LSU Baseball To Host Samford At Alex Box Stadium This Weekend

Samford Bulldogs (6-6) at No. 1 LSU Tigers (12-1)
Military Appreciation Weekend

DATES/TIMES
·Friday, March 10 @ 6:30 p.m. CT
·Saturday, March 11 @ 6:30 p.m. CT
·Sunday, March 12 @ 1 p.m. CT

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

RANKINGS
·LSU – No. 1 in all college baseball polls
· Samford - unranked

RADIO
·LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates, including 98.1 in Baton Rouge
·Friday’s game will air on 100.7 FM in Baton Rouge if the LSU men’s basketball team is still playing in SEC Tournament
·Live audio for LSU games at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats for LSU games at www.LSUstats.com

ONLINE
·The games will be streamed live on SEC Network +

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. SAMFORD
·Friday’s game marks the first-ever meeting between LSU and Samford, which plays in the Southern Conference … the Tigers are 13-0 all-time against teams currently in the Southern Conference - LSU is 9-0 vs. Mercer, 2-0 vs. The Citadel, 1-0 vs. UNC Greensboro and 1-0 vs. Western Carolina.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Game 1
LSU – Jr. RH Paul Skenes (3-0, 0.50 ERA, 18.0 IP, 3 BB, 36 SO)
Samford – Jr. RH Jacob Cravey (1-1, 4.86 ERA, 16.2 IP, 10 BB, 23 SO)

Game 2
LSU – Jr. RH Ty Floyd (2-0, 1.54 ERA, 11.2 IP, 2 BB, 15 SO)
Samford – Jr. RH Brody Westbrooks (0-0, 0.90 ERA, 10.0 IP, 7 BB, 11 SO)

Game 3
LSU – TBA
Samford – So. RH Will Lynch (0-1, 8.25 ERA, 12.0 IP, 7 BB, 14 SO)

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“I’m proud of our guys and their approach to each game; they’re not taking any pitches off. We do have talented players, and they’re focused and they’re not giving away pitches. This weekend’s series is important, because it’s the next one. I really trust our players to be in the right frame of mind; we’re going to get challenged, and I trust them to respond. We’ve just got to keep improving; Samford has some talented pitchers and a team that’s very capable, so we’re excited about this challenge this weekend.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
·LSU enters the Samford series riding a seven-game win streak … LSU has batted .371 (89-for-240) during the seven-game streak with 25 doubles, three triples and 15 homers, and the Tigers have outscored their opponents, 90-12 … LSU’s 26-4 win last Saturday over Central Connecticut State marked the most runs scored by the Tigers since a 27-0 victory over Northwestern State on May 13, 2014 … the LSU pitching staff has posted a 1.58 ERA during the seven-game win streak, limiting opponents to just 34 hits and a .169 batting average … LSU has recorded three shutouts in its past six games – at Texas on February 28, versus Central Connecticut State on March 5 and versus Butler on March 6.

·LSU ranks No. 2 in the nation with a .990 fielding percentage; the Tigers are No. 4 in the nation in on-base percentage (.469), No. 6 in hit by pitch (33) and No. 6 in runs scored (143) … the Tigers’ pitching staff is No. 1 in the nation in shutouts with four … LSU is No. 4 in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings (5.86) and No. 4 in WHIP (0.96 – walks + hits per inning).

·Junior right-hander Paul Skenes is No. 1 in the nation in strikeouts this season with 36 Ks … he improved to 3-0 this season as he defeated Butler last Friday in a dominating six-inning outing … he limited Butler to no runs on one hit with no walks and a career-high 13 strikeouts, firing 80 pitches in the outing … he allowed a two-out single in the first inning, then retired 16 straight Butler hitters to complete his outing … his 13 Ks represented the most by an LSU pitcher since March 2, 2018, when Zack Hess recorded 13 strikeouts against Toledo … Skenes has a 0.50 cumulative ERA this season in 18 innings, allowing only one run on six hits with three walks and 36 strikeouts … he is limiting opponents to a .100 batting average.

·Junior centerfielder Dylan Crews is hitting .462 (12-for-26) during LSU’s seven-game win streak with six doubles, two homers, 14 RBI and 12 runs scored … sophomore DH Tommy White is batting .458 (11-for-24) during LSU’s seven-game win streak with five doubles, three homers, 13 RBI and eight runs … he has also walked three times and has been hit by five pitches, posting a .594 on-base percentage in seven games … in the Tigers’ win over Central Connecticut State last Saturday, White was 3-for-3 with one double, two homers, five RBI and three runs.

·Freshman rightfielder Paxton Kling has 10 hits in his last 15 at-bats (.667), collecting two doubles, one triple, two homers, three RBI and seven runs in the Tigers’ last seven games … graduate second baseman Gavin Dugas has eight RBI in the Tigers’ last seven games, including a three-run homer on February 28 in the top of the ninth inning to lift the Tigers to a 3-0 win at Texas … graduate first baseman Cade Beloso is 6-for-10 at the plate in LSU’s last five games with one double, two homers and seven RBI … junior shortstop Jordan Thompson is hitting .348 (8-for-23) during LSU’s seven-game win streak with two doubles, six RBI and four runs.

·Junior right-hander Ty Floyd improved to 2-0 this season as he defeated Central Connecticut State last Saturday in his first start of the year … Floyd limited the Blue Devils to one run on three hits in 5.2 innings with one walk and six strikeouts … left-hander Nate Ackenhausen earned two relief wins last week, including a brilliant outing at Texas on February 28 … Ackenhausen worked 3.1 shutout innings against the Longhorns, allowing just one hit with one walk and four strikeouts … he also earned the win last Sunday versus Central Connecticut State, entering the contest in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and two outs – he recorded a strikeout to end the inning and pitched a perfect fifth inning to secure the victory.

·Sophomore right-hander Thatcher Hurd recorded 11 strikeouts in six scoreless inning Monday night to lead top-ranked LSU to an 11-0 win over Butler … Hurd (1-0) allowed just three hits in six innings with one walk and 11 strikeouts, firing 73 pitches … the 11 Ks were just one shy of his collegiate career high – he posted 12 strikeouts for UCLA last season in a game versus Long Beach State.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
·Samford is 6-6 this season, and the Bulldogs dropped an 11-6 decision at Alabama on Tuesday in their most recent game.

·Former LSU baseball and football player Maurice Hampton Jr. is an outfielder for Samford; he’s appeared in four games with two hits, including a double, in 10 at-bats with two RBI.

·Samford is hitting .263 as a team with 12 homers and eight steals in 11 attempts … the Bulldogs are led offensively by infielder Garrett Howe, who is hitting .366 with three doubles and 10 RBI … catcher/first baseman Lucas Steele is hitting .357 with three doubles, three homers and nine RBI … infielder John Anderson is batting .311 and also has three homers and nine RBI.

·The Bulldogs’ pitching staff has compiled a 5.68 ERA with 119 strikeouts in 103 innings.

(Release via LSU Athletics)