BATON ROUGE — No. 12 LSU (26-12) begins a seven-game road swing Tuesday as the Tigers face top-ranked Tulane (32-6) at Zephyr Field in Metairie, La. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CDT, and the game will be televised live on ESPN2 (Cable Ch. 36 in Baton Rouge).
The game can be heard on the LSU Sports Network (98.1 FM in Baton Rouge) and on the Internet at www.LSUsports.net.
Senior right-handed pitcher Brandon Nall (3-1, 3.98 ERA) will make his fourth start of the season for LSU on Tuesday. Nall defeated Northwestern State in his last outing on April 12, limiting the Demons to two runs on two hits in five innings with two walks and four strikeouts.
Tulane coach Rick Jones is expected to counter with junior left-hander J.R. Crowel (7-0, 3.88 ERA).
LSU has won six of the last 10 meetings between the clubs, though Tulane defeated the Tigers, 6-2, earlier this season (March 8) in Baton Rouge. LSU coach Smoke Laval has a 7-7 career mark against Tulane, while Jones is 14-16 in his 12-year career against the Tigers.
LSU senior second baseman Clay Harris was named Monday as the SEC Player of the Week by the league office. Harris, a native of Slidell, La., led the 12th-ranked Tigers to three wins in four games last week, including an SEC series victory over Ole Miss.
Harris enjoyed a phenomenal week at the plate, batting .625 (10-for-16) in four games with three doubles, two homers and seven RBI. He launched a ninth-inning, walk-off solo homer to lift the Tigers to a 7-6 on Saturday against Ole Miss. Harris also unloaded a grand slam in Friday’s game versus the Rebels.
For the entire Ole Miss series, he hit .667 (8-for-12) with two doubles, two homers and seven RBI, posting a 1.333 slugging percentage and a .714 on-base percentage.
Harris is hitting .392 (58-for-148) on the year with 13 doubles, one triple, seven homers and 38 RBI.
The SEC Player of the Week honor is the second of Harris’ career. He received the same recognition on April 5, 2004, after leading LSU to a series victory at Auburn.
LSU was very productive at the plate in its four games last week, hitting .374 (55-for-147) as a team with 39 runs, 11 doubles, three triples and eight homers. In the Ole Miss series, the Tigers batted .343 (36-for-105) with 20 runs, six doubles, one triple and five homers. LSU raised its cumulative batting average last week from .291 to .300.
Freshman third baseman Chris Jackson, also the punter/placerkicker for the LSU football team, became a regular in the Tigers’ starting lineup last week and helped lead the club to three wins in four games.
Jackson hit .450 (9-for-20) on the week with two doubles, one homer, five RBI and four runs. He participated in LSU’s spring football scrimmage on Saturday in Tiger Stadium before playing a prominent role in the Tigers’ 7-6 baseball victory over Ole Miss. He was 3-for-5 at the plate in Saturday’s game with one RBI and one run, and he made two superb defensive plays to stifle Ole Miss scoring threats.
Tulane is hitting .313 as a team with 45 homers in 38 games. Third baseman Brad Emaus is hitting .363 with nine homers and 33 RBI, and catcher Scott Madden is batting .351 with two homers and 29 RBI. First baseman Micah Owings is hitting .325 with a team-best 11 home runs.
GAME FACTS
# 12 LSU Fighting Tigers (26-12) vs. # 1 Tulane Green Wave (32-6)
DATE/TIME:
Tuesday, April 19 — 6 p.m. CDT
STADIUM:
Zephyr Field — Metairie, La.
TICKETS:
Sold Out
RANKINGS:
LSU (# 12 ESPN/Sports Weekly, # 18 Collegiate Baseball, # 20 Baseball America)
Tulane (# 1 Collegiate Baseball, # 3 Baseball America, # 3 ESPN/Sports Weekly)
RADIO:
LSU Sports Network (WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge)
INTERNET:
Radio broadcast and live stats at www.LSUsports.net
TV:
ESPN2 (Cable Ch. 36 in Baton Rouge)
SERIES RECORD:
LSU leads, 157-119-3
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU — Sr. RHP Brandon Nall (3-1, 3.98 ERA, 20.1 IP, 9 BB, 8 SO)
TU — Jr. LHP J.R. Crowel (7-0, 3.88 ERA, 53.1 IP, 15 BB, 46 SO)