BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 11 LSU (27-15, 10-8 SEC) opens a three-game SEC series at 6:30 p.m. CT Thursday versus Alabama (15-26, 2-16 SEC) at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Game 2 of the series will begin at 6 p.m. CT on Friday, and first pitch for Game 3 is set for 2 p.m. CT on Saturday.
The games 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,
Thursday’s game will be televised on ESPN2, and the games on Friday and Saturday may be viewed on SEC Network +, accessible at WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.
LSU is in fourth place in the SEC Western Division with a 10-8 league mark, just three games behind first-place Mississippi State (13-5). Alabama is seventh in the SEC West with a 2-16 league record.
“Alabama beat us two out of three last year here in Baton Rouge, so there’s no way anybody on our team is ever going to take the University of Alabama lightly in any sport,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “They’ve got a couple of major home run threats, and they have some really good arms that we’ve faced before. We’ve got to go out there and play our game, not concern ourselves with how the other team plays, but strictly how we play. If we play the way we’re capable of playing, we’ll give ourselves a chance to have success.”
LSU is No. 3 in the SEC in team batting average (.291), trailing only Kentucky (.315) and Arkansas (.294). The LSU hitters have the second-fewest number of strikeouts in the league (248).
LSU junior rightfielder Greg Deichmann is No. 2 in the league in home runs (14), RBI (49) and total bases (105), and senior shortstop Kramer Robertson is No. 1 in the league in runs scored with 47.
Senior second baseman Cole Freeman is fifth in the SEC in stolen bases (11), and he’s No. 8 in the league in on-base percentage (.447).
Freshman centerfielder Zach Watson and junior first baseman Nick Coomes each had hitting streaks end at 15 games and 11 games, respectively, in Tuesday night’s game at Tulane. Watson’s 15-game streak was the longest by an LSU player this season.
The Tigers will face an Alabama staff that is No. 12 in the league in team ERA (4.31), but the Crimson Tide has allowed only 17 home runs this season, the second-lowest total in the SEC.
The LSU pitching staff is No. 11 in the SEC with a 4.02 ERA, and the Tigers have limited opponents to a .241 cumulative batting average while averaging 9.18 strikeouts per game.
Alabama is No. 10 in the league in hitting with a .274 batting average, and the Tide has blasted 35 home runs. Sophomore outfielder Chandler Taylor has six doubles, one triple, 26 RBI and a team-high 11 home runs.
Junior infielder Cody Henry has eight doubles, eight homers and a team-best 30 RBI, while junior infielder Chandler Avant has 13 doubles and 16 RBI for the Crimson Tide.
#11 LSU Fighting Tigers (27-15, 10-8 SEC) at Alabama Crimson Tide (15-26, 2-16 SEC)
DATES/TIMES
Thursday, April 27 – 6:30 p.m. CT
Friday, April 28 – 6 p.m. CT
Saturday, April 29 – 2 p.m. CT
STADIUM
Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 11 USA Today; No. 14 Collegiate Baseball; No. 15 Baseball America
UA – 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/ONLINE
Thursday – ESPN2
Friday and Saturday – SEC Network +, accessible at WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app
SERIES RECORD
Alabama leads the all-time series with LSU,196-167-3, and the first meeting between the squads occurred in 1906. Alabama won two of three games in last season’s SEC series meeting in Baton Rouge. LSU a 43-16 mark against Alabama over the past 17 seasons (2000-16). LSU has won 12 of its last 17 and nine of its last 12 SEC regular-season series versus the Tide, and the Tigers have won 12 of the 16 games played between the schools over the past five seasons.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – Jr. RHP Alex Lange (4-4, 3.41 ERA, 58.0 IP, 25 BB, 76 SO)
UA – So. LHP Dylan Duarte (2-4, 4.65 ERA, 50.1 IP, 16 BB, 38 SO)
Game 2
LSU – Jr. LHP Jared Poche’ (6-3, 3.28 ERA, 60.1 IP, 15 BB, 44 SO
UA – Sr. RHP Nick Eicholtz (1-1, 5.49 ERA, 41.0 IP, 25 BB, 23 SO)
Game 3
LSU – Fr. RHP Eric Walker (5-1, 3.49 ERA, 56.2 IP, 13 BB, 52 SO)
UA – TBA