BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU baseball team played host Sunday afternoon to nearly 3,000 fans for the First Pitch Fan Fest in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
The First Pitch Fan Fest, which featured a four-inning Purple-Gold scrimmage and a behind-the-scenes stadium tour, signified the start of the college baseball season.
The members of the Tigers’ 2019 team greeted fans during the stadium tour to sign autographs and pose for photos. The event featured remarks by coach Paul Mainieri, who is entering his 13th season at LSU.
“Only at LSU could we have such a unique event of this magnitude, and that’s because of the tremendous support our program receives from you,” Mainieri told the throng gathered in the grandstand. “We’re very grateful to represent a top-tier university like LSU every single day, and we can’t wait for the opportunity in less than three weeks to start this season.”
LSU opens the season at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 15, when the Tigers play host to UL-Monroe in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
Fans also heard from some of the current Tigers, as freshman first baseman Cade Beloso, sophomore catcher Brock Mathis, junior infielder Josh Smith and senior outfielder Antoine Duplantis provided an inside look at the 2019 squad
Mainieri said the Tigers, who are ranked No. 1 in three of the five preseason polls, are focused upon the goal of reaching the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., for the 19th time in school history. He has directed the Tigers to 29 different championships since 2008, including the 2009 College World Series title. LSU has been an NCAA Tournament National Seed in eight of the past 11 seasons.
“Our players come to LSU for the chance to compete for championships, and we embrace the high expectations,” Mainieri said. “I think we have a very special group of young men on this team who are going to play at a high level all the way into June.”