LSU To Host Central Arkansas Tuesday Night At Alex Box Stadium
by Staff Reporter
March 20, 20233 Comments
SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network
Central Arkansas Bears (11-8) at No. 1 LSU Tigers (18-2)
DATE/TIME
·Tuesday, March 21 @ 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
STADIUM
· Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field (10,326)
RANKINGS
·LSU – No. 1 in all college baseball polls
·UCA - unranked
RADIO
·LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates, including 98.1 in Baton Rouge
·Live audio for LSU games at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats for LSU games at www.LSUstats.com
ONLINE
·The game will be streamed live on SEC Network +
LSU SERIES RECORD VS. CENTRAL ARKANSAS
·Tuesday’s game marks the first-ever baseball meeting between LSU and Central Arkansas, which competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference … LSU is 17-10 all-time against teams currently in the Atlantic Sun – the Tigers are 5-4 vs. Stetson, 3-0 vs. Jacksonville State, 1-0 vs. Austin Peay, 1-0 vs. Bellarmine, 1-2 vs. Lipscomb, 1-2 vs. Jacksonville, 2-1 vs. North Florida, 2-1 vs. Eastern Kentucky and 1-0 vs. Kennesaw State.
PITCHING MATCHUP
TBA
QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“I know Central Arkansas is a great program that wins a lot of games, and that’s why they’re on our schedule. We want to play teams that have high winning percentages, because scheduling always goes back to RPI. They have a good approach at the plate, are well-coached, and it will be a good test. We’ll have to play well to win.”
ABOUT THE TIGERS
·LSU won three of its four games last week, including an SEC series victory at No. 11 Texas A&M … the Tigers’ 8-6 loss to the Aggies on Sunday ended LSU’s 13-game winning streak, its longest since the 2017 club won 17 games in a row … LSU’s 18-2 start this season is the Tigers’ best record through 20 games since the 2015 team also posted an 18-2 mark.
·LSU, which has been ranked No. 1 all season by all of the college baseball polls, enters this week at or near the top of several NCAA statistical categories … the Tigers are No. 1 in scoring average (11.1 runs per game), shutouts pitched (7) and hits allowed per nine innings (5.62) … LSU is No. 2 in the nation in fielding percentage (.989) and No. 2 in on-base percentage (.466).
·LSU centerfielder Dylan Crews is No. 1 in the nation in on-base percentage (.648) and in runs scored (37), and he is No. 3 in the country in batting average (.508) … third baseman Tommy White is No. 1 in the nation in RBI per game (2.00) … right-hander Paul Skenes leads the nation in strikeouts (59), pitching wins (5) and WHIP (0.53).
·Sophomore third baseman Tommy White batted .474 (9-for-19) in LSU’s games last week and helped lead the Tigers to an SEC series victory at No. 11 Texas A&M … White collected one double, one homer, 11 RBI and seven runs in the Tigers four games versus New Orleans and Texas A&M, and he extended his current hitting streak to 14 games … in LSU’s series victory at Texas A&M, White hit .500 (7-for-14) with one double, seven RBI and four runs …. his two-out, bases-loaded two-run single in the fourth inning of Game 2 sparked a six-run rally that allowed the Tigers to erase a 4-0 deficit and go on to post a 12-7 win … White is now hitting .419 on the year with a team-high 34 RBI.
·Freshman first baseman/DH Jared Jones batted .400 (6-for-15) for LSU last week with one homer, eight RBI and two runs … he led the Tigers to an SEC-series clinching victory on Saturday at No. 11 Texas A&M by going 4-for-5 at the plate with a three-run homer and a pair of two-run singles … his two-out, two-run single in the fourth inning on Saturday broke a 4-4 tie and allowed the Tigers to go on to a 12-7 win … Jones is batting .367 on the year; he has a team-high seven homers this season, and he is second on the club with 29 RBI.
·Junior right-hander Paul Skenes defeated No. 11 Texas A&M on Friday night, working 6.1 scoreless innings while allowing four hits and recording no walks and 11 strikeouts … Skenes fired a season-high 106 pitches in the outing to lead LSU to the series-opening victory over the Aggies … Skenes is No. 1 in the SEC in wins (5), strikeouts (59), opponent batting average (.115) and ERA (0.59).
·Junior right-hander Garrett Edwards posted relief wins last week of New Orleans and Texas A&M … Edwards worked a combined 7.0 innings in the two outings, allowing just one run on three hits with three walks and 10 strikeouts.
ABOUT THE BEARS
·Central Arkansas coach Nick Harlan and LSU coach Jay Johnson are former high school teammates who both grew up in Oroville, Calif. … Harlan is in his second season as the Bears’ head coach after working as the UCA pitching coach for eight seasons (2014-21).
·UCA is 11-8 this season and has won four straight games, including a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference sweep of North Alabama … the Bears also won at Vanderbilt, 5-4, on February 21.
·Central Arkansas is hitting .290 as a team with 34 doubles, four triples and 27 home runs … the Bears are led by catcher/infielder AJ Mendolia, who is hitting .438 with three homers and 18 RBI … first baseman Evan Hafley has a team-high four homers, and outfielder Kolby Johnson and outfielder Dylan Cyr each have four dingers.
