LSU Baseball Report: Tigers host UNO, open SEC play this week

LSU Baseball Report – March 13, 2023
Overall Record: 15-1

Last Week’s Results (5-0)
March 6 (Mon.) – BUTLER (W, 11-0 – 7 innings)
March 8 (Wed.) – LAMAR (W, 9-2)
March 10 (Fri.) – SAMFORD (W, 11-1 – 7 innings)
March 11 (Sat.) – SAMFORD (W, 12-0 – 7 innings)
March 12 (Sun.) – SAMFORD (W, 13-1 – 7 innings)

This Week’s Schedule
March 14 (Tue.) – NEW ORLEANS, 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
March 17 (Fri.) – at Texas A&M, 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
March 18 (Sat.) – at Texas A&M, 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
March 19 (Sun.) – at Texas A&M, 1 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)

Tigers Update
• LSU won all of its five games last week and Tigers enter this week riding a 10-game win streak … the 10-game win streak is LSU’s longest since the 2017 Tigers won 17 in a row from May 11 through June 17 … LSU’s 15-1 start this season is the Tigers’ best record through 16 games since the 2015 team also posted a 15-1 mark.

• LSU batted .349 (52-for-149) in its five games last week with 11 doubles, one triple and 15 homers, and the Tigers outscored their opponents, 56-4 … the Tigers’ pitching staff posted a 0.73 ERA in five games last week, allowing three earned runs in 37 innings … LSU limited its opponents to 15 hits and a .119 batting average in five games.

Hitting Notes
• Sophomore third baseman Tommy White batted .438 (7-for-16) in LSU’s five wins last week with three doubles, three homers, 14 RBI and nine runs … he also walked once and was hit by three pitches, posting a .550 on-base percentage … he homered, doubled and collected four RBI in LSU’s win over Lamar on Wednesday night before posting two doubles, two homers and nine RBI in the Tigers’ three-game sweep of Samford … in the Tigers’ win over Samford on Sunday, White launched LSU’s first grand slam of the season … White raised his cumulative average to .395, and he has collected seven doubles, five homers and 23 RBI in 13 games this season.

• Freshman first baseman Jared Jones batted .600 (6-for-10) for LSU last week with four homers, 11 RBI and five runs … he homered four times in four consecutive plate appearances over the course of the Tigers’ games versus Samford on Friday and Saturday … in Friday’s game, Jones launched two 2-run homers in his final two plate appearances, and in Saturday’s game, he unloaded two 3-run dingers in his first two plate appearances … he added an RBI single in Sunday’s win over Samford, as the Tigers completed a three-game sweep … Jones is batting .356 on the year, and he has a team-high six homers this season … he is second on the club with 21 RBI.

• Freshman rightfielder Paxton Kling is hitting .640 (16-for-25) during LSU’s 10-game win streak with three doubles, one triple, three homers, six RBI and 13 runs … junior centerfielder Dylan Crews is batting .529 (18-for-34) during the Tigers’ 10-game win streak with six doubles, four homers, 18 RBI and 19 runs … Crews is riding a 14-game hitting streak entering Tuesday night’s game versus New Orleans.

Pitching Notes
• Sophomore right-hander Thatcher Hurd posted two wins in two starts last week, working a total of 11 scoreless innings with three walks and 18 strikeouts … Hurd allowed just four hits and limited opponents to a .111 batting average in his two outings … he defeated Butler on Monday night, firing six shutout innings with three hits, one walk and 11 strikeouts, just one strikeout shy of his career high … Hurd then posted a win over Samford on Sunday, working five scoreless innings and limiting the Bulldogs to one hit with two walks and seven strikeouts … Hurd pitched 3.2 perfect innings versus Samford before allowing a batter to reach base … he lowered his cumulative ERA to 2.04, and he has 25 strikeouts in 17.2 innings this season.

• Junior right-hander Paul Skenes improved to 4-0 this season with a win Friday night over Samford, working six innings and limiting the Bulldogs to one run on two hits with one walk and 12 strikeouts … Skenes’ cumulative ERA is 0.75 and he has recorded 48 strikeouts in 24 innings this season while limiting opponents to a .099 batting average.

