LSU Takes Momentum Into Massive Road Series at No. 6 Georgia

LSU Tigers (29-21, 9-15) at Georgia Bulldogs (38-11, 18-6)

DATES/TIMES (TV/ONLINE)
Friday, May 8 @ 5 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
Saturday, May 9 @ 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
Sunday, May 10 @ 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network)

STADIUM
Foley Field in Athens, Ga. (3,633)

RADIO
·LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
·Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com

RANKINGS
UGA – No. 5 (D1 Baseball, USA Today); No. 6 (Baseball America)

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. GEORGIA

LSU leads the all-time series with Georgia, 73-27-3 … the most recent meeting between the teams occurred on May 21, 2024, when the Tigers posted a 9-1 win over the Bulldogs in the first round of the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. … LSU has won 12 of its last 15 SEC regular-season series versus UGA, including a 2-1 series victory May 18-20, 2023, in Athens … LSU also posted a 2-1 series victory over UGA in 2022 (April 29-May 1) in Baton Rouge … Georgia’s last regular-season series win over LSU occurred on March 22-24, 2019, when the Bulldogs won two of three games in Athens.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Game 1
LSU – So. RH William Schmidt (5-4, 3.90 ERA, 60.0 IP, 26 BB, 79 SO)
UGA – Jr. RH Joey Volchko (7-2, 3.63 ERA, 62.0 IP, 32 BB, 76 SO)

Game 2
LSU – Fr. RH Marcos Paz (1-2, 6.08 ERA, 23.2 IP, 19 BB, 34 SO)
UGA - Jr. RH Dylan Vigue (4-1, 2.35 ERA, 46.0 IP, 25 BB, 56 SO)

Game 3
LSU – TBA
UGA - TBA

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON

“The crew of guys that are taking our at-bats right now have a good blueprint for what they need to do to contribute to scoring runs. They are staying committed to that, and they’re not coming off of it. They have a solid understanding of what this team needs to do to win; we’ve shifted a little bit in our prep to get our points across to them, and I think that’s what coaching is. It’s about how the players receive the information, apply it and ultimately produce with it. Our coaching staff has done a good job in adjusting some things in order to help our players. Our guys are playing with a lot of confidence right now.

ABOUT THE TIGERS

-Senior right-hander Zac Cowan was named SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week on Monday after he pitched a combined 10.0 shutout innings over two victories last week … he earned a relief win over Southeastern Louisiana on April 28 and a win over South Carolina as a starter last Sunday ... Cowan threw a total of 155 pitches over 10.0 innings in the two victories, allowing no runs on four hits with two walks and 14 strikeouts ... he defeated Southeastern Louisiana on April 28, working 4.0 scoreless innings with two hits, one walk and seven strikeouts over 72 pitches ... he returned to the mound last Sunday versus South Carolina as the Tigers' starting pitcher, and he blanked the Gamecocks through 6.0 innings with two hits, one walk and seven strikeouts over 83 pitches ... 105 of Cowan's 155 pitches (67 percent) during the week were strikes.

-Sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide helped lead LSU to an SEC sweep of South Carolina last weekend, batting a team-high .538 (7-for-13) in the series with one homer, four RBI, three runs and a .500 on-base percentage ... from April 5 through May 5 (18 games), Arrambide is hitting .419 (31-for-74) with two doubles, 11 homers, 25 RBI and 20 runs … he is batting .365 (27-for-74) in SEC games with three doubles and team highs of nine homers and 24 RBI

-Freshman catcher/DH Omar Serna Jr. helped lead LSU to a three-game SEC sweep of South Carolina last weekend, batting .417 (5-for-12) with two doubles, one homer, four RBI, five runs and a .467 on-base percentage ... Serna Jr.'s two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning on Sunday gave LSU a 2-0 lead in a game the Tigers would win 7-0 … Serna Jr. enters this weekend’s series at Georgia riding an 11-game hitting streak and a 15-game reached-base safely streak … Serna Jr. is hitting .386 (22-for-57) in his last 15 games with six doubles, four homers, 14 RBI and 14 runs.

-Junior shortstop Steven Milam has a current reached-base safely streak that has stretched to 27 games, and he is also riding a 16-game hitting streak … he is batting .354 (23-for-65) during his 16-game hitting streak with six doubles, three homers, 17 RBI and 10 runs scored … he enters the Georgia series with just two errors in 174 chances, a .989 fielding percentage.

-The 2026 LSU pitching staff is No. 1 in the nation in total strikeouts (592) and No. 2 in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (12.3) ... LSU has finished No. 1 in the nation in total strikeouts in each of the past two seasons with 733 in 2024 and 760 in 2025.

-The LSU pitching staff performed brilliantly last weekend in the Tigers’ three-game sweep of South Carolina, posting a 0.67 ERA while allowing just two earned runs on 15 hits in 27.0 innings … the staff recorded eight walks and 33 strikeouts while limiting South Carolina to a .160 cumulative batting average.

-Sophomore right-hander William Schmidt recorded the longest SEC outing of his career last Saturday in Game 1 versus South Carolina, allowing just one run on five hits in 6.0 innings with one walk and seven strikeouts … freshman right-hander Marcos Paz earned his first career LSU win last Saturday in Game 2 versus South Carolina, limiting the Gamecocks to one run on one hit in 5.0 innings with three walks and eight strikeouts.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS:

-Fifth-ranked Georgia is 38-11 overall, and the Bulldogs are in first place in the SEC standings with an 18-6 conference mark, 2.5 games ahead of Texas and Texas A&M … Georgia head coach Wes Johnson worked as the pitching coach for LSU’s 2023 National Championship team.

-The Bulldogs lead the SEC in team batting average (.325) and home runs (131) … catcher/OF Daniel Jackson is hitting .373 with nine doubles, one triple, 23 homers and 67 RBI … third baseman Tre Phelps is hitting .372 with seven doubles, one triple, 17 homers and 47 RBI, and shortstop Kolby Branch is hitting .295 with 12 doubles, 15 homers and 46 RBI .. six players on the UGA roster have 13 or more homers on the year.

-Georgia is No. 11 in the SEC in team ERA (4.83), and the Bulldogs’ staff has recorded 513 strikeouts in 417.0 innings while allowing 58 home runs and a .240 opponent batting average.

(Release via LSU Athletics)