LSU Baseball Preview & Pitching Matchups For The Live Like Lou College Classic

LSU Baseball travels to Jacksonville, Fla., this weekend for the Live Like Lou College Classic at VyStar Ballpark.

The Live Like Lou Foundation supports families affected by ALS, funding ALS research to find treatments or a cure for Lou Gehrig’s disease, and honoring Lou Gehrig’s legacy.

No. 1 LSU Tigers (5-0)

DATES/TIMES
vs. Indiana (1-3) – Friday, February 20 @ 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
vs. Notre Dame (2-1) – Saturday, February 21 @ 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT
vs. UCF (3-1) – Sunday, February 22 @ 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT

STADIUM
VyStar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Fla. (11,000)

RANKINGS
LSU – No. 1 NCBWA, No. 1 Perfect Game; No. 2 Baseball America; No. 2 D1 Baseball
IU, ND, UCF - unranked

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

ONLINE
The games will be streamed live on D1Baseball.com - How To Watch

LSU SERIES RECORDS VS. TEAMS IN THE LIVE LIKE LOU JAX COLLEGE BASEBALL CLASSIC

• LSU has a 5-2-1 all-time record vs. Indiana, as the teams first faced each other in 1926 ... the Tigers and Hoosiers last met in 2020 in a three-game season-opening series in Baton Rouge, and LSU won two of three contests ... LSU is 5-5 all-time against Notre Dame, and the Tigers first met the Irish in 1928 ... Saturday's meeting will be the first since 2018, when Notre Dame won two of three games over LSU in a season-opening series in Baton Rouge ... LSU is 16-4 all-time against UCF in a series that began in 1985 ... the teams last met in 2009, when the Tigers swept the Knights in a three-game series in Baton Rouge.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Friday:
LSU – So. RH Casan Evans (0-0, 10.80 ERA, 3.1 IP, 2 BB, 7 SO)
IU – Gr. LH Tony Neubeck (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.0 IP, 3 BB, 2 SO)

Saturday:
LSU – Jr. RH Cooper Moore (1-0, 1.50 ERA, 6.0 IP, 0 BB, 11 SO)
ND – Fr. LH Caden Crowell (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 4 BB, 3 SO)

Sunday:
LSU – TBA
UCF - TBA

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON

“We’re happy to be here in Jacksonville, it’s a beautiful ball park. I think there’s an advantage to getting out of town and playing on the road, because there aren’t so many things going on outside of baseball, and that’s a positive. If you’re going to have a successful year, you’re going to have to be successful away from home, so this is a good opportunity for us against some very good teams this weekend. It’s an opportunity to learn more about our team and try to put our players in a position to win.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS

-LSU opened the 2026 season with a three-game sweep of Milwaukee last weekend in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field, and the Tigers improved to 4-0 on Monday night with a 10-7 win over Kent State … LSU won its fifth straight game on Wednesday with a 12-1 victory over Nicholls ... the Tigers’ 15-5 victory over Milwaukee last Friday marked LSU’s 25th straight victory in a season-opening game.

-Junior rightfielder Jake Brown was named Tuesday to the Baseball America National Team of the Week for his outstanding performance in the Tigers’ first four games of the 2026 season … Brown, a product of Sulphur, La., is hitting .529 (9-for-17) in LSU’s first four games with two doubles, four homers, 10 RBI and seven runs … he hit two homers in back-to-back games versus Milwaukee on Sunday and versus Kent State on Monday, becoming the first LSU player to accomplish the feat since March 11 and 12, 2023, when Jared Jones blasted two homers in consecutive games versus Samford … Brown launched his first career college grand slam and collected a career-high six RBI in Sunday’s win over Milwaukee.

-Redshirt junior right-hander Gavin Guidry last Friday made his first appearance on the mound since June 2, 2024, and he delivered a dominating relief effort … Guidry, who missed the entire 2025 season due to a back injury, earned the win over Milwaukee for the Tigers by working the final two innings, allowing no runs on one hit with no walks and five strikeouts … he followed up with another brilliant effort on Monday versus Kent State, earning the save by working 2.1 perfect innings with five strikeouts … in 4.1 innings this season, Guidry has allowed just one hit with no walks and 10 strikeouts.

-Junior right-hander Cooper Moore was named Tuesday to the Baseball America National Team of the Week after he defeated Milwaukee last Saturday, allowing just one run on four hits in 6.0 innings with no walks and a career-best 11 strikeouts … his previous collegiate career high for strikeouts came on May 10, 2025, when he recorded 10 strikeouts for Kansas in a game against BYU … Moore threw 76 pitches in his outing on Saturday, 61 for strikes, marking an 80 percent strikes rate.

-The LSU pitching staff recorded 49 strikeouts in the three-game Milwaukee series last weekend, marking the most Ks pitched by the Tigers in a three-game series since at least 1992 … LSU surpassed the previous high total of 45 strikeouts recorded in last season’s three-game series versus Purdue Fort Wayne … LSU has led the nation in strikeouts in each of the last two seasons, with 780 in 2024 and 733 in 2025.

-LSU is hitting .355 (61-for-172) as a team through its first five games with 17 doubles, one triple, 12 homers and 63 runs … the Tigers have posted a .467 on-base percentage that includes 31 walks and seven hit batsmen … LSU hit .385 (40-for-104) in the three-game Milwaukee series last weekend with 12 doubles, one triple, six homers, 41 runs and three stolen bases.

-Sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide batted .500 (6-for-12) in last weekend’s sweep over Milwaukee with two doubles, one homer, four RBI, and five runs scored … he launched a three-run homer in the seventh inning on Friday to break a 5-5 tie and highlight a six-run outburst in the frame.

-Infielders Seth Dardar and Trent Caraway each enjoyed outstanding debuts in LSU uniforms over the weekend vs. Milwaukee … Dardar, a transfer from Kansas State, lined a double, launched two homers and collected six RBI … Caraway, a transfer from Oregon State, produced one double, one triple and five RBI in the series … Caraway launched his first career LSU home run on Wednesday versus Nicholls, a grand slam that highlighted a five-run first inning for the Tigers.

ABOUT THE LIVE LIKE LOU JAX COLLEGE CLASSIC TEAMS

-Indiana is 1-3 this season after dropping three straight games at North Carolina last weekend before posting a 15-3 win over Bradley on Tuesday in Bloomington, Ind. … the Hoosiers recorded a 32-24 overall mark last season and finished sixth in the Big Ten with a 16-14 league record in the 17-team conference (Wisconsin is the only Big 10 member that does have a baseball program).

-Notre Dame is 2-1 this year as the Irish opened the season with two wins in a three-game series at Florida Atlantic … the Irish were 32-21 overall last season, 14-16 in ACC play (11th place).

-UCF is 3-1 this season, as the Knights swept three games from Siena to start the year before dropping an 8-7, 13-inning decision at Miami on Tuesday … UCF was 29-26 overall last season, 9-21 in the Big 12 (13th place).

(Release via LSU Athletics)