BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 2 LSU (3-0) hits the road for the first time this season as the Tigers take on the University of New Orleans (3-0) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Maestri Field.
The radio broadcast of the game will be carried on WTGE 100.7 FM in Baton Rouge and at www.LSUsports.net/live. Live stats of the contest will be available at www.LSUstats.com.
The LSU-UNO game will be televised by Cox Sports Television (CST), and it also may be viewed on www.ESPN3.com in non-CST markets.
LSU swept its three games last weekend to open the 2017 season, posting two wins over Army and one victory over Air Force in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. The win over Army in Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader marked the 2,500th victory in LSU Baseball history.
UNO recorded home wins over Southern, Illinois-Chicago and Prairie View to open its season, and the Privateers hit .372 as a team over the weekend.
LSU leads the all-time series with New Orleans, 59-34, including a 9-4 win last season in Baton Rouge. LSU has won eight straight games over the Privateers, and UNO’s last win over the Tigers came on April 27, 2010, by a 7-4 score in Baton Rouge.
LSU coach Paul Mainieri played for two seasons at UNO under former Privateers coach Ron Maestri in 1978 and ’79. Second-year UNO coach Blake Dean played at LSU under Mainieri from 2007-10 as an outfielder/first baseman, earning 2008 first-team all-America honors and helping lead the Tigers to the 2009 College World Series title.
“I know Blake Dean is doing a great job at UNO, and I have fond feelings for that program because of the time I spent there as a player,” Mainieri said. “We’re going to have a big challenge on our hands, there’s no question about that. We’re going to figure out a pitching plan and battle those guys for nine innings. UNO plays with a lot of confidence, especially in their home park, so we’re looking forward to a good ball game on Tuesday night.”
As a staff, the LSU pitchers allowed last weekend just two earned runs on nine hits in 23 innings with four walks and 23 strikeouts. The effort was highlighted by senior left-hander Jared Poche’, who fired a seven-inning no-hitter against Army on Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader.
LSU batted .329 (28-for-85) as a team over the weekend with six doubles, one triple, four homers and 25 runs.
Senior second baseman Cole Freeman hit .600 (6-for-10) last weekend in the Tigers’ wins over Army and Air Force with two doubles, four runs, three RBI, two stolen bases and a .636 on-base percentage. Freeman , who was LSU’s leading hitter last season and the leading hitter in the Cape Cod League last summer, ignited a three-run outburst in the first inning of the season opener against Army, as he led off the game with a single, stole second base, advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher and scored on a groundout.
Freshman third baseman Josh Smith recorded a team-high six RBI in the Tigers’ three wins over Army and Air Force. Smith hit .429 (3-for-7) with one homer, six RBI, two runs, one steal and a .500 on-base percentage. His three-run homer in the fourth inning of Sunday’s game versus Air Force proved to be the game-winning hit, breaking a 2-2 tie and propelling LSU to a 10-3 win.
Senior shortstop Kramer Robertson batted .556 (5-for-9) with one double, one triple, four RBI and four runs, and junior rightfielder Greg Deichmann hit .444 (4-for-9) with one double, two homers, five RBI and three runs.
UNO is led at the plate by Tristan Clarke, who is hitting .545 (6-for-11) with three doubles and two RBI. John Cable is batting .444 (4-for-9) with one double and one RBI, and Dakota Phillips is hitting .375 (3-for-8) with one homer and four RBI.
The Privateers collected 11 doubles and two homers in their three victories last weekend, and they were 4-for-4 in stolen-base attempts.
#2 LSU Fighting Tigers (3-0) at New Orleans Privateers (3-0)
DATE/TIME
Tuesday, February 21 – 6:30 p.m. CT
STADIUM
Maestri Field in New Orleans, La.
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 2 by Collegiate Baseball; No. 4 by Baseball America; No. 5 by D1 Baseball
UNO – unranked
RADIO
In Baton Rouge on WTGE 100.7 FM; Radio broadcast and live stats are available at www.LSUsports.net
TV
Cox Sports Television
ONLINE
ESPN3.com – the game may be viewed at WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app
(the online stream is blacked out in Cox Sports Television markets)
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads the all-time series with New Orleans, 59-34, including a 9-4 win last season in Baton Rouge. LSU has won eight straight games over the Privateers, and UNO’s last win over the Tigers came on April 27, 2010, by a 7-4 score in Baton Rouge. LSU coach Paul Mainieri played for two seasons at UNO under former Privateers coach Ron Maestri in 1978 and ’79. Second-year UNO coach Blake Dean played at LSU under Mainieri from 2007-10 as an outfielder/first baseman, earning 2008 first-team all-America honors and helping lead the Tigers to the 2009 College World Series title.
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU – So. RHP Caleb Gilbert (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.0 IP, 1 BB, 0 SO)
UNO – Fr. RHP Reeves Martin (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 0 BB, 3 SO)