The Preview and Breakdown: No. 6 Vanderbilt vs. No. 18 LSU
The LSU baseball team is on a four-game losing skid, most recently dropping Monday’s midweek matchup with the Southern Jaguars.
The Tigers have lost six of the team’s past seven games, sitting at 20-10 overall and just 2-7 in SEC play.
Now, LSU welcomes No. 6 Vanderbilt to (23-6, 6-3) Baton Rouge for a three-game conference series that begins on Thursday evening.
Here’s the rundown on the matchup between the two programs.
DATES/TIMES
• Thursday, April 4 @ 6 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
• Friday, April 5 @ 7 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
• Saturday, April 6 @ 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
STADIUM
• Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field (10,726)
RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 18 D1 Baseball, No. 18 USA Today, No. 25 Baseball America
• VU – No. 6 Baseball America, No. 6 USA Today, No. 7 D1 Baseball
RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
TV/ONLINE
• Thursday – ESPN2
• Friday – SEC Network
• Saturday – SEC Network +
LSU SERIES RECORD VS. VANDERBILT
LSU has a 61-47 series edge over Vanderbilt, and Thursday’s game will mark the 109th meeting between the schools in a series that began in 1954 … Vanderbilt has won eight of the past 10 regular-season series between the schools; however, LSU swept three games from the Commodores when the teams last met on May 19-21, 2022, in Nashville … the 2022 sweep broke a string of four straight SEC series losses in Nashville for the Tigers … Vanderbilt posted a three-game sweep over the Tigers in the Commodores’ most recent visit to Baton Rouge in 2021 … LSU has a 6-2 all-time advantage against Vanderbilt in SEC Tournament games.
QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“When you look at the top programs over the past 20 years, Vanderbilt is certainly one of them. The consistency of their program is one to be modeled and admired with two national championships, several Omaha appearances, four trips to the College World Series finals. Their team this year is one of the most athletic teams in the country. They have a style of offense that is unique to the SEC; they have very good team speed, so neutralizing that by getting outs early in innings will be important for us. They have quality pitchers, and they’re a team playing with a lot of confidence right now.”
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Junior right-hander Luke Holman is No. 1 in the SEC in ERA with a 1.38 mark, and he’s No. 2 in the league in strikeouts (61), innings pitched (39.0) and wins (5) … Holman is fourth in the SEC in opponent batting average (.173).
• Junior shortstop Michael Braswell III is hitting .438 (7-for-16) in LSU’s last five games … he batted .500 (5-for-10) in last weekend’s Arkansas series with one run, one walk, one hit-by-pitch and a .583 on-base percentage … Braswell is the Tigers’ top hitter in SEC games, batting .393 (11-for-28) with three doubles, two RBI and four runs.
• Senior outfielder Mac Bingham is hitting .400 (8-for-20) in LSU’s last five games with one double, three homers, three RBI and four runs … he hit .385 (5-for-13) in last weekend’s Arkansas series with one double, two homers, two RBI and two runs.
• Sophomore left-hander Griffin Herring delivered a superb relief effort in last Saturday’s game at Arkansas, working 4.2 scoreless innings and limited the Razorbacks to three hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.
• Junior third baseman Tommy White is batting .381 (8-for-21) in the Tigers’ last five games with three homers, four RBI and seven runs scored.
• As a team, LSU has hit 10 home runs in its last five games – Mac Bingham and Tommy White have three apiece, catcher/DH Hayden Travinski has two, and outfielder Ashton Larson and catcher/OF Brady Neal each have one dinger in that span.
ABOUT THE COMMODORES
• Vanderbilt (6-3) is tied with Florida for second place in the SEC Eastern Division, two games behind Kentucky … the Commodores posted a three-game sweep over Missouri last weekend in Nashville.
• Vanderbilt is No. 5 in the SEC in team batting average (.300) with 66 doubles, eight triples, 29 homers and 59 steals in 66 attempts … sophomore utility player RJ Austin is hitting a team-best .351 with five doubles, two homers, 29 RBI, 28 runs and 16 steals in 19 attempts.
• The Commodores are No. 3 in the SEC in team ERA (3.61) … junior right-hander Bryce Cunningham is No. 9 in the SEC with a 2.87 ERA, and he’s tied for third in the league in strikeouts (57) with his Vanderbilt teammate, junior left-hander Carter Holton … Cunningham (.181) and Holton (.190) are fifth and ninth, respectively, in the SEC in opponent batting average.
