Preview & Pitching Matchups: LSU vs. Oklahoma Series

No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners (17-4, 2-1 SEC) at No. 20 LSU Fighting Tigers (15-7, 1-2 SEC)

DATES/TIMES
Thursday, March 19 @ 7 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Friday, March 20 @ 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
Saturday, March 21 @ 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)

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

RANKINGS
LSU – No. 20 (NCBWA)
OU – No. 7 (Baseball America); No. 8 (D1 Baseball, USA Today, NCBWA, Perfect Game)

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. OKLAHOMA

LSU leads Oklahoma, 12-5, in a series that began in 1959 … in the most recent meeting, LSU swept a three-game SEC series from the Sooners last season (April 3-5) in Norman, Okla … LSU defeated the Sooners, 5-4 (11 innings), on March 4, 2022, in the Astros College Classic in Houston … Oklahoma posted a 1-0 win over the Tigers in the 2020 Astros College Classic … the 2020 game marked the first meeting between the schools since the 2013 NCAA Super Regional in Baton Rouge, when LSU won two straight over the Sooners to advance to the College World Series … three other LSU-OU matchups have occurred in the NCAA Tournament, all LSU wins in Baton Rouge … the Tigers defeated OU in the second round of the 1997 NCAA South I Regional in the original Alex Box Stadium, where LSU posted a 14-3 win over the Sooners … the teams met in the second round of the 1991 NCAA South Regional, where LSU defeated Oklahoma, 4-3 … the first NCAA Tournament meeting took place in 1986 when LSU recorded an 8-5 victory over OU in the NCAA South I Regional.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

Game 1
LSU – So. RH Casan Evans (1-0, 6.45 ERA, 22.1 IP, 12 BB, 35 SO)
OU – Jr. LH Cameron Johnson (3-0, 3.04 ERA, 23.2 IP, 12 BB, 34 SO)

Game 2
LSU – Jr. RH Cooper Moore (3-2, 3.21 ERA, 28.0 IP, 7 BB, 35 SO)
OU – Jr. RH LJ Mercurius (4-1, 1.59 ERA, 28.1 IP, 8 BB, 41 SO)

Game 3
LSU – So. RH William Schmidt (3-1, 3.12 ERA, 26.0 IP, 7 BB, 39 SO)
OU – Fr. LH Cord Rager (2-1, 4.71 ERA, 21.0 IP, 7 BB, 28 SO)

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON

“Oklahoma is a very talented team, they are a very mature team with a lot veteran position players who have gotten better. They have a distinct offensive style of play; last year, we were able to get the lead in our games against them, and that helped us to dictate and play the way we wanted to play. It’s going to be really important that we do the same this weekend in order to have a chance to win against them.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS

-LSU junior rightfielder Jake Brown is hitting .368 (7-for-19) in LSU’s last five games with two doubles, three homers, 11 RBI, seven runs and two steals ... in the Tigers' SEC series last weekend at Vanderbilt, Brown batted .455 (5-for-11) with one double, two homers, nine RBI and four runs ... he tied his career high with six RBI in Sunday's win at Vanderbilt, delivering a three-run homer, a two-run single and a sacrifice fly ... Brown is hitting a team-high .400 this season with seven doubles, 11 homers, 37 RBI, 26 runs and six steals.

-Freshman catcher Omar Serna Jr. has collected nine RBI in his last four games … he blasted his first career collegiate home run, a grand slam, on March 10 versus Creighton to erase a 4-2 fifth-inning deficit and lift the Tigers to an 8-4 win … he logged four RBI while playing in two games of the Vanderbilt series, delivering an two-run single on Saturday night, and a sacrifice fly and an RBI single on Sunday … he added a solo homer Tuesday night in the Tigers’ win over Grambling.

-Senior leftfielder Chris Stanfield returned to the LSU starting lineup last weekend for the Vanderbilt series, and he batted .400 (4-for-10) in three games with four runs, one RBI, three walks and a .538 on-base percentage … Stanfield was forced to miss 16 games after suffering a hand injury in the second game of the season on February 14 versus Milwaukee … Stanfield provided a two-run single Tuesday night in LSU’s win over Grambling.

-Sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide hit .385 (5-for-13) in the Vanderbilt series with two doubles, three RBI, five runs and a .467 on-base percentage … in Sunday’s 16-9 win over the Commodores, Arrambide was 2-for-5 with one double, three RBI and two runs scored.

-Junior shortstop Steven Milam served as the Tigers’ leadoff hitter for all three games of the Vanderbilt series, and he batted .357 (5-for-14) with one double, one RBI, seven runs, one walk, one hit-by-pitch and a .438 on-base percentage … Milam has not committed an error through 22 games this season, posting a 1.000 fielding percentage in 67 chances.

-Sophomore right-hander Deven Sheerin posted relief wins over Creighton on March 10 and over Vanderbilt on Sunday … Sheerin worked 2.1 scoreless innings versus Creighton to earn his first career LSU win, allowing just one hit with one walk and four strikeouts … he earned his first career SEC win at Vanderbilt on Sunday, working 2.1 innings and allowing two earned runs on two hits with one walk and four strikeouts … the outing marked Sheerin’s first career appearance in an SEC game.

-Junior left-hander Santiago Garcia earned his first career LSU save on March 10 versus Creighton, working 2.2 scoreless innings with one hit, no walks and four strikeouts … Garcia made his first career appearance in an SEC game on Sunday at Vanderbilt, and he recorded three strikeouts in 1.0 inning of relief.

-Senior right-hander Zac Cowan pitched brilliantly in relief on Friday night at Vanderbilt, logging 3.1 scoreless innings with one hit, no walks and five strikeouts.


ABOUT THE SOONERS

-Seventh-ranked Oklahoma is 17-4 this season, and the Sooners opened SEC play last weekend by winning two of three home games over Texas A&M.

-Oklahoma is hitting .306 as a team this season with 44 doubles, eight triples, 23 home runs and 65 steals in 70 attempts … catcher Deiten Lachance is batting a team-high .358 with eight doubles, one triple and 22 RBI; infielder Jaxon Willits is hitting .350 with six doubles, two triples, two homers and 23 RBI, and outfielder Trey Gambill is batting .346 with three doubles, four homers and 17 RBI … catcher/OF Brendan Brock has team highs of six homers and 26 RBI.

-The Oklahoma pitching staff has a 3.60 cumulative ERA with 223 strikeouts in 175.0 innings while allowing a .209 opponent batting average and 13 home runs … OU’s Game 1 starting pitcher, left-hander Cameron Johnson, was a member of LSU’s 2024 team, and he pitched 9.0 innings for the Tigers over 13 appearances, recording 16 walks and 13 strikeouts.

(Release via LSU Athletics)