BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 8 LSU (22-11) faces Louisiana-Lafayette (18-13-1) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the annual Wally Pontiff Jr. Classic at the Shrine on Airline in Metairie, La.
The game will be carried on the LSU Sports Radio Network (WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge), and the radio broadcast may be heard at www.LSUsports.net/live.
The game will be televised by Cox Sports Television, and it may be viewed online on ESPN3.com, accessible at WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app. The online streaming is blacked out in markets served by Cox Sports Television.
LSU is 11-2 in the Wally Pontiff Jr. Foundation Classic, which began in 2004 when the Tigers posted a 9-3 win over Southeastern Louisiana. The Tigers are 1-0 vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 1-1 vs. Rice, 1-1 vs. New Orleans, 3-0 vs. UL-Lafayette, 4-0 vs. Southern Miss and 1-0 vs. Southern University in Wally Pontiff Jr. Classic games. Last season, the Tigers posted an 8-5 win over UL-Lafayette in the Pontiff Classic.
Wally Pontiff Jr., an all-SEC third baseman at LSU, died in 2002 at the age of 21 due to a heart abnormality. Proceeds from Tuesday’s game will go to the Wally Pontiff Jr. Foundation, which benefits charitable organizations throughout Louisiana.
LSU leads the all-time series with UL-Lafayette, 54-24, as the squads first met in 1912. LSU has won four in a row and 14 of the 19 meetings with ULL since 2000. This year’s game marks the third straight season LSU and ULL have met in the Pontiff Classic. Last season (March 22), the Tigers posted an 8-5 win over the Cajuns, and LSU defeated UL-Lafayette, 8-6, in the 2015 Pontiff Classic. LSU coach Paul Mainieri has a 10-3 career mark against UL-Lafayette.
“We’re so proud to participate in this game each year because of the tremendous legacy Wally Pontiff Jr. established as an LSU ball player and as an outstanding young man,” Mainieri said. “He showed you could do it all – you could be a great baseball player and a great human being.
“We also embrace the opportunity to face a tremendous program in UL-Lafayette,” Mainieri continued. “I have great respect for (ULL) Coach (Tony) Robichaux and his players, and it’s always great competition between the two teams. I’m sure it’s going to be a great, very intense ball game; the crowd is going to be in it, and it’s always a lot of fun.”
LSU won three of four games last week, including a 2-1 series win at 14th-ranked Arkansas. The series win was the sixth straight for LSU over the Razorbacks and the Tigers’ 12th series win over Arkansas in the past 13 seasons.
The Tigers enter Tuesday’s batting .296 as a team with 30 homers and 34 steals in 50 attempts.
Junior rightfielder Greg Deichmann led the Tigers at the plate in the Arkansas series, batting .462 (6-for-13) with one homer and five RBI. Deichmann launched a two-run homer in the eighth inning of Saturday’s game, reducing the Razorbacks’ lead to 8-5 and setting the stage for LSU’s five-run outburst in the ninth inning, when he contributed an RBI single. Deichmann also delivered an run-scoring single in the eighth inning of LSU’s 2-0 win over the Hogs on Sunday.
For the entire week – including last Tuesday’s win over Grambling – Deichmann hit .471 (8-for-17) with one homer, five RBI and two runs scored.
Senior DH/catcher Jordan Romero enjoyed a productive week, batting .400 (6-for-15) in four games with one double, one homer and two RBI. Freshman centerfielder Zach Watson batted .467 (7-for-15) last week with one triple, one homer, two RBI and two runs scored.
ULL is hitting .272 on the year with 18 homers and 25 steals in 38 attempts. The Cajuns are led at the plate by senior outfielder Ishmael Edwards, who is hitting .336 with six doubles, four triples, three homers and 18 RBI. Junior first baseman/outfielder Steven Sensley is batting .312 with five doubles, two triples, two homers and 19 RBI, and senior outfielder/infielder Joe Robbins has team-highs of four homers and 20 RBI.
Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (18-13-1) vs. #8 LSU Fighting Tigers (22-11)
Wally Pontiff Jr. Baseball Classic
DATE/TIME
Tuesday, April 11 – 7 p.m. CT
STADIUM
The Shrine on Airline in Metairie, La.
RANKINGS
LSU –No. 8 USA Today; No. 9 Baseball America; No. 10 Collegiate Baseball
ULL – unranked
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network; in Baton Rouge on WDGL 98.1 FM
Radio broadcast and live stats for all LSU baseball games are available at www.LSUsports.net
TV
Cox Sports Television
ONLINE
ESPN3.com (online streaming blacked out in Cox Sports Television markets)
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads the all-time series with UL-Lafayette, 54-24, as the squads first met in 1912. LSU has won four in a row and 14 of the 19 meetings with ULL since 2000. This year’s game marks the third straight season LSU and ULL have met in the Pontiff Classic. Last season (March 22), the Tigers posted an 8-5 win over the Cajuns, and LSU defeated UL-Lafayette, 8-6, in the 2015 Pontiff Classic. LSU coach Paul Mainieri has a 10-3 career mark against UL-Lafayette.
ABOUT THE WALLY PONTIFF JR. BASEBALL CLASSIC
• Wally Pontiff Jr., an all-SEC third baseman at LSU, died in 2002 at the age of 21 due to a heart abnormality. Proceeds from Tuesday’s game will go to the Wally Pontiff Jr. Foundation, which benefits charitable organizations throughout Louisiana.
• LSU is 11-2 in the Wally Pontiff Jr. Foundation Classic, which began in 2004 when the Tigers posted a 9-3 win over Southeastern Louisiana. The Tigers are 1-0 vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 1-1 vs. Rice, 1-1 vs. New Orleans, 3-0 vs. UL-Lafayette, 4-0 vs. Southern Miss and 1-0 vs. Southern University in Wally Pontiff Jr. Classic games. Last season, the Tigers posted an 8-5 win over UL-Lafayette in the Pontiff Classic.
• LSU’s first game at the Shrine on Airline occurred in 1998 vs. Tulane, and the Tigers have an all-time record of 24-12 at the AAA minor league facility.
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU – Fr. RHP Matthew Beck (1-0, 0.69 ERA, 13.0 IP, 4 BB, 9 SO)
ULL – Fr. RHP Jack Burk (2-3, 2.23 ERA, 32.1 IP, 5 BB, 26 SO)