Preview: LSU Set For Midweek Matchup vs. Southeastern At Alex Box Stadium

Southeastern Louisiana Lions (33-11) at No. 2 LSU Tigers (36-9)

DATE/TIME
Tuesday, April 29 @ 6:30 p.m. CT

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

RANKINGS
LSU – No. 2 Baseball America, No. 2 USA Today, No. 2 D1 Baseball
Southeastern Louisiana – unranked

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

ONLINE
Tuesday’s game will be streamed on SEC Network +

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA

LSU leads Southeastern Louisiana, 77-18, in a series that began in 1937, and the Tigers have won 31 of the last 33 meetings between the schools … the Tigers posted two victories over the Lions last season – a 4-3 win on March 6 in Hammond, La., and on 8-4 victory on March 26 in Baton Rouge … LSU has a 50-4 mark against Southeastern Louisiana since 1990.

QUOTING JAY JOHNSON

“I thought we played a really complete game on Sunday (vs. Tennessee) against some really good arms. It was a good performance all the way around. We played in our best character – loose, free, confident, aggressive, with a good plan. Our players did what they needed to do against the pitchers we were facing, and they positively impacted the game.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS

-LSU posted a 2-1 series victory over No. 5 Tennessee over the weekend in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field … the Tigers are 14-7 in the SEC and are tied for second place in the league standings with Arkansas … Texas (19-2) leads the league race with three conference weekends remaining in the regular season.

-Freshman leftfielder Derek Curiel helped lead LSU to an SEC series victory over No. 5 Tennessee, as he hit .417 (5-for-12) in the series with two doubles, one homer, three runs and six RBI … he enjoyed a remarkable day at the plate in Sunday’s series-clinching victory, going 4-for-4 with one homer, two doubles and a career-high five RBI … with LSU trailing 2-0, he led off the first inning with a homer to cut the deficit in half, and he then tied the game in the second inning with a run-scoring double … he later contributed an RBI single in the fourth inning and a two-run double in the fifth … Curiel’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning in Friday’s Game 1 versus Tennessee tied the contest at 3-3 and set the stage for first baseman Jared Jones to follow with a walk-off homer that lifted the Tigers to victory … for the entire four-game week, Curiel hit .467 (7-for-15) with two doubles, two homers, four runs and seven RBI.

-Freshman right-hander Casan Evans defeated fifth-ranked Tennessee on Sunday in his first collegiate start on the mound, clinching a series victory for the Tigers … Evans limited the Volunteers to two runs on six hits in a career-high 6.0 innings with no walks and six strikeouts … he fired 85 pitches in the outing, also a career high, including 61 pitches (72 percent) for strikes … after allowing two runs in the top of the first inning, Evans recorded five straight scoreless innings, giving up just two hits in that span … he retired 15 of the 17 batters that he faced over the final five innings of his outing … Evans, who is fourth in the SEC in saves with six, improved to 3-0 this season, and he has a 1.09 cumulative ERA in 33.0 innings with nine walks and 47 strikeouts.

-Junior first baseman Jared Jones’ three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth on Friday night versus Tennessee marked LSU’s first walk-off win since May 31, 2024, vs. Wofford in the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional … Steven Milam's solo homer in the bottom of the 9th inning lifted LSU to a 4-3 win in that regional game). Jones now has 56 career home runs, and he is tied with outfielder Blake Dean (2007-10) for fifth place on the LSU all-time homers list … outfielder Dylan Crews (2021-23) is No. 4 with 58 HR, infielder Trey McClure (1996-99) is No. 3 with 59 HR, catcher Brad Cresse (1997-2000) is No. 2 with 78 HR, and first baseman Eddy Furniss (1995-98) is No. 1 with 80 HR.

-Freshman leftfielder Derek Curiel’s 43-game reached base safely streak – which ended on Saturday versus Tennessee – is the fifth-longest on record in the annals of LSU baseball … outfielder Dylan Crews holds the LSU single-season reached base safely mark, as Crews reached base in all 71 games during the 2023 season … the other Top 5 reached base safely streaks in LSU history are No. 4 - infielder Alex Bregman (49 games in 2015), No. 3 – infielder Gavin Dugas (55 games in 2023) and No. 2 – outfielder Mikie Mahtook (56 games in 2011).

-LSU junior first baseman Jared Jones is No. 2 in the SEC in total bases (119), No. 3 in RBI (58), No. 4 in hits (64), No. 8 in home runs (14) and No. 10 in slugging percentage (.665) … freshman leftfielder Derek Curiel is No. 4 in the SEC in batting average (.373), No. 4 in doubles (15), No. 5 in walks (37), No. 5 in hits (63) and No. 5 in on-base percentage (.495).

-LSU sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson is No. 2 in the SEC in strikeouts (102) and No. 2 in the league in innings pitched (64.2) … junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson is No. 4 in the SEC in strikeouts with 91 Ks … junior second baseman Daniel Dickinson is No. 9 in the SEC in on-base percentage (.483).

-LSU established single-game and single-series attendance records last weekend versus Tennessee in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field … Saturday’s paid attendance figure of 13,376 was the largest in LSU history, as was Saturday’s actual attendance figure of 11,439 … the three-game series paid attendance mark of 38,142 was also the highest in LSU baseball annals.

ABOUT SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA

-The Lions are 33-11 overall, 18-6 in the Southland Conference … SLU won two of three games over Houston Christian last weekend in an SLC series … the Lions are batting .300 as a team with 71 doubles, 12 triples, 72 homers and 32 steals in 34 attempts … SLU has a 3.31 cumulative ERA with 351 strikeouts in 375.2 innings, and the Lions are allowing a .219 opponent batting average.

-SLU’s top offensive performers include infielder Ryan Brome, who is hitting .355 with 12 doubles, two triples, 12 homers and 36 RBI; infielder TJ Salvaggio, who his batting .328 with nine doubles, two triples, 11 homers and 40 RBI; and catcher Conner O’Neal, who is hitting .301 with five doubles, 12 homers and 48 RBI.

(Release via LSU Athletics)