LSU begins SEC Tournament Friday night against Texas A&M

LSU hopes to begin its push for an SEC Championship on Friday night against the 14-seed Texas A&M. As the No. 3 seed, LSU had two byes to the quarterfinals and now has to win three games in three days. Here’s a look at the matchup against A&M to start the tournament for them.

#14 Seed Texas A&M Aggies (30-25) vs. #3 Seed LSU Tigers (42-13)
DATE/TIME
• Friday, May 23 @ approx. 6:30 p.m. CT
STADIUM
• Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala. (15,000)
RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 1 D1 Baseball, No. 1 USA Today, No. 1 Baseball America
• TAMU – unranked
RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
TV/ONLINE
• Friday’s game will be televised on SEC Network and streamed on SEC Network +

PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU – So. LH Kade Anderson (7-1, 3.47 ERA, 83.0 IP, 23 BB, 133 SO)
TAMU – Jr. LH Myles Patton (3-4, 5.10 ERA, 72.1 IP, 16 BB, 79 SO)

LSU HISTORY IN SEC TOURNAMENT
• LSU has a league-best 94-50 (.653) all-time record in the SEC Tournament, and the Tigers own a conference-high 12 tournament titles … LSU has reached the championship round of the SEC Tournament on 20 occasions … the Tigers posted a 4-1 mark in the 2024 SEC Tournament, dropping a 4-3 decision to Tennessee in the championship game … LSU has won six SEC Tournament crowns since 2008, claiming the title in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017 … LSU had reached the semifinal round in seven straight SEC Tournaments (2013-19) before dropping a first-round, single-elimination game to Georgia in 2021.

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. TEXAS A&M
• Texas A&M leads the all-time series with LSU – which began in 1907 – 34-31-1 … the Aggies won two of three games over the Tigers earlier this season (May 3-4) in Bryan-College Station … prior to this season, the Tigers had posted back-to-back 2-1 series victories over the Aggies in 2023 in Bryan-College Station and in 2024 in Baton Rouge … Texas A&M leads the all-time series, 19-18, in the 37 games played between the schools since the Aggies began playing baseball in the SEC in 2013 … LSU is 0-1 vs. Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament; the only prior tournament meeting between the schools occurred on May 26, 2023, when the Aggies recorded a 5-4 win over the Tigers in an elimination game.

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“Our guys will be excited to play, and the focus right now is on the game in front of us. We haven’t played since last Saturday, and I don’t believe we’ve had a five-day break in between games all season. The players have been great this week; we had good work at home and a good workout here (Hoover, Ala.) today. The mindset is good, and our players are eager to compete in a first-class event.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• The Tigers concluded the regular season with a 19-11 SEC record and finished in third place in the conference standings … LSU is the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala., and the Tigers will play at approximately 6:30 p.m. CT Friday against either Texas A&M, Mississippi State or Auburn in the tournament quarterfinals round … LSU won at least 19 league games for the 19th time in school history and for the second time in the past three seasons … LSU finished in the Top 4 in the SEC regular-season standings for the third time in four seasons.

• The LSU pitching staff is ranked in the Top 10 in the nation in three major statistical categories – the Tigers are No. 4 in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (11.7), No. 8 in ERA (3.78) and No. 8 in hits allowed per nine innings (7.45).

• LSU is No. 3 in the SEC in team batting average (.306), and the Tigers are No. 2 in on-base percentage (.417), No. 4 in runs scored (446), No. 5 in hits (559) and No. 5 in doubles (114) … the LSU pitching staff is No. 2 in the SEC in team ERA (3.78), and the Tigers are No. 3 in the league with 611 strikeouts … LSU is No. 3 in the SEC in opponent batting average (.224).

• LSU junior first baseman Jared Jones, a semifinalist for the 2025 Dick Howser Trophy, helped lead the Tigers to a series victory at South Carolina, batting .462 (6-for-13) with three homers, five RBI and five runs scored … Jones moved into sole possession of third place on the LSU career homers list – he has 61 homers in three seasons, trailing only catcher Brad Cresse (78 HR, 1997-2000) and first baseman Eddy Furniss (80 HR, 1995-98).

• Sophomore outfielder Jake Brown hit .625 (5-for-8) in the South Carolina series last weekend with two doubles, one homer, one RBI, four runs and three stolen bases … in LSU’s past two SEC series versus Arkansas and South Carolina, Brown has batted a combined .625 (10-for-18) with two doubles, three homers, six RBI and eight runs scored.

• Junior second baseman Daniel Dickinson batted .417 (5-for-12) in the South Carolina series with two homers, four RBI, five runs and one stolen base … Dickinson has hit a combined .385 (10-for-26) in LSU’s past two SEC series versus Arkansas and South Carolina with one double, two homers, five RBI and nine runs scored.

• Sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson, a 2025 Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist, defeated South Carolina last Friday, limiting the Gamecocks to one run on four hits in 6.2 innings with three walks and nine strikeouts … Anderson improved to 7-1 this season and lowered his cumulative ERA to 3.47 … Anderson has pitched 83.0 innings this season, recording 23 walks and 133 strikeouts while limiting opponents to a .220 batting average.

• Junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson, a semifinalist for the National Pitcher of the Year Award, posted a win over South Carolina last Saturday, allowing just two runs on five hits in 7.0 innings with three walks and five strikeouts … Eyanson, who has won three straight SEC starts over Texas A&M, Arkansas and South Carolina, is 9-2 this season with a 2.88 ERA, 30 walks and 121 strikeouts in 81.1 innings while limiting opponents to a .213 cumulative batting average.

• Junior first baseman Jared Jones is No. 3 in the SEC in RBI (66), No. 3 in total bases (147), No. 3 in hits (76), No. 4 in home runs (19) and No. 8 in slugging percentage (.665) … freshman outfielder Derek Curiel is No. 7 in the SEC in hits (72), No. 7 in walks (41) and No. 8 in doubles (15).

• LSU sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson is No. 2 in the nation and in the SEC in strikeouts (133) and No. 2 in the league in innings pitched (83.0) … junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson is No. 3 in the nation and in the SEC in strikeouts with 121 Ks, and he is No. 3 in the league in innings pitched (81.1) … junior second baseman Daniel Dickinson is No. 4 in the SEC in on-base percentage (.478).

ABOUT TEXAS A&M
• Texas A&M has a 30-25 overall mark, and the Aggies have posted SEC Tournament wins this week over Mississippi State (9-0) and Auburn (3-2) … the Aggies logged an 11-19 SEC regular-season record and entered the tournament as the No. 14 seed.
• Texas A&M is hitting .261 as a team this season with 86 doubles, five triples, 95 homers and 41 steals in 47 attempts … the Aggies are led at the plate by third baseman Wyatt Henseler, who is batting .316 with 15 doubles, 12 homers and 33 RBI … shortstop Kaeden Kent is hitting .279 with 12 doubles, one triple, 13 homers and 49 RBI, and outfielder Jace LaViolette has recorded team-highs of 18 homers and 59 RBI.
• The Aggies’ scheduled starting pitcher on Friday, left-hander Myles Patton, pitched effectively against LSU earlier this season (May 4) as the Game 3 starter, working 6.0 innings and allowing four runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

*LSU press release