BATON ROUGE — LSU (23-11) seeks to end its three-game losing skid Tuesday as the Tigers play host to Northwestern State (27-10) at 6:30 p.m. in Alex Box Stadium.
The LSU-Northwestern State game can be heard on the LSU Sports Network (98.1 FM in Baton Rouge) and on the Internet at www.LSUsports.net.
LSU, ranked No. 12 this week in the ESPN/Sports Weekly poll, lost three home straight games last weekend to SEC foe South Carolina. The Tigers, 5-7 in league play, are in sixth place in the SEC Western Division.
Northwestern State leads the Southland Conference with an 11-1 mark after a three-game sweep of McNeese State last weekend.
LSU coach Smoke Laval is scheduled to send senior right-hander Brandon Nall (2-1, 4.11 ERA) to the mound Tuesday. Nall turned in the best performance of his career last week in a win at Nicholls State. Nall pitched a career-high 8.1 innings, limiting the Colonels to two runs on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts.
Nall, who was redshirted last season after undergoing shoulder surgery in 2003, was making just his second career start.
Northwestern State coach Mitch Gaspard, a 1984 LSU baseball letterman, is expected to counter Tuesday with senior left-hander Rusty Jones (3-1, 5.05 ERA).
Outfielder Ryan Patterson continues to lead LSU in hitting in SEC games, batting .404 (19-for-47) against conference opponents with four doubles, five homers and 11 RBI. Patterson is hitting a team-best .412 (54-for-131) overall with 13 doubles, one triple, 13 homers and 34 RBI.
Northwestern State designated hitter Blake Jones leads the Demons with a .383 average, five homers and 36 RBI.
LSU leads the series with Northwestern State, 42-10, and the Tigers have won four straight and six of the last seven meetings between the clubs. Northwestern State defeated LSU in 2001, 10-8, in Natchitoches, but the Tigers won all four meetings with NSU in 2003, including a three-game sweep to open the season in Alex Box Stadium.
Northwestern State’s last win in Baton Rouge came in 1999, when the Demons posted a 12-6 victory.
GAME FACTS
Northwestern (La.) State Demons (27-10) at # 12 LSU Fighting Tigers (23-11)
DATE/TIME
Tuesday, April 12 — 6:30 p.m. CDT
STADIUM
Alex Box Stadium (7,760)
TICKETS
Available at Alex Box Stadium beginning at 4:30 p.m. — $8 for adults and $5 for children ages 3-12.
PROMOTIONS
Tuesday “Dollar Days” promotion — 32-ounce tubs of popcorn are just $1, and hot dogs are $1 with the purchase of a Tiger Gulp drink. All children ages 12 and under are invited to stand on the field with the Tigers during the National Anthem
RANKINGS
LSU (# 12 ESPN/Sports Weekly, # 19 Collegiate Baseball, # 22 Baseball America); Northwestern State (unranked)
RADIO
LSU Sports Network (WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge)
INTERNET
Radio broadcast and live stats at www.LSUsports.net
TV
None
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads, 42-10
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU — Sr. RHP Brandon Nall (2-1, 4.11 ERA, 15.1 IP, 7 BB, 4 SO)
UNO — Sr. LHP Rusty Jones (3-1, 5.05 ERA, 41.0 IP, 11 BB, 21 SO)