Northwestern State Demons (25-20) at No. 2 LSU Tigers (37-10)
DATE/TIME
• Tuesday, May 9 @ 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
STADIUM
• Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Baton Rouge, La. (10,326)
RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 2 in all polls (No. 4 in NCAA RPI)
• NSU – unranked
RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates, including 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
ONLINE
• The game will be streamed on SEC Network+
PROMOTIONS
The first 2,500 fans at Tuesday’s game will receive a free Tommy White poster.
LSU SERIES RECORD VS. NORTHWESTERN STATE
• LSU leads the series with Northwestern State, 60-13, and the Tigers have won 22 of the past 25 matchups, including a 19-7 victory last season (May 17) in Baton Rouge … prior to last season’s game, the Demons had won two in a row over LSU – a 7-3 victory on May 18, 2021, in Baton Rouge, and a 3-1 win on March 12, 2019, in Natchitoches … the Demons’ other win in their past 25 games versus LSU was a 5-2 victory on April 12, 2011, in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
QUOTING LSU COACH JAY JOHNSON
“We will make the adjustments that we need to, whether it be mental or physical, and get back to work. That’s what our team has done all year, and I’m excited about that. I woke up incredibly energized this morning to get into this week. We’re excited about facing a very good team in Northwestern State, getting our guys out there executing and improving, and doing what it takes to win a game.”
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• LSU won two of its four games last week and suffered its first series loss of the season by dropping two of three games at Auburn over the weekend … the series loss marked the Tigers’ first since May 13-15, 2022, when LSU was defeated in a series by Ole Miss … LSU had played eight straight SEC weekends – dating back to last season – without a league series loss before falling short in two games at Auburn.
• LSU’s 37-10 record is its best through 47 games since 2015, when the Tigers were 40-7 … LSU’s 16-7 SEC record this season is the Tigers’ best conference mark through 23 games since the 2015 club was also 16-7 in league play.
• The Tigers’ eight-game SEC win streak ended with Saturday’s loss at Auburn; the eight-game SEC win streak was LSU’s longest in a single season since 2017, when the Tigers won eight straight league games from May 6-May 20 … Sunday’s loss at Auburn marked the first time this season that LSU has lost two games in a row.
• LSU’s 10-0 win at Southeastern Louisiana and 3-0 win at Auburn last week give the Tigers nine shutouts this season, a figure which leads the nation.
• LSU centerfielder Dylan Crews increased his reached base streak to 51 straight games, which includes all 47 games this season and the final four games of last season.
• Junior right-hander Paul Skenes was named SEC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after he defeated Auburn on Friday night, working a season-high 7.1 innings and allowing no runs on six hits with one walk and a career-high 15 strikeouts … he became the first LSU pitcher to record 15 strikeouts in a game since Tyler Jones fanned 15 at the University of New Orleans on May 17, 2011 … Skenes’ outing marked the most strikeouts by an LSU pitcher in an SEC game since April 24, 2009, when Anthony Ranaudo fanned 15 against Auburn in Baton Rouge … Skenes improved to 9-1 on the year, and he leads the nation with 139 strikeouts … he is also No. 1 in the SEC in ERA (1.73), innings pitched (72.2) and opponent batting average (.165).
• LSU freshman right-hander Gavin Guidry made three appearances on the mound last week, including his first career start at Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday night … Guidry earned the win at Southeastern, working 2.1 scoreless innings with no hits, one walk and four strikeouts … Guidry made two appearances on the Auburn series over the weekend, and he fired a career-high 3.1 innings in Sunday’s game, allowing one earned run on two hits with one walk and four strikeouts … for the entire week, Guidry pitched 6.0 innings and allowed one earned run on two hits with three walks and nine strikeouts.
• LSU third baseman Tommy White hit .471 (8-for-17) in four games last week with three doubles, one homer, four RBI and three runs scored … leftfielder Tre’ Morgan batted .444 (8-for-18) last week with one homer, three RBI and two runs … Morgan provided all three runs in LSU’s 3-0 win over Auburn on Friday night, as he launched a two-run homer and provided an RBI single.
• Catcher Hayden Travinski batted .400 (4-for-10) last week with one homer, four RBI and two runs … Travinski has homered once in each of LSU’s past three SEC series versus Ole Miss, Alabama and Auburn … second baseman Gavin Dugas hit .357 (5-for-14) last week with two homers, three RBI and six runs scored.
ABOUT THE DEMONS
• Northwestern State has a 10-8 mark in the Southland Conference, and the Demons dropped two of three games at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last weekend … Northwestern State has posted SLC series victories this season over New Orleans, Lamar, Incarnate Word and Nicholls.
• The Demons are hitting .274 as a team with 52 homers and 34 steals in 45 attempts … infielder Michael Dattalo is batting .395 with 16 doubles, seven homers and 38 RBI … infielder Jake Haze is hitting .311 with 13 doubles, two triples, three homers and 35 RBI … outfielder Jeffrey Elkins is batting .309 with 11 doubles, 10 homers and 28 RBI.
• The Northwestern State pitching staff has a 5.47 cumulative ERA, and the Demons have recorded 410 strikeouts in 393.0 innings.