GAINESVILLE, Fla. — LSU starts a two-week stretch to close the regular season that will go a long way in determining its post season fate this weekend when the Fighting Tigers visit the powerful Florida Gators in a three-game Southeastern Conference series at McKethan Stadium.
The action kicks off Friday at 6:30 p.m. EDT, followed by game two Saturday at 4 p.m. and the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games can be heard across Louisiana on the full LSU Sports Network (WDGL-98.1 FM) and on the Internet at www.lsusports.net.
Two of the three games will be carried on live television. Friday’s game will be televised by the Sunshine Network and can be seen in the Baton Rouge area on Cox Cable Channel 4. Sunday’s game is part of the Jumbo Sports Network package in Louisiana (WGMB-Fox 44 in Baton Rouge) and can also be seen in other SEC markets on Comcast Sports Southeast.
LSU (33-16, 14-9) has not played since last weekend, when the Tigers took two of three games from Tennessee in Knoxville. The Tigers dropped the opener 2-1 in the first game of a doubleheader before recovering for 16-4 and 6-2 victories in the final two games of the series. The series against the Vols marked the first time since 1993 at Mississippi State that LSU had won an SEC road series after dropping the opening game.
LSU (No. 20 ESPN/Baseball Weekly, No. 24 Baseball America, No. 25 Collegiate Baseball) enters the weekend trailing overall league leader Alabama by 2 1/2 games.
The Tigers’ bats have become increasingly potent as the season has progressed, as evidenced by 39 hits in the final two games of the Tennessee series to leave LSU’s season average at .309, 28 points higher than it was at the end of March. LSU collected 24 hits in the second game of the Tennessee series, the most the Tigers have recorded in a game away from Baton Rogue, and just one shy of the school record for hits in a conference game.
Leading the way for the Tigers at the plate is senior right fielder Sean Barker, who hit .692 (9-for-14) in the series at Tennessee and .579 (11-for-19) in all four games last week to take over the team lead in batting average at .392. The California native has also collected a team high 50 RBI and hit five home runs.
Four other Tigers are hitting .343 or better on the year, including sophomore shortstop Aaron Hill (.380-7-39), junior third baseman Wally Pontiff (.365-5-35) and senior catcher Chris Phillips (.343-6-32).
The Tigers’ pitching rotation will remain the same as it has for the previous four SEC series, with sophomore left-hander Lane Mestepey (9-3, 2.93) going on Friday, sophomore right-hander Brian Wilson (7-3, 2.98) on Saturday and junior right-hander Bo Pettit (6-6, 3.83) on Sunday.
Mestepey and Wilson rank fourth and sixth, respectively, in the SEC in ERA, with Tiger closer Jake Tompkins (4-0, 2.69) holding down second behind South Carolina’s Blake Taylor.
Florida (36-13, 16-8) has won its last four games, including a 10-9 victory over South Florida on Tuesday at home. The Gators swept Mississippi State on the road last weekend to remain one game behind Alabama for the overall SEC lead and one-half game behind South Carolina for first in the SEC East.
The Tigers’ 3.59 team ERA, which ranks second in the league to Alabama, will be severely tested this weekend by a Gator squad that has hit 84 home runs and is batting a league best .358, 36 points higher than any other SEC club.
The Gators (No. 8 ESPN/Baseball Weekly and Baseball America, No. 10 Collegiate Baseball) feature the SEC’s leading hitter in senior shortstop Mark Kiger (.432-9-44) and have a second .400 hitter in junior third baseman Pat Osborn (.412-12-52). The Gators also feature three fourth-year seniors, led by first baseman Ryan Shealy (.359-19-63), the current SEC home run leader, along with left fielder David Klebonis (.372-3-22) and center fielder Matt Goss (.354-6-42).
Florida’s pitching staff will test LSU with three experienced starters in senior left-hander Jimmy Ramshaw (4-3, 4.61) on Friday, junior right-hander Alex Hart (11-1, 3.14) on Saturday and senior left-hander Keith Ramsey (6-2, 4.25) on Sunday. Ramsey is coming off a one-hit shutout last Sunday at Mississippi State that earned him National Player of the Week honors from Collegiate Baseball.
The Tigers won all four meetings in 2001 to extend their series edge to 41-23. LSU swept the three-game regular season series in Baton Rouge (18-10, 4-3, 10-7), then won a 10-0 decision in the first round of the SEC Tournament in Birmingham. LSU has won eight of the last nine meetings, although the Gators have won six of the last nine in Gainesville, including a three-game sweep in 1996 and a 2-1 series win in 1998.
Florida coach Pat McMahon is very familiar with the Tigers after four years at Mississippi State, where he had an 8-8 mark against LSU. Prior to that, McMahon was also head coach at Old Dominion and served two stints as associate head coach under Ron Polk in Starkville.
The Tigers’ final regular season series of 2002 has them hosting league leader Alabama May 17-19. LSU needs one win or one Arkansas loss this weekend to clinch a spot in the SEC Tournament, which begins May 22 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Birmingham.