BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 6 LSU (9-3) faces San Diego at 6:30 p.m. CT Tuesday in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
The game will be carried on the LSU Sports Radio Network (WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge), and the radio broadcast may be heard at www.LSUsports.net/live,
The game may be viewed on SEC Network +, accessible at WatchESPN.com or the Watch ESPN app.
LSU split four games last week, defeating Nicholls on Tuesday before posting a 1-2 mark at the Shriners Hospital for Children College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston. LSU defeated No. 17 Baylor and dropped decisions to No. 1 TCU and to No. 10 Texas Tech.
“We’re looking forward to facing an outstanding program from the University of San Diego,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “They already have some very impressive wins against teams like USC, UCLA, Oregon, Vanderbilt and Notre Dame. Our guys will have to be ready to play, because San Diego has some very talented ball players. You may remember a guy named (Chicago Cubs star) Kris Bryant, who was the Golden Spikes Award winner at San Diego just a few years ago.”
Freshman right hander Zack Hess (1-0, 2.53 ERA) will get the start on the mound for the Tigers, while San Diego will counter with sophomore right-hander Paul Richan (0-0). Hess worked 4.2 innings versus Nicholls in his last outing on February 28, limiting the Colonels to two runs on three hits in 4.2 innings with one walk and four strikeouts.
Richan will be making his first start of the season, and he has not allowed a run in four relief appearances.
LSU is batting .332 as a team this season with 11 homers and 17 steals in 23 attempts, and the pitching staff has a 2.98 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 102.2 innings.
San Diego is hitting .241 on the year with six homers and nine steals in 12 attempts, and the Torero pitchers have a 3.47 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 83 innings.
Senior second baseman Cole Freeman batted .467 (7-for-15) in the Tigers’ four games last week with one double, two runs and one RBI. Freeman, LSU’s leadoff hitter, is batting a team-high .475 (19-for-40) with three doubles, 10 runs, seven RBI, five steals and a .580 on-base percentage.
Centerfielder Antoine Duplantis also hit .467 (7-for-15) last week with four RBI, one run and two stolen bases.
Freshman first baseman Jake Slaughter is hitting .390 (16-for-41) this season with one double, one homer and 10 RBI, while senior shortstop Kramer Robertson is batting .366 with four doubles, one triple, one homer and nine RBI.
Rightfielder Greg Deichmann is batting .366, and he leads the Tigers in home runs (5) and RBI (17).
San Diego is led at the plate by junior outfielder/catcher Colton Waltner, who is batting .313 with three doubles and three RBI. Sophomore infielder Jeff Houghtby is batting .282 with two doubles, one triple and seve RBI, and senior outfielder Hunter Mercado-Hood is hitting .269 with three doubles, one homer and four RBI.
Tuesday’s game marks the first meeting between LSU and San Diego. LSU has a 6-2 mark all-time against the current members of the West Coast Conference. The Tigers are 3-0 vs. Saint Mary’s, 2-0 vs. Pepperdine, 1-1 vs. BYU and 0-1 vs. Loyola-Marymount.
San Diego Toreros (6-3) at #6 LSU Fighting Tigers (9-3)
DATE/TIME
Tuesday, March 7 – 6:30 p.m. CT
STADIUM
Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Baton Rouge, La.
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 6 Collegiate Baseball; No. 6 Baseball America; No. 7 D1 Baseball; No. 7 USA Today
USD – unranked
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network; in Baton Rouge on WDGL 98.1 FM
Radio broadcast and live stats for all LSU baseball games are available at www.LSUsports.net
ONLINE
SEC Network +, accessible at WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app
SERIES RECORD
Tuesday’s game marks the first meeting between LSU and San Diego. LSU has a 6-2 mark all-time against the current members of the West Coast Conference. The Tigers are 3-0 vs. Saint Mary’s, 2-0 vs. Pepperdine, 1-1 vs. BYU and 0-1 vs. Loyola-Marymount.
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU – Fr. RHP Zack Hess (1-0, 2.53 ERA, 10.2 IP, 4 BB, 12 SO)
USD – So. RHP Paul Richan (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 8.0 IP, 6 BB, 8 SO)