Preview: LSU Hosting Southern In Thatcher Hurd's Debut

The UCLA transfer will make his first start for the Tigers in the Battle of Baton Rouge.

DATE/TIME

· Tuesday, February 21 @ 2 p.m. CT

STADIUM

· Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field (10,326)

RANKINGS

· LSU – No. 1 in all polls

· SU - unranked

RADIO

· LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates – 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge

· 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. SOUTHERN

LSU leads the all-time series vs. Southern, 58-3, as the squads first met in 1970 … the Tigers defeated the Jaguars twice last season by scores of 9-2 and 15-0 in Alex Box Stadium … LSU had won 14 consecutive games over Southern before the Jaguars posted a 7-2 win over the Tigers on April 9, 2019, at SU’s Lee-Hines Field … the Jaguars’ other all-times wins over LSU came on May 3, 2005 – a 9-5 Southern triumph in Alex Box Stadium – and on March 6, 2001, an 11-6 victory at “The Box.” … LSU is 52-2 all-time against Southern in games played at Alex Box Stadium.

PITCHING MATCHUP

LSU – So. RH Thatcher Hurd (at UCLA in 2022: 2-0, 1.06 ERA, 34.0 IP, 10 BB, 48 SO)

SU – TBA

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON

“I thought the entire (season-opening) weekend (vs. Western Michigan) was great, a really good model for what we want to establish going forward. We had really good starting pitching, really good defense and we were excellent in situational hitting. I really liked the amount of guys that contributed to winning as well. We’re looking forward to facing a very good Southern team that played extremely well over the weekend. We’d love to see a big Mardi Gras crowd at ‘The Box’ on Tuesday.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS

· LSU opened the 2023 season with a weekend series sweep of Western Michigan, outscoring the Broncos, 24-5 … the Tigers play host to Southern on Tuesday before traveling to Round Rock, Texas, to compete in the Karbach Round Rock Classic this weekend at Dell Diamond, the home of the Texas Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock Express.

· Junior right-hander Paul Skenes, making his debut in an LSU uniform, worked six shutout frames on Friday to defeat Western Michigan, allowing just three hits with one walk and 12 strikeouts .. the 12 Ks represented the most by an LSU pitcher since April 15, 2021, when Landon Marceaux recorded 12 strikeouts versus South Carolina … Skenes’ effort also marked the most strikeouts by an LSU pitcher in a season opener since Scott Schultz fanned 12 Lamar batters in 1995 in the Winn-Dixie Showdown at the Louisiana Superdome.

· Graduate second baseman Gavin Dugas led LSU to a season-opening series sweep of Western Michigan over the weekend as he batted .750 (6-for-8) with two homers, two RBI, three runs, a .778 on-base percentage and 1.500 slugging percentage … batting at the top of the order in Games 2 and 3, Dugas opened the bottom of the first inning on Saturday with LSU’s first homer of the year, giving the Tigers an early lead they would not relinquish in a 5-3 victory … on Sunday, Dugas was 3-for-3 at the plate with a homer and two runs scored; his homer led off the LSU sixth inning and extended the Tigers’ lead to 6-1 in an eventual 9-2 win.

· True freshman designated hitter Jared Jones enjoyed a spectacular LSU debut in the Tigers’ weekend sweep of Western Michigan, batting .500 (4-for-8) with two doubles, three RBI, four runs scored and a .750 slugging percentage … Jones also walked three times and posted a .636 on-base percentage in the series … his two-run double in Friday’s 10-0 LSU win highlighted a five-run sixth inning, expanding the Tigers’ lead to 8-0 … Jones provided an RBI single in the first inning on Saturday to increase LSU’s lead to 2-0 in an eventual 5-3 victory.

· The LSU pitching staff limited Western Michigan to a .105 (9-for-86) cumulative batting average in the weekend series. … junior left-hander Riley Cooper, making his second career LSU start on Saturday versus Western Michigan, did not allow a hit in 5.1 scoreless innings, and he logged two walks and seven strikeouts while throwing 71 pitches to secure the victory … sophomore left-hander Nate Ackenhausen entered Saturday’s game in the sixth inning, and he pitched the final 3.1 innings to earn the save … Ackenhausen limited the Broncos to one run on one hit in 3.1 innings with one walk and two strikeouts … junior right-hander Ty Floyd entered Sunday’s game at the start of the fifth inning with the score tied 1-1, and he fired three perfect innings with no walks and four strikeouts to earn the win.

· LSU collected four doubles, two triples and four homers in the weekend series versus Western Michigan and outhit the Broncos, 26-9 … outfielder Brayden Jobert was 3-for-8 with two doubles; centerfielder Dylan Crews was 3-for-9 with one homer, two RBI and four runs; shortstop Jordan Thompson homered and drove in a team-high four runs; infielder Ben Nippolt also contributed four RBI; catcher Brady Neal was 3-for-5 with one triple, two RBI and three runs.

ABOUT THE JAGUARS

· Southern is 3-0 after sweeping through the Cactus Jack HBCU Classic last weekend at Minute Maid Park in Houston … the Jaguars defeated Jackson State (5-4), Grambling (4-3) and Texas Southern (11-1, seven innings).

· The Jaguars hit .316 (30-for-95) in the three games over the weekend with six doubles, two triples and two homers … outfielder Jaylen Armstrong batted .500 (7-for-14) with two doubles and four runs scored … outfielder Khyle Radcliffe batted .429 and collected four RBI … infielder Hunter Tabb hit .385 and contributed one double, one homer and three RBI … infielder O’Neill Burgos homered and drove in six runs.

· The Southern pitching staff limited its opponents last weekend to a .184 cumulative batting average and allowed just two extra-base hits (one double, one triple).