Preview & Pitching Matchup: LSU vs. Louisiana Tech On Tuesday Night At Alex Box Stadium

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (16-5) at No. 4 LSU Tigers (17-4)
Prostate Cancer Awareness Game

DATE/TIME
Tuesday, March 19 @ 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)

STADIUM
Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field (10,326)

RANKINGS
LSU – No. 4 USA Today; No. 5 Baseball America; No. 5 D1 Baseball
La. Tech – unranked

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

TV/ONLINE
The game will be streamed on SEC Network +

PROMOTIONAL GIVEAWAY
Leather LSU keychains to the first 2,500 fans

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. LOUISIANA TECH
LSU leads the all-time series versus Louisiana Tech, 45-20, in a series that began in 1902 … the teams last met on Feb. 23, 2022, in Ruston when Louisiana Tech posted an 11-6 win over LSU … the Tigers defeated the Bulldogs twice in 2021 in Baton Rouge by scores of 16-7 (Feb. 22) and 16-8 (May 11) … LSU has won 15 of its last 17 meetings with Louisiana Tech – along with their 2022 win, the Bulldogs’ only other victory over LSU in the last 17 meetings was a 12-1 victory in 2019 in Baton Rouge … prior to 2019, Louisiana Tech’s last win over the Tigers came on April 16, 1987, a 5-4 victory in Ruston.

PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU – Jr. LH Javen Coleman (2-0, 2.84 ERA, 12.2 IP, 8 BB, 16 SO)
La. Tech – Jr. LH Caden Copeland (3-1, 4.08 ERA, 17.2 IP, 6 BB 18 SO)

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“My message to our players right now is that when it’s going well, it’s never really as good as it seems, and when it’s bad, it’s not as bad as it seems. It’s how you look at it, and right now we’ve got to look at improvement in every phase of how we play. That’s all we can do, and it’s certainly not going to get any easier with the schedule we’re playing.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
-LSU won three of its five games last week, and the Tigers this week are ranked No. 4 in the nation by USA Today and No. 5 by Baseball America and D1 Baseball … the Tigers posted two midweek wins over North Dakota State, then dropped two of three games at Mississippi State to open SEC play.

-Shortstop Michael Braswell III led LSU in hitting in the Mississippi State series, batting .400 (4-for-10) with two doubles, one RBI and two runs scored.

-Third baseman Tommy White hit .385 (5-for-13) in the Mississippi State series with three homers, seven RBI, four runs and a .500 on-base percentage … White also played exceptional defense and was credited with eight assists and two putouts while recording a 1.000 fielding percentage.

-Outfielder Josh Pearson hit .375 (6-for-16) in four games last week with one homer, three RBI and one run scored … Pearson hit .385 (5-for-13) in the Mississippi State series with one homer, two RBI and one run.

-First baseman Jared Jones hit .357 (5-for-14) in five games last week with two doubles, two homers, four RBI and four runs.

-Left-hander Griffin Herring earned a relief win on Saturday at Mississippi State, working 2.1 innings and limiting the Bulldogs to one run on two hits with two walks and three strikeouts … Herring also pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in Wednesday’s win over North Dakota State, allowing one hit with no walks and two strikeouts.

-Left-hander Nate Ackenhausen picked up his second save of the year on Saturday at Mississippi State, preserving the Tigers’ 9-8 win … Ackenhausen retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth inning, holding off a Mississippi State rally over the course of the game that saw the Bulldogs trim a fourth-inning 9-1 deficit to 9-8 entering the bottom of the ninth.

-Left-hander Javen Coleman earned a three-inning save in Tuesday’s win over North Dakota State, allowing no runs on one hit with no walks and five strikeouts, firing 44 pitches.

-Left-hander Justin Loer picked up his first career LSU win on Tuesday versus North Dakota State, recording 2.1 scoreless innings with one hit, no walks and three strikeouts … right-hander Will Hellmers was the winning pitcher in Wednesday’s victory over NDSU, as he fired two perfect relief innings with two strikeouts.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
-Louisiana Tech posted a three-game sweep of Northwestern State last weekend in Ruston, La. … the Bulldogs had lost five of six games before the three-game sweep … Louisiana Tech opened the 2024 season with 12 straight wins.

-The Bulldogs are hitting .309 as a team with 52 doubles, four triples and 21 homers … Ethan Bates is hitting a team-high .391 with 11 doubles, one triple, four homers and 32 RBI … Cole McConnell is hitting .384 and has seven doubles, one triple, six homers and 31 RBI.

-Louisiana Tech’s pitching staff has recorded 208 strikeouts in 186 innings with a 4.65 cumulative ERA.

-Two former LSU players are members of the Louisiana Tech team – infielder Will Safford and. outfielder Brody Drost, who both lettered at LSU in 2021.

(Release via LSU Athletics)