LSU coach Jay Johnson previews Tigers’ must-win SEC series with Auburn this weekend

LSU head baseball coach Jay Johnson spoke with the media Thursday afternoon on the eve of the Tigers hosting Auburn in a key SEC series.

Auburn Tigers (20-10, 2-16 SEC) at LSU Tigers (26-16, 5-13 SEC)DATES/TIMES

• Friday, April 26 @ 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
• Saturday, April 27 @ 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
• Sunday, April 28 @ 1 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)

STADIUM

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

RADIO·        LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates·        Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.comTV/ONLINE

• All three games will be streamed on SEC Network +

PITCHING MATCHUPSGame 1LSU – So. LH Gage Jump (3-1, 4.22 ERA, 42.2 IP, 16 BB, 57 SO)AU – So. RH Dylan Watts (0-1, 5. 66 ERA, 20.2 IP, 3 BB, 20 SO)Game 2LSU – Jr. RH Luke Holman (6-3, 2.78 ERA, 55.0 IP, 18 BB, 79 SO)AU – Sr. LH Tanner Bauman (2-2, 4.84 ERA, 22.1 IP, 10 BB, 27 SO)Game 3LSU – TBAAU – Jr. LH Carson Myers (2-3, 3.72 ERA, 38.2 IP, 19 BB, 29 SO LSU SERIES RECORD VS. AUBURNLSU has a 110-80 advantage over Auburn in a series that began in 1907 … Auburn posted a 2-1 series victory over LSU last season (May 5-7) in Plainsman Park … Auburn has won three of the past five series versus LSU – 2018 at Auburn, 2022 at Baton Rouge and 2023 at Auburn … LSU has won 22 of its last 32 games versus Auburn, and LSU has won seven of the last 10 and 15 of the last 24 SEC regular-season series between the clubs, dating back to 1999. QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON“We’re excited to be back at home. It feels like we haven’t played an SEC series at home in about a month-and-a-half. Auburn is a team we have a lot of respect for, and they have a coach we have a lot of respect for. They’ve maybe had an even more difficult league schedule than we’ve had. We’re expecting a tough, hard-fought weekend. There are very good players on both sides, even though we’ve both struggled a little bit. We’re very happy to be back at Alex Box this weekend.” ABOUT THE LSU TIGERS

• LSU has won four of its last five games, including a victory over New Orleans on April 16, an SEC series win at Missouri last weekend, and a win over Nicholls on Tuesday night … the Missouri series marked the Tigers’ fourth road series in the first six weeks of SEC play … LSU was the only school in the league to play four of its first six conference series on the road … LSU will play nine of its final 12 SEC games in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

• LSU hit five homers in Tuesday’s 9-0 win over Nicholls, tying its season single-game high for dingers … the Tigers also homered five times vs. Northern Illinois on February 22.

• LSU’s pitching staff is No. 2 in the SEC in strikeouts with 467, trailing only Arkansas, which has 493 Ks on the year.

• Sophomore left-hander Gage Jump was named SEC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after he fired a seven-inning complete game on Friday to lead LSU to a series-opening win over Missouri … Jump limited Mizzou to one run on three hits with one walk and a career-high 14 strikeouts … he threw 98 pitches in the outing, 65 for strikes … he retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced, including 10 by strikeout … his 14 strikeouts marked the most by an LSU pitcher since Ty Floyd recorded 17 strikeouts versus Florida last June in the College World Series … Jump’s seven-inning complete game was the first by an LSU pitcher since Paul Skenes posted a seven-inning complete-game win over Mississippi State on May 13, 2023.

• LSU junior right-hander Luke Holman is No. 2 in the SEC in opponent batting average (.181), No. 3 in the league in strikeouts (79), No. 3 in innings pitched (55.0) and No. 5 in ERA (2.78).

• Third baseman Tommy White is No. 6 in the SEC in base hits this season with 59 … he is batting .375 (9-for-24) in the Tigers’ last five games with three homers, eight RBI and six runs scored.

• Freshman outfielder Ashton Larson was LSU’s leading hitting in its series victory at Missouri, batting .500 (5-for-10) with two doubles, one homer, two RBI, four runs, three walks, one HBP and a .643 on-base percentage … his RBI double in the first inning of Game 1 provided the spark that ignited the LSU offense in a 12-1 victory … his solo home run in the seventh inning of Game 3 expanded LSU’s 3-2 lead to 4-2 in the eventual 6-2 win … Larson is hitting a team-high .395 (15-for-38) in SEC games this season with five doubles, three homers, six RBI and 10 runs scored.

• Left-hander Griffin Herring worked five scoreless innings in relief Sunday as LSU posted a 6-2 win at Missouri … Herring, who improved to 3-0 on the season, entered the game to start the bottom of the fifth inning with the scored tied 2-2, and he blanked Missouri the rest of the way, allowing just one hit with one walk and eight strikeouts … the eight Ks tied his career high, which he initially set earlier this season (March 29) at Arkansas … Herring is now 2-0 in his six SEC game appearances with two saves and a 0.87 ERA … in 20.2 SEC game innings, he has recorded five walks and 32 strikeouts while allowing just two runs on 15 hits with a .203 opponent batting average.

• Junior shortstop Michael Braswell III hit .400 (4-for-10) in the Missouri series with two doubles, four RBI and one run scored … Braswell III is now hitting .345 (19-for-55) in SEC games with eight doubles, seven RBI and nine runs scored.

• Sophomore first baseman Jared Jones collected two doubles, two homers and three RBI at Missouri – Jones is No. 6 in the SEC in home runs this season with 18 … sophomore centerfielder Paxton Kling belted three doubles at Missouri and drove in three runs … graduate designated hitter Hayden Travinski posted two homers and six RBI at Mizzou, including a three-run dinger in LSU’s Game 1 win.

ABOUT THE AUBURN TIGERS

• Auburn is No. 10 in the SEC in team batting average, hitting .274 with 70 doubles, eight triples, 63 home runs and 63 steals in 72 attempts … Auburn is No. 13 in the league in team ERA (5.94), and its staff has recorded 348 strikeouts in 337.2 innings.
• Auburn first baseman Cooper McMurray is hitting .350 with 12 homers, 12 doubles and 49 RBI, and he is No. 6 in the SEC in RBI … catcher Ike Irish is batting .326 with nine doubles, one triple, 11 homers and 48 RBI, and he is No. 9 in the league in RBI.
• Infielder Cooper Weiss leads the SEC with 26 stolen bases, and he’s been thrown out on five occasions … Auburn has the third-highest total of steals (63) in the SEC, trailing only Kentucky (81) and Vanderbilt (75).