PREVIEW: New Orleans Privateers (11-5) at No. 1 LSU Tigers (15-1)

DATE/TIME
• Tuesday, March 14 @ 6:30 p.m. CT
STADIUM
• Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field (10,326)
RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 1 in all college baseball polls
• UNO – unranked
RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates, including 98.1 in Baton Rouge
• Live audio for LSU games at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats for LSU games at www.LSUstats.com
ONLINE
• The game will be streamed live on SEC Network +

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. NEW ORLEANS
• LSU leads the all-time series with New Orleans, 63-37, as the teams split their two meetings last season; LSU posted an 11-3 win over the Privateers on March 2 in Baton Rouge before UNO defeated the Tigers, 9-4, on April 26 in New Orleans … the Tigers have won 12 of the past 15 matchups between the schools … former LSU coach Paul Mainieri played for two seasons at UNO under former Privateers coach Ron Maestri in 1978 and ’79 … eighth-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
“We’ve had an intense schedule with a lot of games recently, and we’ve been going pretty hard, so I’m glad our players had some time off before we meet an excellent UNO team. We’re facing a very good opponent with 11 wins this season and some talented veteran players. Obviously (UNO coach) Blake Dean is well-known here, and he’s done a really nice job there, and he’s a very good coach. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him and talking to him, and we’re looking forward to that challenge on Tuesday night.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• LSU won all of its five games last week and Tigers enter this week riding a 10-game win streak … the 10-game win streak is LSU’s longest since the 2017 Tigers won 17 in a row from May 11 through June 17 … LSU’s 15-1 start this season is the Tigers’ best record through 16 games since the 2015 team also posted a 15-1 mark.
• LSU batted .349 (52-for-149) in its five games last week with 11 doubles, one triple and 15 homers, and the Tigers outscored their opponents, 56-4 … the Tigers’ pitching staff posted a 0.73 ERA in five games last week, allowing three earned runs in 37 innings … LSU limited its opponents to 15 hits and a .119 batting average in five games.
• Sophomore third baseman Tommy White batted .438 (7-for-16) in LSU’s five wins last week with three doubles, three homers, 14 RBI and nine runs … he also walked once and was hit by three pitches, posting a .550 on-base percentage … he homered, doubled and collected four RBI in LSU’s win over Lamar on Wednesday night before posting two doubles, two homers and nine RBI in the Tigers’ three-game sweep of Samford … in the Tigers’ win over Samford on Sunday, White launched LSU’s first grand slam of the season … White raised his cumulative average to .395, and he has collected seven doubles, five homers and 23 RBI in 13 games this season.
• Freshman first baseman Jared Jones batted .600 (6-for-10) for LSU last week with four homers, 11 RBI and five runs … he homered four times in four consecutive plate appearances over the course of the Tigers’ games versus Samford on Friday and Saturday … in Friday’s game, Jones launched two 2-run homers in his final two plate appearances, and in Saturday’s game, he unloaded two 3-run dingers in his first two plate appearances … he added an RBI single in Sunday’s win over Samford, as the Tigers completed a three-game sweep … Jones is batting .356 on the year, and he has a team-high six homers this season … he is second on the club with 21 RBI.
• Freshman rightfielder Paxton Kling is hitting .640 (16-for-25) during LSU’s 10-game win streak with three doubles, one triple, three homers, six RBI and 13 runs … junior centerfielder Dylan Crews is batting .529 (18-for-34) during the Tigers’ 10-game win streak with six doubles, four homers, 18 RBI and 19 runs … Crews is riding a 14-game hitting streak entering Tuesday night’s game versus New Orleans.
• Sophomore right-hander Thatcher Hurd posted two wins in two starts last week, working a total of 11 scoreless innings with three walks and 18 strikeouts … Hurd allowed just four hits and limited opponents to a .111 batting average in his two outings … he defeated Butler on Monday night, firing six shutout innings with three hits, one walk and 11 strikeouts, just one strikeout shy of his career high … Hurd then posted a win over Samford on Sunday, working five scoreless innings and limiting the Bulldogs to one hit with two walks and seven strikeouts … Hurd pitched 3.2 perfect innings versus Samford before allowing a batter to reach base … he lowered his cumulative ERA to 2.04, and he has 25 strikeouts in 17.2 innings this season.
• Junior right-hander Paul Skenes improved to 4-0 this season with a win Friday night over Samford, working six innings and limiting the Bulldogs to one run on two hits with one walk and 12 strikeouts … Skenes’ cumulative ERA is 0.75 and he has recorded 48 strikeouts in 24 innings this season while limiting opponents to a .099 batting average.

ABOUT THE PRIVATEERS
• UNO is 11-5 this season, and the Privateers have won four straight games, including a three-game sweep over Mississippi Valley State last weekend in New Orleans.
• UNO is hitting .321 as a team with 38 doubles, two triples, 25 homers and six steals in 12 attempts … the Privateers are led offensively by Tristan Moore, who is hitting .450 with three doubles, four homers and 16 RBI … Tyler Bischke is hitting .418 with six doubles, three homers and 18 RBI … Jorge Tejeda is batting .348 and has two doubles, four homers and 16 RBI.
• The Privateers’ pitching staff has compiled a 5.66 ERA with 132 strikeouts in 132.0 innings.