LSU Baseball Report: Tigers enter final week of regular season

LSU Baseball Report – May 17, 2021
Overall Record: 32-19

Last Week’s Results (3-1)
May 11 (Tue.) – LOUISIANA TECH (W, 16-8)
May 14 (Fri.) – ALABAMA (W, 2-1)
May 15 (Sat.) – ALABAMA (L, 5-6)
May 16 (Sun.) – ALABAMA (W, 13-5)

This Week’s Schedule
May 18 (Tue.) – NORTHWESTERN STATE, 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
May 20 (Thu.) – at Texas A&M, 6 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
May 21 (Fri.) – at Texas A&M, 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
May 22 (Sat.) – at Texas A&M, 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)

Notes on the Tigers
LSU is No. 18 in the most recent official NCAA RPI rankings, and the Tigers are ranked No. 3 nationally in strength of schedule … LSU will qualify for the 12-team SEC Tournament field with one win this weekend at Texas A&M … the Tigers currently hold the No. 10 seed in the SEC Tournament bracket, which begins on Tuesday, May 25 … LSU is No. 10 in the nation in home runs this season with 74 … the Tigers play their final midweek game of the season on Tuesday versus Northwestern State – LSU is 12-0 this season in its midweek, non-SEC contests … LSU has won four of its last six SEC series, and the Tigers have won seven of their last nine games overall.

Gavin Dugas
Junior leftfielder Gavin Dugas helped lead the Tigers to three wins in four games last week, including an SEC series victory over Alabama … Dugas batted .429 (6-for-14) in four games with one double, two homers, eight RBI, five runs scored and a .526 on-base percentage … in LSU’s series win versus Alabama, Dugas hit .364 (4-for-11) with one double, two homers, five RBI, four runs, one stolen base and a .429 on-base percentage … he drove in three runs and scored three times in LSU’s win over 14th-ranked Louisiana Tech on Tuesday … Dugas is hitting .301 this season with 12 doubles, one triple, 14 homers and 44 runs, and he leads the SEC in RBI with 57.

Dylan Crews
Freshman outfielder Dylan Crews batted .444 (8-for-18) in four games last week with two doubles, one homer, five RBI, six runs scored and a .474 on-base percentage … in LSU’s series win over Alabama, Crews hit .429 (6-for-14) with two doubles, one homer, four RBI, four runs, and a .429 on-base percentage … Crews was 3-for-5 in LSU’s series-clinching win over the Crimson Tide on Sunday with two doubles, two RBI and three runs scored.

Landon Marceaux
Junior right-hander Landon Marceaux fired 6.1 shutout innings on Friday to defeat Alabama … he scattered 11 hits – including 10 singles – with one walk and six strikeouts … Marceaux improved to 6-4 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.15 in 79.2 innings this season … Marceaux has recorded 97 strikeouts, and he is limiting opponents to a .223 cumulative batting average … he is No. 2 in the SEC in innings pitched, No. 3 in strikeouts, No. 4 in ERA and No. 10 in opponent batting average.

Hitting Leaders
Centerfielder Giovanni DiGiacomo was 5-for-9 in the Alabama series with two homers, four RBI and two runs scored … his two homers both came in Sunday’s 13-5 win over the Crimson Tide … prior to Sunday’s game, DiGiacomo had one career LSU home run, which came on May 22, 2019, against Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament at Hoover, Ala. … first baseman Tre’ Morgan is riding a 10-game hit streak entering Tuesday’s game versus Northwestern State … second baseman Drew Bianco has reached base in 15 straight games, and third baseman Cade Doughty has reached base in 14 consecutive contests.

Northwestern State Demons (26-24) at LSU Fighting Tigers (32-19)

DATE/TIME
• Tuesday, May 18 @ 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
STADIUM
• Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field
RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
ONLINE
• The game will be streamed SEC Network +, accessible at Watch ESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app
RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 18 NCAA RPI

SERIES RECORD VS. NORTHWESTERN STATE
LSU leads the series with Northwestern State, 59-12, and the Tigers have won 21 of the past 23 matchups; however, the Demons defeated the Tigers, 3-1, on March 12, 2019, in Natchitoches in the most recent meeting between the schools. The Demons’ only other win in the past 23 games with LSU was a 5-2 victory on April 12, 2011, in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. LSU coach Paul Mainieri has a 14-2 career mark against Northwestern State.

PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU – Fr. RH Will Hellmers (6-1, 3.34 ERA, 35.0 IP, 14 BB, 31 SO)
NSU – So. RH Ethan Francis (0-0, 6.75 ERA, 5.1 IP, 6 BB, 5 SO)

QUOTING PAUL MAINIERI
“I feel like our team is playing its best baseball of the year, and I want to see our players get an opportunity to play in the postseason. I think we can be a team to be reckoned with. The Northwestern State game is a big game for us; we need to win in order to enhance our chances to receive an NCAA Tournament bid. Northwestern State has an outstanding program, and they beat us the last time we faced them two years ago. We’ve played very well in our midweek games this season, and we’ll need to do the same in order to have success on Tuesday night.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
LSU is No. 18 in the most recent official NCAA RPI rankings, and the Tigers are ranked No. 3 nationally in strength of schedule … LSU will qualify for the 12-team SEC Tournament field with one win this weekend at Texas A&M … the Tigers currently hold the No. 10 seed in the SEC Tournament bracket, which begins on Tuesday, May 25 … LSU is No. 10 in the nation in home runs this season with 74 … the Tigers play their final midweek game of the season on Tuesday versus Northwestern State – LSU is 12-0 this season in its midweek, non-SEC contests … LSU has won four of its last six SEC series, and the Tigers have won seven of their last nine games overall.

Paul Mainieri
LSU coach Paul Mainieri is No. 1 among active NCAA Division I Baseball coaches with 1,499 career wins in 39 seasons (six seasons at St. Thomas, six seasons at Air Force, 12 seasons at Notre Dame and 15 seasons at LSU). Mainieri is No. 8 all-time among all NCAA Baseball coaches and No. 7 all-time among NCAA Division I Baseball coaches with 1,499 career victories.

Gavin Dugas
Junior leftfielder Gavin Dugas helped lead the Tigers to three wins in four games last week, including an SEC series victory over Alabama … Dugas batted .429 (6-for-14) in four games with one double, two homers, eight RBI, five runs scored and a .526 on-base percentage … in LSU’s series win versus Alabama, Dugas hit .364 (4-for-11) with one double, two homers, five RBI, four runs, one stolen base and a .429 on-base percentage … he drove in three runs and scored three times in LSU’s win over 14th-ranked Louisiana Tech on Tuesday … Dugas is hitting .301 this season with 12 doubles, one triple, 14 homers and 44 runs, and he leads the SEC in RBI with 57.

Dylan Crews
Freshman outfielder Dylan Crews batted .444 (8-for-18) in four games last week with two doubles, one homer, five RBI, six runs scored and a .474 on-base percentage … in LSU’s series win over Alabama, Crews hit .429 (6-for-14) with two doubles, one homer, four RBI, four runs, and a .429 on-base percentage … Crews was 3-for-5 in LSU’s series-clinching win over the Crimson Tide on Sunday with two doubles, two RBI and three runs scored.

Landon Marceaux
Junior right-hander Landon Marceaux fired 6.1 shutout innings on Friday to defeat Alabama … he scattered 11 hits – including 10 singles – with one walk and six strikeouts … Marceaux improved to 6-4 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.15 in 79.2 innings this season … Marceaux has recorded 97 strikeouts, and he is limiting opponents to a .223 cumulative batting average … he is No. 2 in the SEC in innings pitched, No. 3 in strikeouts, No. 4 in ERA and No. 10 in opponent batting average.

Hitting Leaders
Centerfielder Giovanni DiGiacomo was 5-for-9 in the Alabama series with two homers, four RBI and two runs scored … his two homers both came in Sunday’s 13-5 win over the Crimson Tide … prior to Sunday’s game, DiGiacomo had one career LSU home run, which came on May 22, 2019, against Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament at Hoover, Ala. … first baseman Tre’ Morgan is riding a 10-game hit streak entering Tuesday’s game versus Northwestern State … second baseman Drew Bianco has reached base in 15 straight games, and third baseman Cade Doughty has reached base in 14 consecutive contests.

ABOUT THE DEMONS
• Northwestern State has a 26-24 overall mark, and the Demons are 20-16 in the Southland Conference … NSU is batting .226 as a team with 32 homers and 41 steals in 56 attempts.
• The Demons are led at the plate by Daunte Stuart, who is batting .277 with 13 doubles, seven homers and 30 RBI … Jeffrey Elkins is second on the club with five homers, and Marshall Skinner has four homers and 21 RBI on the year.
• The Demons’ pitching staff has a 4.37 cumulative ERA with 420 strikeouts in 424 innings and a .229 opponent batting average.
• Northwestern State defeated the Tigers 3-1 in their most recent meeting on March 12, 2019.
• “It’s always fun to go play those guys,” fifth-year head coach Bobby Barbier said. “It will be a bit of an awkward game since we haven’t played them in a while, and then we have a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series (against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi). We’ll have some guys who haven’t had a lot of opportunities who will get some this week, which is good. It will show us who can help us with the tournament as we move forward. Hopefully, the rain stays away and we can get there and play well.”
• Having faced Southern Miss on opening weekend in mid-February, the Demons will have bookended their schedule with its two most anticipated non-conference matchups. “It’s just different,” Barbier said. “We played at Southern Miss, and they have a good atmosphere and a nice stadium in a bigger place. It’s a good experience. We like to make our schedule that way. It gives our guys a different experience and presents a good challenge.”