Preview: Nicholls Colonels (24-16) at No. 16 LSU Fighting Tigers (29-14)

DATE/TIME
• Tuesday, May 3 @ 6:30 p.m. CT

STADIUM
• Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field (10,326)

RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 16 NCAA RPI, No. 19 USA Today, No. 20 D1 Baseball
• NICH – unranked

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 live on SEC Network +

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. NICHOLLS
LSU leads the all-time series with Nicholls, 57-24, including two wins over the Colonels last season by scores of 14-0 (Feb. 27) and 5-4 (March 3) in Alex Box Stadium … the Tigers have won 30 of the past 33 meetings with the Colonels … Nicholls’ only wins in its last 33 games versus LSU were a 4-2 victory in 2020 in Thibodaux; a 6-3 triumph in 2015 in Baton Rouge; and a 3-1 win in 2009, also in Baton Rouge.

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“(Nicholls coach) Mike Silva is doing a great job, they have a lot of experienced players, and they’re in contention to win their league championship. They’re going to come here and play well, and we’ll get their best shot. They have a very aggressive style of play, they take good at-bats, and they’ll try to do that tomorrow night.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• LSU posted an SEC series victory last weekend over NCAA RPI No. 4 Georgia in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field … LSU is No. 16 this week in the official NCAA RPI ranking … the Tigers play host to Nicholls at 6:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, and LSU begins Week 8 of SEC play by facing Alabama in Tuscaloosa at 6 p.m. CT Friday … LSU, which is 12-9 in the SEC, is in a four-way tie for third place in the overall league standings with Auburn, Texas A&M and Georgia.
• Sophomore third baseman Jacob Berry led LSU to a series win over No. 4 RPI Georgia, batting .462 (6-for-13) in three games with one double, one homer and three RBI … Berry also posted a .500 on-base percentage and a .769 slugging percentage in the series … with LSU trailing Georgia, 3-2, entering the bottom of the ninth inning on Sunday, Berry started the Tigers’ comeback with a single and scored when Cade Doughty followed with a two-run walk-off homer … Berry also launched a three-run homer in the seventh inning on Saturday, reducing an 8-4 Georgia lead to 8-7 … Berry is batting a team-high .368 this season, and he leads LSU in hits (63) and homers (14), and he is second on the club in RBI (43).
• Second baseman Cade Doughty delivered a walk-off hit for the second straight weekend on Sunday, as his two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted LSU to a 4-3 win over Georgia … Doughty also lined a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning to defeat Missouri on April 22 … LSU homered nine times in the Georgia series last weekend – centerfielder Dylan Crews hit three dingers, including two in Sunday’s win … true freshman leftfielder Josh Stevenson’s three-run homer on Saturday was the first dinger of his career.
• LSU is near the top of the SEC in several offensive categories, including batting average (No. 3 – .291); slugging percentage (No. 2 – .517); on-base percentage (No. 2 – .404); runs scored (No. 2 – 338); RBI (No. 2 – 318); doubles (No. 2 – 87); home runs (No. 4 – 76) and total bases (No. 3 – 757) … LSU’s batters have been hit by a pitch 82 times through 43 games of the regular season; the Tigers are No. 8 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 70 HBPs.
• Senior right-hander Ma’Khail Hilliard improved to 12-0 in his last 12 career decisions as he defeated No. 4 RPI Georgia on Friday night … Hilliard pitched six innings, limiting the Bulldogs to two run on eight hits in six innings with three walks and seven strikeouts … Hilliard has not lost a decision since May 22, 2019, to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament at Hoover, Ala. … he worked out of two bases-loaded jams in Friday night’s win, including one in the first inning and one in the fourth inning … he recorded back-to-back strikeouts to escape the first-inning predicament … Hilliard retired seven of the final eight batters he faced in earning the victory … he is now 5-0 this season with a 3.57 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 53 innings.
• True freshman right-hander Samuel Dutton delivered the longest outing of his career on Sunday, working the first 4.2 innings versus Georgia … Dutton limited the Bulldogs to two runs on four hits with no walks and four strikeouts, and he fired 65 total pitches.
• The LSU pitching staff is near the top of the SEC in a number of categories, including ERA (No. 4 – 3.68); opponent batting average (No. 4 – .229); fewest runs allowed (No. 4 – 196); fewest earned runs allowed (No. 4 – 156); fewest hits allowed (No. 4 -332) and fewest walks allowed (No. 4 – 150).

ABOUT THE COLONELS
• Nicholls is 24-16 overall, and the Colonels are 11-7 in the Southland Conference … Nicholls posted a 2-1 series victory over New Orleans last weekend in Thibodaux, La.
• The Colonels are hitting .267 as a team with 48 doubles, eight triples and 32 homers, and they have stolen 56 bases in 81 attempts … the Nicholls pitching staff has a 4.53 ERA with 278 strikeouts in 343.2 innings.
• Nicholls is led at the plate by Edgar Alvarez, who is hitting .300 with eight homers and 42 RBI … Alec Paz has seven homers and 24 RBI, and Xane Washington has six homers and 25 RBI.