri Lartigue, who is batting .366 with eight doubles, two homers, 20 RBI and 22 runs.
Junior outfielder J.B. Woodman is batting .316 for the Rebels with nine doubles, five homers and 30 RBI, and sophomore infielder Tate Blackman is hitting .311 with eight doubles, two homers and 27 RBI.
The LSU pitching staff is 10th in the league with a 4.19 team ERA. The Tigers’ Game 2 starter, sophomore right-hander Alex Lange, is fifth in the SEC in strikeouts with 75.
LSU leads Ole Miss, 172-147, in a series that began in 1906. LSU has captured five in a row and 13 of its last 17 regular-season series with Ole Miss, including a 2-1 series victory last season in Baton Rouge. The Rebels’ last series victory over the Tigers came in 2010, when Ole Miss swept three games from LSU in Oxford.
#8 LSU Fighting Tigers (27-14, 10-8 SEC) at #9 Ole Miss Rebels (31-11, 10-8 SEC)
DATES/TIMES
Thursday, April 28 – 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
Friday, April 29 – 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
Saturday, April 30 – 11 a.m. CT (ESPN2)
STADIUM
Oxford-University Stadium, Swayze Field in Oxford, Miss.
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 8 by Baseball America; No. 11 by D1 Baseball; No. 13 by USA Today
UM – No. 9 by Baseball America; No. 12 by USA Today; No. 13 by D1 Baseball
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates (WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge); live audio and live stats at www.LSUsports.net
TV/ONLINE
Thursday – SEC Network (also may be viewed at WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app)
Friday – SEC Network + (online only; accessible at WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app)
Saturday – ESPN 2 (also may be viewed at WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app)
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads Ole Miss, 172-147, in a series that began in 1906. LSU has captured five in a row and 13 of its last 17 regular-season series with Ole Miss, including a 2-1 series victory last season in Baton Rouge. The Rebels’ last series victory over the Tigers came in 2010, when Ole Miss swept three games from LSU in Oxford.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – Jr. LHP Jared Poche’ (5-4, 3.26 ERA, 60.2 IP, 24 BB, 51 SO)
UM – Jr. RHP Brady Bramlett (6-2, 2.28 ERA, 55.1 IP, 15 BB, 71 SO)
Game 2
LSU – So. RHP Alex Lange (4-3, 4.34 ERA, 64.1 IP, 33 BB, 75 SO)
UM – So. LHP David Parkinson (2-1, 1.70 ERA, 37.0 IP, 17 BB, 28 SO)
Game 3
LSU – Sr. LHP John Valek III (6-1, 3.78 ERA, 52.1 IP, 7 BB, 40 SO)
UM – Fr. RHP James McArthur (5-0, 2.84 ERA, 44.1 IP, 10 BB, 43 SO)