BATON ROUGE — LSU looks to stay in the hunt for the Southeastern Conference championship this weekend when the Fighting Tigers (27-15, 9-8) welcome the Arkansas Razorbacks (23-15, 7-8) to Alex Box Stadium for a three-game series.
The series gets underway Friday at 6:30 p.m., with game two at 4 p.m. Saturday and the finale at 1 p.m. Sunday. All three games can be heard on the full LSU Sports Network (WDGL-98.1 FM in Baton Rouge, WWL-870 AM in New Orleans) and on the Internet at www.lsusports.net.
The Tigers are looking to improve their positioning for the SEC Tournament next month in Birmingham, as they are currently tied with Mississippi State for third in the West division and sixth in the overall race, 3 1/2 games behind league leader Alabama.
LSU dropped two of three last weekend to nationally ranked South Carolina in Columbia, but the Tigers have won eight of their last 11 SEC games and are 10-3 in the month of April. The key to the resurgence has been a marked improvement at the plate, as LSU is batting .333 with 21 home runs and 110 runs in April.
The Tigers enter the series fresh off a 10-3 victory Tuesday at Louisiana-Monroe in a successful homecoming for LSU coach Smoke Laval to the school he coached at from 1994-2000 and led to three Southland Conference championships and three NCAA regional berths.
Against UL-Monroe, LSU tied a season high with 16 hits, with senior right fielder Sean Barker going 4-for-5 with 5 RBI to set career highs in both hits and RBI. Freshman second baseman J.C. Holt added his third home run of the year in the contest, a three-run blast that gave LSU the lead for good.
Barker (.373-3-42) is one of the Tigers’ top hitters, along with sophomore shortstop Aaron Hill (.383-5-30) and junior third baseman Wally Pontiff (.386-5-31). Pontiff has hit safely in the last 11 games, batting .452 (19-for-42) during the stretch, and the LSU captain has hit safely in 30 of his last 32 outings.
The Tigers’ rotation against Arkansas sets up the same way it has for the past two weekend series against Georgia and South Carolina, as sophomore left-hander Lane Mestepey (8-2, 3.31) gets the call on Friday, followed by sophomore right-hander Brian Wilson (5-3, 3.38) on Saturday and junior right-hander Bo Pettit (5-6, 3.86) on Sunday.
Arkansas comes into Baton Rouge after a 3-2 loss on Tuesday to nationally ranked Wichita State, but the Razorbacks took two of three last weekend from Tennessee at home to remain one-half game behind Auburn for the eighth and final berth in the SEC Tournament.
The Razorbacks’ strong suit all season has been pitching, as Arkansas sports a 3.96 ERA coming into the weekend. Razorback coach Norm DeBriyn will send three right-handed pitchers to the mound, starting with senior Charlie Isaacson (2-5, 3.38) on Friday, junior Jarrett Gardner (1-1, 3.37) on Saturday and junior Gary Hogan Jr. (3-5, 5.27) on Sunday.
Arkansas has struggled this year at the plate, batting just .279 coming into the LSU series and hovering in the lower tier of the SEC for most of the season. The Hogs’ top hitter is freshman outfielder/designated hitter Kirk McConnell (.300-1-18), while outfielders Michael Connor (.254-11-29) and Ryan Fox (.298-9-42) provide the power.
The Tigers have dominated the series in Baton Rouge, winning the last eight meetings contested at Alex Box Stadium, including a three-game sweep (12-3, 12-5, 17-11) in 2000. However, it has been a different story at Fayetteville, as Arkansas swept the top-ranked Tigers last year by scores of 8-1, 5-4 and 4-3. The Razorbacks have won nine of the last 10 meetings away from Baton Rouge, but LSU still holds a comfortable 30-14 all-time series edge.
Arkansas coach DeBriyn, now in his 33rd season at the Razorback helm, will be going for his 1,150th win this weekend, as his career mark stands at 1,149-637-6, ninth among active Division I coaches in victories.
LSU will play seven consecutive games on the road following the Arkansas series, starting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Zephyr Field in Metairie against New Orleans. The Tigers then play back-to-back SEC series at Tennessee (May 3-5) and Florida (May 10-12) before closing the 2002 regular season with a home series vs. Alabama May 17-19.