BATON ROUGE – LSU (34-19, 11-16 SEC) concludes the 2011 regular season beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday as the Tigers face Mississippi State (33-19, 13-14 SEC) in a three-game conference series at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Miss.
Game 2 of the series starts at 6:30 p.m. Friday and the series finale begins at 2 p.m. Saturday.
The games can be heard on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network. Live video, audio and stats on Friday and Saturday may be accessed in the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net/live. Live audio and stats are available at www.LSUsports.net on Thursday.
Thursday’s game will be televised by Comcast Sports Southeast and Cox Sports Television, and it may also be viewed at www.ESPN3.com.
LSU has won 10 of its last 12 games, including seven of its last nine SEC contests. The Tigers are seeking a berth to the eight-team SEC Tournament, which begins May 25 in Hoover, Ala. LSU is two games out of eighth place with three games remaining, so the Tigers must win all three games in Starkville to have a chance to qualify for the league tournament.
“I hate to use coachspeak, but we have to take one game at a time,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “We can’t win the whole series on Thursday, all we can do is try to get a win on Thursday and then look ahead to the next game. Mississippi State has a very good team that is also battling to qualify for the SEC Tournament, so without question we’re going to have to play as well as we have all year to beat them.”
Mainieri said the Tigers will for the second consecutive weekend start an all-freshmen pitching rotation, the trio of right-handers Kevin Gausman, Kurt McCune and Ryan Eades.
Mississippi State coach John Cohen will counter with sophomore left-hander Luis Polloreno on Thursday and junior southpaw Nick Routt on Friday. The Bulldogs’ Saturday starter has yet to be determined.
LSU hit a blistering .439 (50-for-114) last weekend in the Tennessee series, collecting 12 doubles, two triples, and one homer while outscoring the Volunteers, 32-6. Centerfielder Mikie Mahtook led the Tigers to the three-game sweep of Tennessee, batting .643 (9-for-14) with one triple, one homer, six RBI, six runs and two stolen bases.
Mahtook has extended his consecutive games reached-base streak to 67, as he has reached base safely in all 53 games this season and in the final 14 games of 2010.
Mahtook is hitting .373 on the year with 11 doubles, five triples, 13 homers, 51 RBI, 54 runs and 28 steals. He has a chance to become the first player since 1974 to lead the SEC in both home runs and stolen bases.
Sophomore rightfielder Alex Edward hit .615 (8-for-13) in the Tennessee series with two doubles and four RBI, while sophomore first baseman Mason Katz batted .500 (7-for-14) with three doubles and seven RBI.
The Tigers are batting .300 as a team with 95 doubles, 13 triples, 31 homers and 82 steals on the year. The LSU pitching staff has a 4.21 ERA with 374 strikeouts and a .248 opponent batting average.
LSU is third in the SEC in team batting average, and the Tigers rank seventh in the league in staff ERA.
Mississippi State is batting .286 with 86 doubles, 15 triples, 25 homers and 80 stolen bases. The Bulldog pitching staff has a 4.11 ERA with 412 strikeouts and a .263 opponent batting average.
Mississippi State is seventh in the SEC in team batting average, and the Bulldogs are sixth in the league in staff ERA.
MSU is led at the plate by senior infielder Jarrod Parks, who is batting .398 with 12 doubles, three triples, three homers and 34 RBI. Senior Nick Vickerson is hitting .314 with 13 doubles, two triples, five homers and 22 RBI, while senior outfielder Jaron Shepherd is batting .296 with seven doubles, three homers and 22 RBI.
Mississippi State leads the overall series with LSU, 195-166-1, and the first meeting occurred in 1905. LSU has won nine of the last 12 and 17 of the last 25 meetings between the clubs.
Most recently, LSU has posted four straight series wins over the Bulldogs, including a 2-1 series victory last season in Alex Box Stadium. Mississippi State’s last series win over LSU came in 2006, when MSU won two of three games in the original Alex Box Stadium.
LSU Fighting Tigers (34-19, 11-16 SEC) at Mississippi State Bulldogs (33-19, 13-14 SEC)
GAME DATES/TIMES
Thursday, May 19 – 6 p.m.; Friday, May 20 – 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 21 – 2 p.m.
STADIUM
Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Miss.
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates/flagship station is WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge
INTERNET
www.LSUsports.net/live – live video, audio and stats on Friday and Saturday; live audio and stats on Thursday
www.ESPN3.com – live video on Thursday
TV
Thursday – Cox Sports Television and Comcast Sports Southeast
No TV on Friday and Saturday
SERIES RECORD
Mississippi State leads the overall series with LSU, 195-166-1, and the first meeting occurred in 1905. LSU has won nine of the last 12 and 17 of the last 25 meetings between the clubs. Most recently, LSU has posted four straight series wins over the Bulldogs, including a 2-1 series victory last season in Alex Box Stadium. Mississippi State’s last series win over LSU came in 2006, when MSU won two of three games in the original Alex Box Stadium.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – Fr. RHP Kevin Gausman (4-6, 3.73 ERA, 82.0 IP, 22 BB, 79 SO)
MSU – So. LHP Luis Pollorena (6-3, 3.02 ERA, 44.2 IP, 14 BB, 29 SO)
Game 2
LSU – Fr. RHP Kurt McCune (7-3, 3.30 ERA, 84.2 IP, 23 BB, 61 SO)
MSU – Jr. LHP Nick Routt (2-2, 3.86 ERA, 37.1 IP, 15 BB, 32 SO)
Game 3
LSU – Fr. RHP Ryan Eades (3-1, 4.86 ERA, 37.0 IP, 17 BB, 29 SO)
MSU – TBA