No. 15 LSU travels to Nashville for SEC showdown with No. 5 Vanderbilt

#15 LSU Fighting Tigers (15-7, 2-1 SEC) at #5 Vanderbilt Commodores (15-6, 3-0 SEC)

DATES/TIMES
Friday, March 23 – 8 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 24 – 7:30 p.m. CT
Sunday, March 25 – 12 p.m. CT

STADIUM
Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn.

RANKINGS
LSU – No. 15 by Collegiate Baseball; No. 18 by Baseball America
VU – No. 5 by Collegiate Baseball; No. 9 by Baseball America

RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates, including WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge
Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live
Live stats at www.LSUstats.com

TV
Friday – ESPNU
Saturday – ESPNU
Sunday – ESPN2

ONLINE
The games may be viewed on SEC Network+, accessible at WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app

SERIES RECORD
LSU has a 57-41 edge over Vanderbilt, and Friday’s game will mark the 99th meeting between the schools in a series that began in 1954. The teams are meeting for the first time since April 7-9, 2016, in Baton Rouge, when LSU won two of three games over the Commodores. Vanderbilt has won six of the past seven regular-season series between the schools; however, LSU has captured five of its last six SEC Tournament games against Vanderbilt. LSU is seeking its first series victory in Nashville since 2005, when the Tigers won two of three games over the Commodores.

PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – So. RHP Zack Hess (3-2, 5.08 ERA, 28.1 IP, 14 BB, 42 SO)
VU – So. RHP Drake Fellows (3-0, 1.91 ERA, 28.1 IP, 12 BB, 36 SO)

Game 2
LSU – Jr. RHP Caleb Gilbert (2-1, 4.21 ERA, 25.2 IP, 6 BB 15 SO)
VU – Jr. RHP Patrick Raby (2-2, 1.45 ERA, 18.2 IP, 9 BB, 22 SO)

Game 3
LSU – Fr. RHP Ma’Khail Hilliard (5-0, 0.77 ERA, 23.1 IP, 8 BB, 20 SO)
VU – TBA

QUOTING PAUL MAINIERI
“Nashville is a beautiful city, as everybody knows, but it hasn’t been real pleasant for us since I’ve been the coach here. We haven’t had great memories of our series there in recent years, though back in 2014 we got a big win in Nashville when Aaron Nola was pitching for us. We have had good fortune against Vanderbilt in SEC Tournament games over the years, and we won the series against them in Baton Rouge two years ago, but it would be nice to go to Nashville and play well in their ball park. We got off to a good start in league play last week with a series win over Missouri, and now it’s time to focus on our first road series of the season.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• LSU has won four of its past five games, and the Tigers are No. 15 in this week’s Collegiate Baseball poll, marking the 120th consecutive week the Tigers have appeared in the poll … LSU has been ranked every week since the beginning of the 2012 season.
• LSU is No. 3 in the SEC in team batting average, hitting .305 with 50 doubles, six triples and 17 homers. LSU hitters have struck out just 116 times this season, marking the fewest amount of strikeouts in the league.
• Sophomore outfielder Zach Watson is hitting .619 (13-for-21) in LSU’s last five games with four doubles, one homer, 10 RBI, eight runs and four stolen bases … he led the Tigers to an SEC series victory last weekend over 24th-ranked Missouri, batting .571 (8-for-14) with two doubles, one homer, five RBI, four runs and two steals … he enters Friday’s series opener at Vanderbilt riding an eight-game hitting streak.
• Freshman outfielder Daniel Cabrera is hitting .462 (6-for-13) in LSU’s last five games with four doubles, two RBI and four runs scored … in LSU’s 10-4 win over Tulane on Wednesday night, Cabrera collected a career-high four hits – including two doubles – scored three runs and posted one RBI.
• Sophomore right-hander Zack Hess defeated Missouri last Friday night in his first career SEC start, limiting Mizzou to two runs on three hits in six innings with eight strikeouts.
• Freshman right-hander Ma’Khail Hilliard earned a win last Sunday in his first career SEC start, defeating No. 24 Missouri by working six innings … Hilliard gave up two runs in the first inning to end his consecutive scoreless innings streak at 17, but he then blanked Mizzou over the next five innings to improve his record on the year to 5-0 … Hilliard fired 91 pitches in the outing and limited Missouri to two runs on six hits with one walk and a career-best six strikeouts.

ABOUT THE COMMODORES
• Vanderbilt is hitting .298 as a team this season (No. 8 in the SEC) with 44 doubles, four triples, 17 homers and 40 steals in 47 attempts. The Commodores pitching staff is No. 4 in the SEC with a 2.88 ERA, and Vanderbilt is No. 3 in the league in strikeouts with 220.
• The Commodores opened SEC play last weekend with a three-game sweep at Mississippi State. Vanderbilt dropped an 8-5 decision to Belmont on Wednesday night in Nashville.
• Junior infielder Ethan Paul is Vanderbilt’s top power source, as he has team highs of seven doubles, four homers and 27 RBI. Junior infielder Connor Kaiser and freshman outfielder Pat DeMarco have produced 19 and 18 RBI, respectively, on the year.