Mainieri on moving forward after ORU series loss
LSU head baseball coach Paul Mainieri met with the media Monday where he discussed the Tigers series loss to Oral Roberts and moving forward.
Texas Southern Tigers (3-9) at No. 15 LSU Fighting Tigers (9-3)
DATE/TIME
Tuesday, March 9 @ 6:30 p.m. CT
STADIUM
Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 15 Collegiate Baseball; No. 19 USA Today; No. 21 D1 Baseball
TSU - unranked
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
ONLINE
SEC Network +, accessible at Watch ESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app
SERIES RECORD VS. TEXAS SOUTHERN
LSU leads the all-time series with Texas Southern, 4-0, with the first meeting occurring at the 2008 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional in the original Alex Box Stadium. The subsequent three meetings were also in Baton Rouge; the most recent matchup was on March 13, 2019, a 16-5 LSU victory in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU – Fr. LH Javen Coleman (1-0, 4.26 ERA, 6.1 IP, 4 BB, 11 SO)
TSU – TBA
QUOTING PAUL MAINIERI
“Certainly there are a lot of things we need to do to get back on track. We’re only 12 games into the season, and you learn a lot about your team as the season wears on. I’m certainly learning a lot about our team, and there will definitely be some changes. One of those changes will be to get (second baseman) Cade Doughty back in the lineup (after a shoulder injury). I feel strongly that he is not only one of the best players on our team, but in our league. Having Cade back gives us a much better balance in our lineup; we’re hopeful that he can play on Tuesday night, and once he gets back in there, it’s going to make a big difference for us.”
ABOUT LSU
Junior right-hander Landon Marceaux fired six shutout innings to defeat Oral Roberts on Saturday … Marceaux allowed six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts while throwing 84 pitches, 63 for strikes … only one ORU hitter advanced beyond second base against Marceaux, who has not allowed an earned run this season in 17 innings with no walks, 21 strikeouts and a .167 opponent batting average.
Junior right-hander AJ Labas turned in a quality start on Sunday versus Oral Roberts, blanking the Golden Eagles through six innings while scattering five hits and recording no walks and seven strikeouts.
Junior leftfielder Gavin Dugas led the Tigers at the plate last week, batting .467 (7-for-15) in five games with two doubles, six RBI and three runs … sophomore infielder Zach Arnold batted .389 (7-for-18) on the week with one double, one homer and four RBI, and freshman first baseman Tre’ Morgan hit .375 (6-for-16) with two doubles, one triple, one homer, five RBI and two runs.
Freshman rightfielder Dylan Crews homered twice, was 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts and recorded two outfield assists, twice throwing a runner out at third base … freshman third baseman Jordan Thompson contributed a homer and five RBI in five games this week.
The Tigers featured four true freshmen in their starting batting order throughout the week – Dylan Crews, Tre’ Morgan, Jordan Thompson and outfielder Brody Drost – and seven true freshmen pitchers saw action on the mound in last week’s games.
Freshman right-hander Blake Money posted two excellent relief efforts during the week, working 4.2 shutout innings and allowing just two hits with no walks and five strikeouts … freshman right-hander Ty Floyd fired three scoreless innings in two relief appearances, allowing one hit with one walk and six strikeouts … freshman right-hander Michael Fowler recorded four scoreless innings against Oral Roberts on Friday, allowing only one hit while posting no walks and two strikeouts.
LSU recorded its second walk-off win of the season on Wednesday when first baseman Tre’ Morgan delivered a ninth-inning sacrifice fly to score in the deciding run in a 5-4 victory over Nicholls … LSU’s first walk-off win came on February 27 versus Youngstown State on a two-run homer by second baseman Cade Doughty.
ABOUT TEXAS SOUTHERN
Texas Southern posted a three-game sweep of Prairie View over the weekend after beginning its season with nine straight losses.
TSU was swept in weekend series by Houston and by Incarnate Word, and the Tigers suffered midweek losses to TCU and to Texas Tech (twice).
TSU was predicted to finish second behind Grambling in the SWAC Western Division standings in the league’s 2021 preseason rankings. Third baseman Nic Garza and outfielder Tyson Thompson earned first-team preseason All-SWAC recognition.