No. 2 LSU Tigers (11-1) at Southeastern Louisiana Lions (8-4 entering Tuesday night game vs. Alcorn State)
DATE/TIME
• Wednesday, March 6 @ 6 p.m. CT
STADIUM
• Pat Kennelly Diamond at Alumni Field in Hammond, La. (3,500)
RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 2 Baseball America; No. 2 USA Today; No. 3 D1 Baseball
• SLU – unranked
RADIO/STATS
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
TV/ONLINE
• The LSU-SLU game will be streamed on ESPN+
LSU SERIES RECORD VS. SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA
• LSU leads Southeastern Louisiana, 75-18, in a series that began in 1937, and the Tigers have won 29 of the last 31 meetings between the schools. The Tigers posted a 10-0 win (7 innings) over the Lions last season (May 2) in Hammond. LSU has a 48-4 mark against Southeastern Louisiana since 1990.
LSU STARTING PITCHER VS. SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA
• Fr. LH Kade Anderson (2-0, 1.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 4 BB, 13 SO)
QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“We like playing teams with a new coach, because there’s usually a very positive energy about them if handled right, and so far, so good for Southeastern; they’re playing really well right now. I know they brought in some good players, and they’re going to win a lot of games. I think the game is sold out already, and it’s going to be awesome to play there. I like where we’re at right now as a team, and I really like our players’ response to what we’ve needed to do to improve and the commitment to it.”
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• LSU won all four its games last week during a road trip in Houston, and the Tigers this week are ranked No. 2 in the nation by Baseball America and by USA Today, and No. 3 in the country by D1 Baseball. The Tigers posted a 16-4 win at Rice on Wednesday night, then defeated Texas, UL Lafayette and Texas State over the weekend in the Astros Foundation College Classic at Minute Maid Park.
• LSU’s 3-0 record over the weekend allowed the Tigers to claim the Astros Foundation College Classic title for the first time in five appearances at the tournament … Vanderbilt was also 3-0 in the event with wins over UL Lafayette, Houston and Texas; however, the Tigers captured the title by having a greater overall run differential in their victories.
• Junior right-hander Luke Holman fired 5.2 shutout innings Friday in a win over No. 13 Texas in the Astros Foundation College Classic … Holman limited the Longhorns to three hits with one walk and a career-high 12 strikeouts … he threw 91 pitches in the outing, recording 61 pitches for strikes … he retired nine of the final 10 batters he faced to complete his outing … Holman is 3-0 this season with a 0.00 ERA in 18.0 innings … he has recorded two walks and 30 strikeouts, and he’s limiting opponents to a .133 batting average.
• Graduate catcher Hayden Travinski helped lead LSU to its four straight wins in Houston last week … Travinski batted .462 (6-for-13) in four games with three doubles, one homer, six RBI, four walks, two hit-by-pitches and a .632 on-base percentage … he was 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBI in Saturday’s win over UL Lafayette … his solo homer in the seventh inning against the Cajuns extended LSU’s lead to 5-3 and proved to be the difference in the Tigers’ 5-4 win … Travinski doubled twice and drove in two runs in Sunday’s win over Texas State … Travinski is hitting .366 this season with four doubles, two homers and 14 RBI.
• Freshman second baseman Steven Milam helped lead LSU to its four wins in Houston , as he batted .400 (6-for-15) in four games with one double, four RBI, four walks, and a .500 on-base percentage … he was 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs in Sunday’s win over Texas State … he also drove in two runs for the Tigers in Wednesday’s win at Rice … Milam is LSU’s leading hitter this season, batting .405 (15-for-37) with two doubles, 10 RBI, 11 runs, three stolen bases and a .520 on-base percentage.
• Freshman left-hander Kade Anderson defeated Rice on Wednesday night in his first collegiate start on the road and his second collegiate start overall … Anderson pitched brilliantly, limiting the Owls to three runs – none earned – on three hits in five innings with one walk and seven strikeouts, firing 82 pitches.
• Sophomore left-hander Gage Jump was superb in his starting role Saturday versus UL Lafayette, earning the win by limiting the Cajuns to just one hit in five shutout innings with no walks and five strikeouts … Jump threw 76 pitches, 59 for strikes in the outing.
• First baseman Jared Jones hit .462 (6-for-13) in four games last week with three doubles, one homer, five RBI, four runs, five walks and a .611 on-base percentage … catcher Brady Neal also hit .462 (6-for-13) last week with two doubles, two homers, five RBI and four runs …. Neal was 2-for-4 at Rice Wednesday night with two homers, five RBI, three runs and a walk … the effort marked the first multi-homer game of Neal’s LSU career.
ABOUT THE LIONS
• Southeastern Louisiana had an 8-4 record entering a Tuesday night matchup in Hammond versus Alcorn State … the Lions are coached by Bobby Barbier, who is in his first season at SLU after serving as the head coach at Northwestern State in Natchitoches for seven seasons.
• Last weekend, SLU posted wins over Cal State Fullerton (5-1) and 11th-ranked East Carolina (11-9) in Greenville, N.C.
• Entering Tuesday’s game versus Alcorn State, SLU was hitting .245 as a team with 16 doubles, one triple, 18 homers and 10 steals in 10 attempts … the Lions’ pitching staff had a 3.83 cumulative ERA with 79 strikeouts in 101.0 innings and a .216 opponent batting average.
• The Lions are led at the plate by outfielder Jude Hall, who was hitting .433 with two doubles, four homers and 13 RBI … infielder Shea Thomas was batting .341 with three doubles, three homers and 11 RBI.