Paul Mainieri and LSU players preview Arkansas series
No. 1 ranked Arkansas arrives in Baton Rouge for a three game series at Alex Box with LSU. The series will be the first time this year that a full capacity crowd could be in the stands.
WATCH
Arkansas Razorbacks (32-7, 13-5) at LSU Fighting Tigers (25-15, 6-12)
DATES/TIMES
Friday, April 30 @ 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
Saturday, May 1 @ 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
Sunday, May 2 @ 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
STADIUM
Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Baton Rouge, La. (10,326)
RANKINGS
Arkansas – No. 1 Baseball America, No. 1 USA Today, No. D1 Baseball, No. 1 Collegiate Baseball
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
TV/ONLINE
Friday’s game will be televised on the SEC Network
All three games will be streamed SEC Network +, accessible at Watch ESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app
SERIES RECORD VS. ARKANSAS
LSU leads the all-time series with Arkansas, 74-34, and the Tigers have won 13 of the last 15 and seven of the last eight SEC regular-season series versus the Razorbacks … Arkansas ended LSU’s streak of seven straight series wins over the Razorbacks with a 2-1 series victory in Fayetteville on May 9-11, 2019 … the only other regular-season series win for Arkansas over LSU in the past 16 seasons (2005-20) came in 2011, when the Razorbacks swept three games from the Tigers in Fayetteville … the Tigers are 38-16 against Arkansas over the past 16 seasons, including two wins over the Razorbacks in the 2009 College World Series.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – Jr. RH Landon Marceaux (4-3, 2.10 ERA, 60.0 IP, 13 BB, 72 SO)
UA – Jr. RH Patrick Wicklander (2-1, 2.20 ERA, 41.0 IP, 14 BB, 44 SO)
Game 2
LSU – Jr. RH AJ Labas (3-0, 3.15 ERA, 60.0 IP, 10 BB, 56 SO)
UA – So. RH Peyton Pallette (1-2, 3.98 ERA, 43.0 IP, 16 BB, 56 SO)
Game 3
LSU – TBA
UA – TBA
QUOTING PAUL MAINIERI
“Arkansas is the No. 1 ranked team in the country, and this is going to be a huge weekend for us. We’ve had some great series through the years with Arkansas; they’re one of the more memorable opponents we’ve had in my tenure here. I’ve always had the greatest respect for (Arkansas coach) Dave Van Horn and the Arkansas program, and we enjoy competing against them. Arkansas has always played the game the right way – they play hard and with a lot of passion – and I think we have as well. They’ve put together another great ball club; they’ve got a tremendous team, a great pitching staff and great players at every position. We’re looking forward to the challenge, and Friday can’t get here soon enough for me.”
ABOUT THE TIGERS
LSU has a No. 24 RPI in Thursday’s updated official NCAA rankings … the Tigers are currently ranked No. 1 in strength of schedule, having played the most difficult schedule in the nation through the first 10 weeks of the season … LSU has won four of its past five games, including a 7-0 shutout of Grambling State on Tuesday night
LSU is No. 3 in the nation (tied with Southern Illinois) in home runs with 60 dingers this season … Arkansas is No. 1 in homers with 74, and Old Dominion is No. 2 with 67
Arkansas represents the sixth Top 10 team LSU has faced in the last seven SEC weekend series … the Tigers posted a series win at No. 9 Ole Miss last weekend, batting .319 (37-for-116) in the three-game set … the Tigers outhit Ole Miss, 37-33, and LSU outscored the Rebels, 21-16
First baseman Tre’ Morgan was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday, as helped lead the Tigers to an SEC series victory at ninth-ranked Ole Miss … Morgan, the Tigers’ lead-off hitter, hit .571 (8-for-14) in the series with three RBI, four runs scored, one stolen base and a .625 on-base percentage … Morgan is currently riding a 11-game hit streak, marking his second 11-game hit streak this season … he is No. 8 in the SEC in batting average (.354), No. 3 in triples (3), No. 3 in runs scored (41), No. 5 in doubles (11), No. 6 in on-base percentage (.467) and No. 8 in stolen bases (10) … Morgan has reached base safely in 20 straight games
Junior right-hander AJ Labas fired the first complete game in three years by an LSU pitcher last Friday when he defeated ninth-ranked Ole Miss … Labas limited Ole Miss – which entered the series No. 2 in the SEC in team batting average (.301) – to two runs on 10 hits in nine innings with one walk and six strikeouts … he threw a career-high 126 pitches in the win … the complete game was the first by an LSU pitcher since April 24, 2018, when Labas himself recorded a nine-inning shutout of Lamar in Baton Rouge … Labas’ 126 pitches were the most thrown by an LSU hurler since June 2, 2012, when Kevin Gausman threw 129 pitches in eight innings against Oregon State in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional … Labas enters the Arkansas series No. 3 in the SEC in innings pitched (60 IP - tied with LSU teammate Landon Marceaux)
Freshman rightfielder Dylan Crews is No. 5 in the SEC in batting average (.358), No. 4 in total bases (93), No. 5 in hits (53), No. 5 in on-base percentage (.469), No. 6 in stolen bases (11), No. 6 in walks (29) and No. 7 in slugging percentage (.628) … Crews has reached base safely in 19 straight games
Junior right-hander Landon Marceaux is No. 4 in the SEC in ERA (2.10), No. 3 in innings pitched (60 – tied with teammate AJ Labas), No. 7 in strikeouts (72) and No. 9 in opponent batting average (.200)
Junior leftfielder Gavin Dugas is No. 5 in the SEC in home runs (12), No. 4 in RBI (44) and No. 9 in total bases (89) … sophomore third baseman Cade Doughty is No. 7 in the SEC in RBI (39)
LSU is 21-7 this season when it scores first in a game … the Tigers are 22-8 when hitting at least one home run in a game
ABOUT THE RAZORBACKS
Arkansas is ranked No. 1 this week in every college baseball poll, and the Razorbacks are tied with Vanderbilt for first place in the overall SEC standings
Arkansas leads the nation in home runs this season with 74; the Razorbacks are No. 1 in the SEC in runs scored (319) and in on-base percentage (.405) … Arkansas is No. 6 in the SEC in team batting average (.280)
The Razorbacks pitching staff is No. 8 in the SEC in team ERA (4.08), and Arkansas has recorded 396 strikeouts in 346 innings while limiting opponents to a .225 cumulative batting average
Arkansas infielder Matt Goodheart is hitting .325 with a team-high 11 homers and 27 RBI … infielder Brady Slavens has 10 homers, and he is No. 2 in the SEC with 47 RBI … right-hander Kevin Kopps leads Arkansas in both wins (6) and saves (5), and he’s recorded 66 strikeouts and a 0.97 ERA in 37 innings
LSU Tigers Champion Team Lightweight Full-Zip Jacket - White
