The Pitching Matchups: LSU Tigers Baseball vs. Tennessee Volunteers in Key SEC Series

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Jay Johnson and the No. 4 ranked LSU Tigers are set to square off against the Tennessee Volunteers on Friday night in Alex Box Stadium in game one of the three-game series. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.

m. CT in Baton Rouge. Johnson and Co.



will look to bounce back following a midweek loss to the Northwestern State Demons on Tuesday night at Skip Bertman Field. Now, all eyes are on the Friday night showdown between a pair of top-five programs in the Bayou State. DATES/TIMES • Friday, April 25 at 6:30 p.

m. CT STADIUM • Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Baton Rouge, La. (10,718) RANKINGS • LSU – No.

4 Baseball America, No. 5 USA Today, No. 7 D1 Baseball • Tennessee – No.

5 Baseball America, No. 6 USA Today, No. 6 D1 Baseball 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 streamed on SEC Network +. LSU SERIES RECORD VS. TENNESSEE LSU leads the all-time series with Tennessee, 62-33 .

.. Tennessee has won four straight games over LSU, including a three-game sweep in Knoxville last season followed by 4-3 win over the Tigers in the 2024 SEC Tournament championship game in Hoover, Ala.

LSU claimed a 2-1 SEC series victory over Tennessee in 2023 (March 30-April 1) in Baton Rouge before defeating the Vols twice in the 2023 College World Series en route to the Tigers’ seventh national championship. PITCHING MATCHUPS Game 1 LSU – So. LH Kade Anderson (6-1, 3.

92 ERA, 57.1 IP, 13 BB, 91 SO) UT – Jr. LH Liam Doyle (7-1, 2.

48 ERA, 58.0 IP, 17 BB, 104 SO) QUOTING JAY JOHNSON “We’ve moved on to what’s ahead of us. In baseball, you have to master the ability to move forward.

In my position as the leader of the program, I analyze everything. The good thing about young people is that they have an ability to move forward, and I will rely on that with our team. "My belief is that a bad game has nothing to do with the next game, or the next pitch, unless we allow it to.

Tennessee is a very talented team, obviously, and has been for several years. "They have big arms, big bats, and on the pitching side they do what they do really well. Offensively, they can really drive the baseball and play with a physical nature.

” ABOUT THE TIGERS The Tigers are 12-6 in the SEC and are tied for the third place in the league standings with Tennessee ...

Texas (16-2) leads the league race and Arkansas (13-5) is in second place in the conference standings. LSU is No. 2 in the SEC in team batting average with a .

316 mark, and the Tigers are also No. 2 in the league in on-base percentage (.430), hits (441), doubles (94) and fewest times struck out per game (7.

02) ...

the Tigers are No. 5 in the SEC with a 3.82 cumulative ERA and No.

4 in the league in opponent batting average (.219). Junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson defeated No.

15 Alabama last Friday, limiting the Crimson Tide to just one run on four hits in 6.0 innings with five walks and 12 strikeouts. Eyanson allowed two hits and one run in the first inning, but permitted no runs on two hits over the final 5.

0 innings of his outing ...

he retired the six straight Alabama hitters in the fifth and sixth innings to complete the outing. Eyanson improved to 6-1 this season and lowered his ERA to 3.52; he is No.

4 in the SEC this season with 83 strikeouts on the year. Freshman outfielder Derek Curiel helped lead LSU last weekend to an SEC series victory over No. 15 Alabama .

.. he hit .

385 (5-for-13) in the Alabama series with three RBI, one run scored, one stolen base and a .429 on-base percentage. His two-RBI single in the fourth inning last Friday extended LSU’s lead to 4-1 and proved to be the difference in the Tigers’ 4-3 win .

.. Curiel is the only LSU player to reach base safely in all 42 games this season, and his 42-game streak is tied for the fifth-longest on record in the annals of LSU baseball.

Outfielder Dylan Crews holds the LSU single-season reached base safely mark, as he reached base in all 71 games during the 2023 season. Junior right-hander Zac Cowan earned saves in back-to-back games against Alabama last Thursday and Friday ..

. he entered Thursday’s game in the top of the ninth inning with two outs and the bases loaded, and he retired the first Crimson Tide hitter he faced to preserve the LSU victory. Cowan worked 3.

0 innings in Friday’s game to pick up the save in the Tigers’ 4-3 win, limiting Alabama to two runs on four hits with no walks and four strikeouts ...

Cowan has six saves this season, and he is 2-0 with a 1.21 ERA in 37.1 innings (14 appearances).

Cowan has recorded six walks and 46 strikeouts while limiting opponents to a .170 cumulative batting average ..

. he is tied for No. 4 in the SEC in saves, along with LSU freshman right-hander Casan Evans.

LSU junior first baseman Jared Jones is No. 3 in the SEC this season in RBI (55), No. 4 in hits (60), No.

4 in total bases (111), No. 8 in home runs (13), No. 10 in runs (47) and No.

10 in batting avg. (.359) .

.. freshman leftfielder Derek Curiel is No.

5 in the SEC in walks (35) No. 6 in doubles (13), No. 6 in hits (58), No.

6 in on-base percentage (.495) and No. 9 in batting average (.

369). LSU sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson is No. 2 in the SEC in strikeouts (91) and No.

3 in the league in innings pitched (57.1) ..

. junior second baseman Daniel Dickinson is No. 8 in the SEC in on-base percentage (.

489). ABOUT TENNESSEE • Tennessee, the 2024 College World Series champion, is 34-8 overall, 12-6 in the SEC and tied for third with LSU in the league standings ..

. the Volunteers dropped two of three games versus Kentucky last weekend in Knoxville before posting an 11-1 win over Lipscomb on Tuesday. • The Vols are led offensively by Gavin Kilen, who is hitting .

412 with five doubles, three triples, 11 homers and 28 RBI ...

Hunter Ensley is hitting .342 with 13 doubles, eight homers and a team-high 47 RBI and Andrew Fischer is batting .311 with eight doubles, a team-high 16 homers and 43 RBI.

• Tennessee is No. 3 in the SEC with a .308 team batting average and No.

2 in the league with 97 home runs ...

the Vols are No. 2 in the league with a 3.17 team ERA and No.

3 with a .215 opponent batting average ..

. left-hander Liam Doyle leads the SEC with 104 strikeouts and 58.0 innings pitched, and he is No.

2 in the league with a .154 opponent batting average. More LSU News: LSU Football Wide Receiver Donating NIL Money Back to High School for Title Rings LSU Football Holds Commitments From a Pair of Top-10 Wide Receivers in America Brian Kelly's Take: LSU Football Searching for Ideal Starting Offensive Line Rotation Join the Community: Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU program.

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