LSU hosts Lamar in midweek test

Lamar Cardinals (10-2) at No. 1 LSU Tigers (11-1)

DATE/TIME
• Wednesday, March 8 @ 6:30 p.m. CT
STADIUM
• Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field (10,326)
RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 1 in all college baseball polls
• Lamar- unranked
RADIO
• LSU games on LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates; Baton Rouge station – 100.7 FM for Wednesday’s game
• 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. LAMAR
• LSU leads the all-time series with Lamar, 8-6, including a 5-3 win on April 23, 2019, in Baton Rouge in the teams’ most recent meeting … the teams were scheduled to meet in Baton Rouge last season on April 12, but the game was rained out and there were no available make-up dates on the schedule … LSU and Lamar met on the diamond in eight straight seasons (2012-19), and the Tigers won seven of those contests … the Cardinals’ only win over LSU in the previous eight meetings came in 2016 in Beaumont, Texas, when Lamar posted a 12-11 victory.

PITCHING MATCHUP
TBA

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“I have a lot of respect for (Lamar coach) Will Davis and his program. He does a great job; I think he’s put that roster together about as well as you can. They have veteran players who are competitive and tough. They also use their pitchers the right way, so we’ve got a lot of preparation to do.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• LSU enters the Lamar game riding a six-game win streak … LSU has batted .382 (79-for-287) during the six-game streak with 22 doubles, three triples and 13 homers, and the Tigers have outscored their opponents, 81-10 … LSU’s 26-4 win on Saturday over Central Connecticut State marked the most runs scored by the Tigers since a 27-0 victory over Northwestern State on May 13, 2014 … the LSU pitching staff has posted a 1.69 ERA during the six-game win streak, limiting opponents to just 27 hits and a .163 batting average … LSU has recorded three shutouts in its past five games – at Texas on February 28, versus Central Connecticut State on March 5 and versus Butler on March 6.

• Junior right-hander Paul Skenes improved to 3-0 this season as he defeated Butler last Friday in a dominating six-inning outing … he limited Butler to no runs on one hit with no walks and a career-high 13 strikeouts, firing 80 pitches in the outing … he allowed a two-out single in the first inning, then retired 16 straight Butler hitters to complete his outing … his 13 Ks represented the most by an LSU pitcher since March 2, 2018, when Zack Hess recorded 13 strikeouts against Toledo … Skenes has a 0.50 cumulative ERA this season in 18 innings, allowing only one run on six hits with three walks and 36 strikeouts … he is limiting opponents to a .100 batting average.

• Junior centerfielder Dylan Crews is hitting .458 (11-for-24) during LSU’s six-game win streak with six doubles, two homers, 13 RBI and nine runs scored … s sophomore DH Tommy White is batting .450 (9-for-20) during LSU’s six-game win streak with four doubles, two homers, nine RBI and six runs … he has also walked three times and has been hit by four pitches, posting a .593 on-base percentage in six games … in the Tigers’ win over Central Connecticut State last Saturday, White was 3-for-3 with one double, two homers, five RBI and three runs.

• Graduate second baseman Gavin Dugas has eight RBI in the Tigers’ last six games, including a three-run homer on February 28 n the top of the ninth inning to lift the Tigers to a 3-0 win at Texas … graduate first baseman Cade Beloso was 4-for-4 as a pinch hitter last week in four games with one double, two homers and seven RBI; Beloso started at first base in Monday night’s win over Butler and contributed two singles, giving him six hits in his last eight at-bats … junior first baseman/outfielder Tre’ Morgan is hitting .409 (9-for-22) during LSU’s six-game win streak with three doubles, one triple, five RBI and eight runs.

• Junior right-hander Ty Floyd improved to 2-0 this season as he defeated Central Connecticut State on Saturday in his first start of the year … Floyd limited the Blue Devils to one run on three hits in 5.2 innings with one walk and six strikeouts … left-hander Nate Ackenhausen earned two relief wins last week, including a brilliant outing at Texas on Tuesday night … Ackenhausen worked 3.1 shutout innings against the Longhorns, allowing just one hit with one walk and four strikeouts … he also earned the win on Sunday versus Central Connecticut State, entering the contest in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and two outs – he recorded a strikeout to end the inning and pitched a perfect fifth inning to secure the victory.

• Sophomore right-hander Thatcher Hurd recorded 11 strikeouts in six scoreless inning Monday night to lead top-ranked LSU to an 11-0 win over Butler … Hurd (1-0) allowed just three hits in six innings with one walk and 11 strikeouts, firing 73 pitches … the 11 Ks were just one shy of his collegiate career high – he posted 12 strikeouts for UCLA last season in a game versus Long Beach State.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
• Lamar is coached by former LSU player and assistant coach Will Davis, who was a catcher at LSU from 2004-07, and he worked as an assistant under former LSU head coach Paul Mainieri from 2008-15 … Davis is in his seventh season at the helm of the Lamar program.
• Lamar is hitting .241 as a team with six home runs and 19 stolen bases in 25 attempts … the Lamar pitching staff has a 2.68 cumulative ERA
• Outfielder Tanner Wilson is batting a team-high .313 on the year with three doubles … catcher Ryan Snell leads the Cardinals in doubles (6), home runs (4) and RBI (11) … C/1B Josh Blankenship is second on the club in RBI with nine, and INF/OF Kevin Bermudez has two homers this season.