Preview & Pitching Matchups: LSU vs. South Carolina Series At Alex Box Stadium

South Carolina Gamecocks (22-24, 7-14 SEC) at LSU Tigers (25-21, 6-15 SEC)

DATES/TIMES (ONLINE)
• Friday, May 1 @ 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
• Saturday, May 2 @ 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
• Sunday, May 3 @ 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)

SPECIAL EVENT
• Baseball Alumni Reunion on Saturday, May 2, including recognitions of the 1986 and 1996 LSU squads

STADIUM
• Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Baton Rouge, La. (10,718)

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

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. SOUTH CAROLINA

• LSU leads the all-time series with South Carolina, 46-33-1; the Tigers and Gamecocks first met on the diamond in 1992 … LSU has won 24 of its past 37 games versus South Carolina, including a 2-1 series victory last season (May 15-17) in Columbia, S.C. … prior to last season, LSU’s last SEC regular-season series victory over South Carolina came in 2017, when the Tigers won two of three games over the Gamecocks in Baton Rouge … South Carolina won the regular-season series versus LSU in 2018 at Columbia and in 2021 at Baton Rouge, and the teams split two regular-season games in 2023 in Columbia before Game 3 was canceled due to inclement weather … this weekend’s series marks the fourth straight year LSU and South Carolina have matched up on the diamond – along with the regular-season series in 2023 and 2025, the teams met twice in the 2024 SEC Tournament, and LSU won both games.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Game 1
LSU – So. RH William Schmidt (4-4, 4.17 ERA, 54.0 IP, 25 BB, 72 SO)
USC – Jr. RH Amp Phillips (3-5, 3.27 ERA, 55.0 IP, 27 BB, 63 SO)

Game 2
LSU – Fr. RH Marcos Paz (0-2, 7.23 ERA, 18.2 IP, 16 BB, 26 SO)
USC – Jr. RH Brandon Stone (5-2, 3.60 ERA, 55.0 IP, 14 BB, 52 SO)

Game 3
LSU – TBA
USC – TBA

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON

“The season is not over. We are where we are; we’ve had 46 games, and we have accountability for that. But, we still have 10 more games in the regular season, and I’ve seen things change quicker. We’re playing teams that if you win, you can get a bump from it. We haven’t been able to get over the hump in close games, which has been our staple. Your season is going to be determined by how you play in close games, and we haven’t been on the right side of that. But I think we’re moving into a direction where we’re not as far away from winning those games.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• LSU is holding its annual Baseball Alumni Reunion Weekend, honoring all members of the Tigers’ past squads … there is an emphasis this weekend on the 30th Anniversary of LSU’s 1996 National Championship team and on the 40th Anniversary of the 1986 team, the first ball club in LSU history to reach the College World Series … the 1996 team won the College World Series title when second baseman Warren Morris hit a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift LSU to a 9-8 win over Miami (Fla). in the CWS Championship Game … Morris’ blast remains the only walk-off home run in the CWS final game in the 79-year history of the event.

• LSU freshman catcher/DH Omar Serna Jr. hit .571 (8-for-14) in last weekend’s Mississippi State series with two doubles, three homers, six RBI and six runs scored … he is LSU’s second-leading hitting in SEC games this season, batting .333 (24-for-72) with five doubles, four homers, 14 RBI and 10 runs scored … Serna Jr. enters the South Carolina series riding an eight-game hitting streak and a 12-game reached base safely streak.

• Freshman first baseman Mason Braun is LSU’s top hitter in SEC games, batting .348 (16-for-46) with two doubles, one triple, one homer and six RBI … he batted .538 (7-for-13) in the Mississippi State series with one triple, two RBI and four runs scored … Braun also walked twice and was hit by a pitch in the Mississippi State series, and he recorded a .625 on-base percentage for the weekend.

• Junior shortstop Steven Milam has a current reached-base safely streak that has stretched to 23 games, and he is also riding an 12-game hitting streak … he enters the South Carolina series with just one error in 163 chances, a .994 field percentage … Milam is batting .347 (17-for-49) during his 12-game hitting streak with four doubles, three homers, 11 RBI and eight runs scored.

• Sophomore centerfielder Derek Curiel is No. 3 in the SEC in base hits (64), No. 7 in runs scored (50) and No. 7 in triples (2) … he was 3-for-4 on Tuesday night in LSU’s win over Southeastern Louisiana with two doubles, one homer, two RBI and three runs.

• LSU collected 24 runs on 32 hits in last weekend’s Mississippi State series, producing five doubles, one triple and seven home runs … LSU has hit a total of 75 homers on the season, which places the Tigers seventh among the SEC’s home run leaders.

• Sophomore left-hander Danny Lachenmayer delivered two outstanding relief performances in games versus New Orleans (April 21) and Mississippi State (April 25), working a combined 3.2 innings with no runs, no hits, three walks and eight strikeouts … he pitched an LSU career-long 2.0 innings at Mississippi State last Saturday, blanking the Bulldogs with no hits, two walks and three strikeouts … Lachenmayer worked 1.2 scoreless relief innings versus New Orleans with no hits, one walk and five strikeouts.

ABOUT THE GAMECOCKS

• South Carolina is 22-24 overall, 7-14 in the SEC … the Gamecocks have won two of their last three SEC series – a sweep at Missouri three weeks ago, and a 2-1 home series victory over Kentucky last weekend … South Carolina is No. 16 in the SEC with a .245 team batting average, and the Gamecocks are ninth in the league with a 4.41 team ERA.

• Catcher Talmadge LeCroy is batting .293 for South Carolina with six doubles, eight homers and 30 RBI; infielder Will Craddock is hitting .270 with nine doubles, one triple, nine homers and 25 RBI, and infielder KJ Scobey is batting .267 with 15 doubles, eight homers and 28 RBI.

• South Carolina has produced 88 doubles, six triples, 61 homers and 21 steals in 31 attempts … the Gamecocks pitching staff has recorded 418 strikeouts in 399.2 innings while allowing a .237 opponent batting average and 51 home runs.