Central Arkansas Bears (11-8) at No. 1 LSU Tigers (18-2)

DATE/TIME
• Tuesday, March 21 @ 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)

STADIUM
• Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field (10,326)

RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 1 in all college baseball polls
• UCA – unranked

RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates, including 98.1 in Baton Rouge
• Live audio for LSU games at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats for LSU games at www.LSUstats.com

ONLINE
• The game will be streamed live on SEC Network+

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. CENTRAL ARKANSAS
• Tuesday’s game marks the first-ever baseball meeting between LSU and Central Arkansas, which competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference … LSU is 17-10 all-time against teams currently in the Atlantic Sun – the Tigers are 5-4 vs. Stetson, 3-0 vs. Jacksonville State, 1-0 vs. Austin Peay, 1-0 vs. Bellarmine, 1-2 vs. Lipscomb, 1-2 vs. Jacksonville, 2-1 vs. North Florida, 2-1 vs. Eastern Kentucky and 1-0 vs. Kennesaw State.

PITCHING MATCHUP
TBA

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“I know Central Arkansas is a great program that wins a lot of games, and that’s why they’re on our schedule. We want to play teams that have high winning percentages, because scheduling always goes back to RPI. They have a good approach at the plate, are well-coached, and it will be a good test. We’ll have to play well to win.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• LSU won three of its four games last week, including an SEC series victory at No. 11 Texas A&M … the Tigers’ 8-6 loss to the Aggies on Sunday ended LSU’s 13-game winning streak, its longest since the 2017 club won 17 games in a row … LSU’s 18-2 start this season is the Tigers’ best record through 20 games since the 2015 team also posted an 18-2 mark.
• LSU, which has been ranked No. 1 all season by all of the college baseball polls, enters this week at or near the top of several NCAA statistical categories … the Tigers are No. 1 in scoring average (11.1 runs per game), shutouts pitched (7) and hits allowed per nine innings (5.62) … LSU is No. 2 in the nation in fielding percentage (.989) and No. 2 in on-base percentage (.466).
• LSU centerfielder Dylan Crews is No. 1 in the nation in on-base percentage (.648) and in runs scored (37), and he is No. 3 in the country in batting average (.508) … third baseman Tommy White is No. 1 in the nation in RBI per game (2.00) … right-hander Paul Skenes leads the nation in strikeouts (59), pitching wins (5) and WHIP (0.53).
• Sophomore third baseman Tommy White batted .474 (9-for-19) in LSU’s games last week and helped lead the Tigers to an SEC series victory at No. 11 Texas A&M … White collected one double, one homer, 11 RBI and seven runs in the Tigers four games versus New Orleans and Texas A&M, and he extended his current hitting streak to 14 games … in LSU’s series victory at Texas A&M, White hit .500 (7-for-14) with one double, seven RBI and four runs …. his two-out, bases-loaded two-run single in the fourth inning of Game 2 sparked a six-run rally that allowed the Tigers to erase a 4-0 deficit and go on to post a 12-7 win … White is now hitting .419 on the year with a team-high 34 RBI.
• Freshman first baseman/DH Jared Jones batted .400 (6-for-15) for LSU last week with one homer, eight RBI and two runs … he led the Tigers to an SEC-series clinching victory on Saturday at No. 11 Texas A&M by going 4-for-5 at the plate with a three-run homer and a pair of two-run singles … his two-out, two-run single in the fourth inning on Saturday broke a 4-4 tie and allowed the Tigers to go on to a 12-7 win … Jones is batting .367 on the year; he has a team-high seven homers this season, and he is second on the club with 29 RBI.
• Junior right-hander Paul Skenes defeated No. 11 Texas A&M on Friday night, working 6.1 scoreless innings while allowing four hits and recording no walks and 11 strikeouts … Skenes fired a season-high 106 pitches in the outing to lead LSU to the series-opening victory over the Aggies … Skenes is No. 1 in the SEC in wins (5), strikeouts (59), opponent batting average (.115) and ERA (0.59).
• Junior right-hander Garrett Edwards posted relief wins last week of New Orleans and Texas A&M … Edwards worked a combined 7.0 innings in the two outings, allowing just one run on three hits with three walks and 10 strikeouts.

ABOUT THE BEARS
• Central Arkansas coach Nick Harlan and LSU coach Jay Johnson are former high school teammates who both grew up in Oroville, Calif. … Harlan is in his second season as the Bears’ head coach after working as the UCA pitching coach for eight seasons (2014-21).
• UCA is 11-8 this season and has won four straight games, including a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference sweep of North Alabama … the Bears also won at Vanderbilt, 5-4, on February 21.
• Central Arkansas is hitting .290 as a team with 34 doubles, four triples and 27 home runs … the Bears are led by catcher/infielder AJ Mendolia, who is hitting .438 with three homers and 18 RBI … first baseman Evan Hafley has a team-high four homers, and outfielder Kolby Johnson and outfielder Dylan Cyr each have four dingers.