April 3rd National College Baseball Rankings, LSU Report

LSU Baseball Report – April 3, 2023
Overall Record: 24-4 (6-3 in SEC)

National Rankings:

D1 Baseball.com: No. 1 (Last Week: No. 1)

Baseball America: No. 1 (No. 1)

Perfect Game: No. 1 (No. 1)

Current SEC Baseball Standings

Last Week’s Results (3-1)
March 28 (Tue.) – GRAMBLING (W, 17-5 – 7 innings)
March 30 (Thu.) – TENNESSEE (W, 5-2)
March 31 (Fri.) – TENNESSEE (W, 6-4)
April 1 (Sat.) – TENNESSEE (L, 7-14)

This Week’s Schedule
April 4 (Tue.) – NICHOLLS, 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
April 6 (Thu.) – at South Carolina, 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
April 7 (Fri.) – at South Carolina, 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
April 8 (Sat.) – at South Carolina, 11 a.m. CT (SEC Network)

Tigers Update
·LSU won three of its four games last week, including an SEC series victory over No. 9 Tennessee … LSU’s 24-4 record is its best through 28 games since 2013, when the Tigers were 26-2 at the halfway mark of the regular season.

·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 the nation in fielding percentage (.986), batting average (.336), on-base percentage (.457), runs scored (296) and shutouts pitched (7) … LSU is No. 2 in the nation in scoring average (10.6 runs per game), and the Tigers are No. 4 in slugging percentage (.588) and WHIP (1.11).

·LSU centerfielder Dylan Crews is No. 1 in the nation in batting average (.543), on-base percentage (.664) and in runs scored (49); he is No. 3 in slugging percentage (.947) and No. 4 in base hits (51) … third baseman Tommy White is No. 1 in the nation in RBI per game (1.80) and No. 3 in total RBI (45) … right-hander Paul Skenes leads the nation in strikeouts (83), hits allowed per nine innings (3.86) and WHIP (0.61) … Skenes is No. 3 in the nation in ERA (0.81).

Hitting Notes
·Junior centerfielder Dylan Crews led the top-ranked Tigers to three wins in four games last week, including an SEC series victory over ninth-ranked Tennessee … he batted .615 (8-for-13) in four games with one double, three RBI and three runs … he also walked three times and was hit by a pitch, which contributed to his .706 on-base percentage for the week … Crews extended his current hitting streak to 26 games and his current on-base streak to 32 games, which dates back to the final four games of the 2022 season … in the Tigers’ SEC series victory over Tennessee, Crews batted .545 (6-for-11) with one double, three RBI, one run, a .643 on-base percentage and a .636 slugging percentage … he leads the SEC with a .543 cumulative batting average, and he is also No. 1 in the league in on-base percentage (.664), base hits (51) and runs scored (49).

·Freshman first baseman/DH Jared Jones batted .600 (6-for-10) last week with one double, one homer, one RBI and five runs scored … first baseman/outfielder Tre’ Morgan hit .412 (7-for-17) last week with three doubles, three RBI and three runs scored … shortstop Jordan Thompson recorded two doubles, four RBI and three runs last week, and his bases-loaded double in the bottom of the eighth inning on Thursday night versus Tennessee broke a 2-2 tie and lifted LSU to a 5-2 win … second baseman Gavin Dugas registered two doubles and two homers last week, and he shares the team lead in dingers (9) with Dylan Crews … Dugas’ solo homer in the fourth inning on Friday night versus Tennessee broke a 4-4 tie and proved to the game-winning hit in LSU’s 6-4 victory.

Pitching Notes
·Junior right-hander Paul Skenes helped lead LSU to a series-opening win over No. 9 Tennessee on Thursday night by firing 7.0 innings and allowing just one run on five hits with one walk and 12 strikeouts …. Skenes fired four shutout innings before Tennessee scored a run in the fifth; Skenes then retired seven of the final eight batters he faced after allowing the run … Skenes has reached double figures in all seven of his starts this season with a minimum of 11 Ks in each outing … Skenes leads the SEC this season in strikeouts (83), innings pitched (44.1), wins (5) and opponent batting average (.127).

·Junior right-hander Garrett Edwards earned a relief win over Tennessee on Thursday night, as he fired 1.2 scoreless innings with two hits, no walks and two strikeouts … Edwards is 4-0 on the year with a 0.81 ERA and a .163 opponent batting average … freshman left-hander Griffin Herring earned his first career save on Friday night versus Tennessee, as he blanked the Vols over two innings with no hits, no walks and four strikeouts.

(Release via LSU Athletics)