DATE/TIME
· Tuesday, April 26 @ 6:30 p.m. CT
STADIUM
· Maestri Field at Privateer Park
RANKINGS
· LSU – No. 17 NCAA RPI, No. 20 USA Today, No. 22 D1 Baseball
· UNO – 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 live on ESPN + (subscription service; for more information, visit plus.espn.com)
LSU SERIES RECORD VS. NEW ORLEANS
• LSU leads the all-time series with New Orleans, 63-36, including a 11-3 win over the Privateers earlier this season (March 2) in Baton Rouge. The Tigers have won 12 of the past 14 matchups between the schools. LSU is playing at UNO for the second straight season – the Tigers defeated the Privateers, 5-0, at Maestri Field on March 10, 2021. Former LSU coach Paul Mainieri played for two seasons at UNO under former Privateers coach Ron Maestri in 1978 and ’79. Seventh-year UNO coach Blake Dean played at LSU under Mainieri from 2007-10 as an outfielder/first baseman, earning 2008 first-team all-America honors and helping lead the Tigers to the 2009 College World Series title.
QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“UNO has an outstanding lineup, I think they’ve done an excellent job in recruiting. When LSU travels to play an in-state school, it’s a big deal, so I’m sure they will be excited to have us there. It’s a great experience for our team, because it helps us to develop toughness. We need to plow through and execute in order to a chance to beat them.”
ABOUT THE TIGERS
· LSU posted four wins in four games last week with a midweek victory over UL Lafayette and a three-game SEC sweep of Missouri … LSU is No. 17 this week in the official NCAA RPI ranking … the Tigers open this week on the road at New Orleans (6:30 p.m. CT Tuesday), and LSU begins Week 7 of SEC play by playing host to Georgia at 6:30 p.m. CT Friday … LSU, which is 10-8 in the SEC, is in third place in the SEC West, just two games behind first-place Arkansas (12-6).
· Sophomore third baseman Jacob Berry led LSU to a three-game sweep of Missouri over the weekend, batting .600 (6-for-10) with three homers, four RBI and five runs … Berry also walked three times in the series and recorded a .692 on-base percentage … he was 3-for-4 with two homers, two RBI and three runs in Friday’s Game 1 victory … his first homer gave LSU a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and his second homer erased a 2-1 deficit in the third inning, tying the game at 2-2 … Berry was 2-for-3 at the plate in Game 3 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored … he delivered a two-out, game-tying RBI single in the third inning, and he led off the fifth inning with a homer to increase LSU’s lead to 6-3 … Berry is LSU’s leading hitter this season, batting .370 with seven doubles, a team-high 13 homers and 40 RBI.
· LSU is near the top of the SEC in several offensive categories, including batting average (No. 4 – .294); slugging percentage (No. 2 – .515); on-base percentage (No. 2 – .406); runs scored (No. 2 – 317); RBI (No. 2 – 298); doubles (No. 3 – 81); home runs (No. 5 – 66) and total bases (No. 2 – 688) … LSU’s batters have been hit by a pitch 80 times through 39 games of the regular season; the Tigers are No. 5 in the nation and No. 1 in the SEC in batters hit-by-pitches, and the next-closest SEC team in that category is Missouri with 62 HBPs.
· Left-hander Riley Cooper appeared in all three games of LSU’s three-game sweep of Missouri, recording a win and save over the weekend … he worked a total of 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing two hits with no walks and two strikeouts … he pitched the final 1.1 innings to earn the win in Game 2, allowing no runs on two hits with no walks and one strikeout … Cooper entered the game in the top of the ninth inning with two outs, runners on first and second, and the score tied 3-3; he struck out Missouri third baseman Luke Mann to end the threat, and then pitched a scoreless 10th before LSU won the game in the bottom of the inning with a walk-off single … Cooper picked up the save in Game 3, pitching a perfect 1.1 innings with one strikeout … he entered the game in the top of the eighth inning with LSU clinging to a 7-6 lead as Missouri had the bases loaded with two outs … Cooper retired Mann on a grounder back to the mound to end the inning, and he retired the side in order in the ninth to preserve the win.
· Senior right-hander Ma’Khail Hilliard defeated Missouri on Thursday, working seven innings and limiting Mizzou to two runs on seven hits with no walks and five strikeouts … Hilliard, who improved to 4-0 this season, has not suffered a loss in 11 consecutive decisions … Hilliard’s last loss came on May 22, 2019, to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament at Hoover, Ala.
· The LSU pitching staff is near the top of the SEC in a number of categories, including ERA (No. 4 – 3.42); opponent batting average (No. 4 – .224); fewest runs allowed (No. 4 – 170); fewest earned runs allowed (No. 4 – 132); fewest hits allowed (No. 4 -294) and fewest walks allowed (No. 4 – 134).
ABOUT THE PRIVATEERS
· UNO is 21-16 overall, 8-7 in the Southland Conference … the Privateers won two of three SLC games over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last weekend at Maestri Field.
· The Privateers are hitting .292 as a team with 70 doubles, seven triples, 31 homers and 23 steals in 29 attempts … UNO is led at the plate by outfielder Pearce Howard, who is hitting .359 with eight doubles, six homers and 53 RBI … outfielder/infielder Anthony Herron Jr. is second on the club with seven homers and 43 RBI, and infielder Amani Larry is batting .358 with nine doubles, four homers and 34 RBI.
· UNO’s pitching staff has a 5.68 cumulative ERA with 282 strikeouts in 323 innings while allowing a .270 opponent batting average.
(Press release provided by LSU Athletics)
