GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
It will be a Southeastern Conference Tournament-type sampling, a NCAA Super Regional preview and a College World Series potential match-up all in one this weekend at Alex Box Stadium.
Yes, the eyes of college baseball will be on Baton Rouge from Friday through Sunday as No. 4 LSU (34-7, 12-6 SEC) hosts No. 5 Tennessee (33-7, 12-6 SEC) in a three-game series that matches the last two national champions. The Saturday game will be in prime time at 7 p.m. on ESPNU, and the 2 p.m. finale on Sunday will be on the SEC Network. SEC Network+ will televise the opener at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
The Tigers, winners of the 2023 College World Series crown with two wins over Tennessee in Omaha, Nebraska, and the Volunteers, who won the 2024 title, will see where they stand as the postseason is just a month away with the SEC Tournament starting in Hoover, Alabama, on May 20.
LSU WINS ANOTHER SERIES AGAINST ALABAMA
LSU jumped from No. 8 to No. 4 in the Baseball America poll on Monday after taking two of three at home from No. 24 Alabama. Tennessee dropped from No. 2 to No. 5 after losing two of three at home to Kentucky.
The series will boast the No. 2 home run hitting team in the nation in Tennessee with 93 against the No. 8 earned run average team in LSU at 3.64. The Vols also have the No. 4 ERA staff at 3.20. Tennessee is No. 6 in slugging percentage at .582 and No. 10 in runs with 9.3 a game. Tennessee’s Andrew Fischer is tied for 15th nationally with 15 home runs, and LSU’s Jared Jones is 11th in RBIs with 55 and has 13 homers.
Liam Doyle, a junior left-hander who transferred from Ole Miss after last season, leads the nation in strikeouts with 104 in only 58 innings. He is tied for eighth in the nation in wins at 7-1 on the season with a 2.48 ERA. He is expected to start the Friday night game against LSU sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson (6-1, 3.92 ERA), who is No. 5 in the nation with 91 strikeouts.
LSU junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson (6-1, 3.52 ERA) is No. 8 in strikeouts with 83 and is expected to start the Saturday game against junior right-hander Marcus Phillips (2-3, 2.96 ERA).
“They’re a very talented team. They did a really good job in the transfer portal,” Johnson said. “They blended that with some good returners and then really good freshmen class – just like ours. So, they’re very complete. They’re very talented. Very explosive. Should be an awesome weekend. It’s a good match-up. It’s one that LSU fans seem to be really interested in, and that’s cool. I do like playing them. They do a good job as a staff in developing players and hitters and infielders, and the games are super competitive.”
SKIP BERTMAN WILL BE SIGNING COPIES OF HIS BOOK BEFORE TENNESSEEE GAME SATURDAY
Before the prime time game on Saturday, former five-time national champion LSU coach Skip Bertman will be signing copies of his book “Everything Matters In Baseball” near his statue at the front of Alex Box from 5 p.m. through the start of the game at 7 p.m. Fans can bring a book to be signed or purchase one at the statue. Books are available online at www.acadianhouse.com or at Barnes & Noble stores in Baton Rouge, including on the LSU campus, and at Octavia Books in New Orleans.
Bertman will also be celebrating the 25th anniversary of his final national title in the 2000 season with former players and coaches on Saturday.
Tennessee coach Tony Vitello is 11-7 against LSU since 2018. (Tennessee photo).
The series will match two of the hottest and younger coaches in the nation in LSU’s Jay Johnson, who turned 48 on Sunday, and Tennessee’s Tony Vitello, 46. Each have won one national crown with more likely on the way.
Johnson, who started at LSU in 2022, is 4-6 against Vitello, who started with the Vols in 2018. Johnson, though, is 2-0 against Vitello in Omaha. Vitello, who started at Tennessee in 2018, is 11-7 against the Tigers and is 11-4 against them since 2021 with a regular season sweep and Super Regional sweep in Knoxville in ’21.
Johnson went 4-1 against Vitello in 2023 with a 2-1 series win in Baton Rouge. Vitello went 4-0 against Johnson last season with a sweep in Knoxville and a 4-3 win in the SEC Tournament championship game.
Tennessee is 4-5 over its last three SEC series, while LSU is 5-4.
“We got ’em in Omaha twice, and they got us in the SEC Tournament championship game last year,” Johnson said. “So, it’s awesome, and really looking forward to it.”
The Tigers tune up for the series against Northwestern State (24-17, 15-9 Southland Conference) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night, while Tennessee hosts Lipscomb (18-20, 11-7 Atlantic Sun) at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
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