COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 9 LSU (22-11, 6-6 SEC) opens a three-game SEC series at 6 p.m. CT Friday as the Tigers face Missouri (20-15, 4-8 SEC) at Taylor Stadium.
Game 2 of the series is set for 2 p.m. CT Saturday, and first pitch for Game 3 is 1 p.m. CT Sunday.
The games will be carried on affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network, including WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge, Live audio of the games may be accessed at www.LSUsports.net/live with live stats at www.LSUstats.com.
The LSU-Missouri games may be viewed online on SEC Network +, accessible at WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.
LSU coach Paul Mainieri and Missouri coach Tim Jamieson were teammates in 1978 and 1979 at the University of New Orleans.
“This is going to be a very challenging series, because Missouri has a tremendous starting rotation, and their record is very misleading,” said Mainieri. “They have played an extremely tough schedule with some close losses, and their record could be much different than what it is right now. We’ve embraced the challenge of playing on the road in the SEC in recent years, and we’ll have to compete at a high level all weekend. Missouri definitely has our attention.”
LSU has won 16 of its past 20 SEC road series, including a 2-1 series win at Auburn two weeks ago. The Tigers enter the series with Missouri in third place in the SEC Western Division, two games behind first-place Mississippi State. Missouri is in fifth place in the SEC East, six games behind first-place South Carolina.
Mainieri said that junior left-hander Jared Poche’ will start Game 1 on the mound for LSU, followed by sophomore right-hander Alex Lange in Game 2 and senior left-hander John Valek III in Game 3.
LSU won two of three SEC games over second-ranked Vanderbilt last weekend in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. The Tigers hit .350 (36-for-103) as a team in the Vanderbilt series with 23 runs on 36 hits and six steals in seven attempts.
LSU is No. 5 in the SEC with a .299 team batting average, and the Tiger hitters have struck out just 145 times, the best mark in the league. Freshman rightfielder Antoine Duplantis is LSU’s leading hitter, batting .372 with six doubles, three triples, 17 RBI and 10 stolen bases. Sophomore leftfielder Beau Jordan is batting .348 with seven doubles, three homers and 28 RBI, while junior centerfielder Jake Fraley is hitting .323 with four doubles, four triples, one homer, 18 RBI and 17 steals.
LSU will face a Missouri pitching staff that is eighth in the SEC with a 3.89 ERA. Sophomore right-hander Tanner Houck is fourth in the league in opponent batting average (.181), and he is No. 7 in the conference with a 2.33 ERA.
The LSU pitching staff is No. 11 in the league with a 4.10 ERA. Poche’ is No. 5 in the league with a 2.03 ERA, and Lange is fifth in the league with 62 strikeouts (tied with Missouri’s Houck).
Missouri is hitting .252 as a team with 16 homers and 51 steals in 71 attempts. Mizzou is led at the plate by junior outfielder Jake Ring, who is batting .331 with seven doubles, three triples, one homer and 17 RBI. Senior infielder Zach Lavy is hitting .319 with 12 doubles, six triples, three homers and 31 RBI, while junior infielder Ryan Howard is batting .279 with eight doubles, one triple, three homers and 18 RBI.
LSU leads Missouri, 8-0, in the all-time series between the schools. LSU swept three games from Mizzou last season by scores of 8-3, 8-2 and 6-5 (10 innings) last season in Baton Rouge. The teams’ first matchup as SEC foes occurred in 2013, when LSU swept three games in Columbia by scores of 2-0, 8-0 and 6-5.
LSU also defeated Mizzou 5-1 in 1986 and 8-5 in 1987 – both of those games were played in the original Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge.
#9 LSU Fighting Tigers (22-11, 6-6 SEC) at Missouri Tigers (20-15, 4-8 SEC)
DATES/TIMES
Friday, April 15 – 6 p.m. CT
Saturday, April 16, — 2 p.m. CT
Sunday, April 17 – 1 p.m. CT
STADIUM
Taylor Stadium in Columbia, Mo.
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 9 by Baseball America; No. 11 by D1 Baseball; No. 12 by USA Today
Mizzou – unranked
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates (WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge); live audio and live stats at www.LSUsports.net
ONLINE
SEC Network + (accessible at WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app)
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads Missouri, 8-0, in the all-time series between the schools. LSU swept three games from Mizzou last season by scores of 8-3, 8-2 and 6-5 (10 innings) last season in Baton Rouge. The teams’ first matchup as SEC foes occurred in 2013, when LSU swept three games in Columbia by scores of 2-0, 8-0 and 6-5. LSU also defeated Mizzou 5-1 in 1986 and 8-5 in 1987 – both of those games were played in the original Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge.
LSU coach Paul Mainieri and Missouri coach Tim Jamieson were teammates in 1978 and 1979 at the University of New Orleans.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – Jr. LHP Jared Poche’ (4-3, 2.03 ERA, 48.2 IP, 20 BB, 44 SO)
Mizzou – Sr. RHP Reggie McClain (3-1, 3.30 ERA, 57.1 IP, 4 BB, 51 SO)
Game 2
LSU – So. RHP Alex Lange (3-2, 4.74 ERA, 49.1 IP, 29 BB, 62 SO)
Mizzou – So. RHP Tanner Houck (4-2, 2.33 ERA, 58.0 IP, 13 BB, 62 SO)
Game 3
LSU – Sr. LHP John Valek III (5-1, 3.48 ERA, 44.0 IP, 6 BB, 35 SO)
Mizzou – Fr. LHP Michael Plassmeyer (3-2, 4.22 ERA, 32.0 IP, 6 BB, 20 SO)