(Release via LSU Athletics)
DATE/TIME
·Tuesday, March 21 @ 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
STADIUM
· Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field (10,326)
RANKINGS
·LSU – No. 1 in all college baseball polls
·UCA - unranked
RADIO
·LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates, including 98.1 in Baton Rouge
·Live audio for LSU games at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats for LSU games at www.LSUstats.com
ONLINE
·The game will be streamed live on SEC Network +
LSU SERIES RECORD VS. CENTRAL ARKANSAS
·Tuesday’s game marks the first-ever baseball meeting between LSU and Central Arkansas, which competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference … LSU is 17-10 all-time against teams currently in the Atlantic Sun – the Tigers are 5-4 vs. Stetson, 3-0 vs. Jacksonville State, 1-0 vs. Austin Peay, 1-0 vs. Bellarmine, 1-2 vs. Lipscomb, 1-2 vs. Jacksonville, 2-1 vs. North Florida, 2-1 vs. Eastern Kentucky and 1-0 vs. Kennesaw State.
PITCHING MATCHUP
TBA
QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“I know Central Arkansas is a great program that wins a lot of games, and that’s why they’re on our schedule. We want to play teams that have high winning percentages, because scheduling always goes back to RPI. They have a good approach at the plate, are well-coached, and it will be a good test. We’ll have to play well to win.”
ABOUT THE TIGERS
·LSU won three of its four games last week, including an SEC series victory at No. 11 Texas A&M … the Tigers’ 8-6 loss to the Aggies on Sunday ended LSU’s 13-game winning streak, its longest since the 2017 club won 17 games in a row … LSU’s 18-2 start this season is the Tigers’ best record through 20 games since the 2015 team also posted an 18-2 mark.
·LSU, which has been ranked No. 1 all season by all of the college baseball polls, enters this week at or near the top of several NCAA statistical categories … the Tigers are No. 1 in scoring average (11.1 runs per game), shutouts pitched (7) and hits allowed per nine innings (5.62) … LSU is No. 2 in the nation in fielding percentage (.989) and No. 2 in on-base percentage (.466).
·LSU centerfielder Dylan Crews is No. 1 in the nation in on-base percentage (.648) and in runs scored (37), and he is No. 3 in the country in batting average (.508) … third baseman Tommy White is No. 1 in the nation in RBI per game (2.00) … right-hander Paul Skenes leads the nation in strikeouts (59), pitching wins (5) and WHIP (0.53).
·Sophomore third baseman Tommy White batted .474 (9-for-19) in LSU’s games last week and helped lead the Tigers to an SEC series victory at No. 11 Texas A&M … White collected one double, one homer, 11 RBI and seven runs in the Tigers four games versus New Orleans and Texas A&M, and he extended his current hitting streak to 14 games … in LSU’s series victory at Texas A&M, White hit .500 (7-for-14) with one double, seven RBI and four runs …. his two-out, bases-loaded two-run single in the fourth inning of Game 2 sparked a six-run rally that allowed the Tigers to erase a 4-0 deficit and go on to post a 12-7 win … White is now hitting .419 on the year with a team-high 34 RBI.
·Freshman first baseman/DH Jared Jones batted .400 (6-for-15) for LSU last week with one homer, eight RBI and two runs … he led the Tigers to an SEC-series clinching victory on Saturday at No. 11 Texas A&M by going 4-for-5 at the plate with a three-run homer and a pair of two-run singles … his two-out, two-run single in the fourth inning on Saturday broke a 4-4 tie and allowed the Tigers to go on to a 12-7 win … Jones is batting .367 on the year; he has a team-high seven homers this season, and he is second on the club with 29 RBI.
·Junior right-hander Paul Skenes defeated No. 11 Texas A&M on Friday night, working 6.1 scoreless innings while allowing four hits and recording no walks and 11 strikeouts … Skenes fired a season-high 106 pitches in the outing to lead LSU to the series-opening victory over the Aggies … Skenes is No. 1 in the SEC in wins (5), strikeouts (59), opponent batting average (.115) and ERA (0.59).
·Junior right-hander Garrett Edwards posted relief wins last week of New Orleans and Texas A&M … Edwards worked a combined 7.0 innings in the two outings, allowing just one run on three hits with three walks and 10 strikeouts.
ABOUT THE BEARS
·Central Arkansas coach Nick Harlan and LSU coach Jay Johnson are former high school teammates who both grew up in Oroville, Calif. … Harlan is in his second season as the Bears’ head coach after working as the UCA pitching coach for eight seasons (2014-21).
·UCA is 11-8 this season and has won four straight games, including a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference sweep of North Alabama … the Bears also won at Vanderbilt, 5-4, on February 21.
·Central Arkansas is hitting .290 as a team with 34 doubles, four triples and 27 home runs … the Bears are led by catcher/infielder AJ Mendolia, who is hitting .438 with three homers and 18 RBI … first baseman Evan Hafley has a team-high four homers, and outfielder Kolby Johnson and outfielder Dylan Cyr each have four dingers.
(Release via LSU Athletics)
Filed Under: LSU Baseball
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Originally published on TigerDroppings.com
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