No. 2 LSU faces top-20 Dallas Baptist in Arlington Wednesday night

Coming off of a strong showing on Monday night against Nicholls in a 13-3 win, LSU is set to spend the week in Texas playing some top-level non-conference teams over the next five days, starting with Dallas Baptist on Wednesday night.

It’s a ranked matchup with transfer lefty Conner Ware getting the start, setting up for a fascinating contest and the first ranked test of the season for the Tigers. Here’s everything to know heading into tonight’s game.

DATE/TIME
• Wednesday, February 26 @ 7 p.m. CT
STADIUM
• Globe Life Field (40,300) in Arlington, Texas
RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 2 D1 Baseball; No. 2 Perfect Game; No. 3 Baseball America
• DBU – No. 17 Perfect Game, No. 18 Baseball America, No. 19 D1 Baseball
RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
ONLINE
• The game will be streamed live on FloCollege Sports

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. DALLAS BAPTIST
• Wednesday’s game marks the first meeting on the diamond between LSU and Dallas Baptist, which is a member of Conference USA … LSU has a 54-23 all-time mark versus the current members of Conference USA, including 3-0 vs. Jacksonville State, 3-0 vs. Western Kentucky, 45-22 vs. Louisiana Tech, 0-1 vs. Middle Tennessee, 1-0 vs. Kennesaw State and 2-0 vs. Sam Houston … LSU will meet Sam Houston at 4 p.m. CT Sunday in the Frisco (Texas) College Baseball Classic.

PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU – Jr. LH Conner Ware (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 SO)
DBU – Jr. RH Ryan Borberg (0-0, 3.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 0 BB, 4 SO)

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“I always like to have a team like DBU on our schedule, because you can just book them for 45 wins every year, and that helps our RPI. They’re a team that’s really well-coached, and it’s a team that hopefully we will play in a super-regional type atmosphere, or in Omaha. We want to get tested that way – they have big arms and big bats, and they will present a huge challenge for us.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Globe Life Field, home of the 2023 World Series Champion Texas Rangers, will become on Wednesday night the third MLB stadium in which LSU has played in its history … the Tigers played in the 1995 Hormel Foods Classic in the Minneapolis Metrodome, and LSU has played on five occasions in the Astros College Classic at Daikin Park (formerly Minute Maid Park) … LSU was 3-0 in the Metrodome – which was demolished in 2014 – and the Tigers have a 9-6 record in Daikin Park.

• LSU’s 13-3 win over Nicholls Monday night in Baton Rouge began a stretch of five games in seven days for the Tigers, who will face Dallas Baptist in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday before taking on Kansas State, Nebraska and Sam Houston this weekend in the Frisco (Texas) College Baseball Classic … LSU posted three wins in four games last week, defeating Southern, 13-1 (7 innings), on Feb. 18 before posting a 2-1 series victory over Omaha last weekend … Wednesday’s game vs. Dallas Baptist will represent LSU’s first game away from Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field this season.

• Junior first baseman Jared Jones is batting .444 (8-for-18) in the Tigers’ last five games with one double, one homer, nine RBI and five runs while recording a .522 on-base percentage … Jones was 3-for-5 in last Saturday’s 12-1 win over Omaha with a double, one run scored and five RBI, and he was 2-for-2 in Monday’s win over Nicholls with a homer, three RBI and two runs scored.

• Freshman leftfielder Derek Curiel is hitting .444 (8-for-18) in LSU’s last five games with one double, four BI and six runs … Curiel was 3-for-3 in LSU’s Feb. 18 win over Southern with three RBI and two runs scored … Curiel is hitting a team-high .414 (12-for-29) this season with one double, one homer, eight runs and seven RBI.

• Shortstop Steven Milam is batting .438 (7-for-16) in LSU’s last five games with one double, one triple, one homer, seven RBI and five runs … Milam recorded a career-high five RBI in Monday’s win Nicholls, as he was 2-for-3 at the plate with a three-run homer.

• Redshirt sophomore right-hander Chase Shores defeated Omaha last Saturday, firing 5.0 shutout innings with three hits, two walks and six strikeouts … Shores threw 84 pitches, 55 for strikes … the outing marked Shores’ second appearance since missing the 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery; he was injured in March 2023 and returned to the mound on February 16 of this season versus Purdue Fort Wayne … Shores is 2-0 this season with a 0.90 ERA in 10.0 innings while logging two walks, 13 strikeouts and a .176 opponent batting average.

• Sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson pitched a career-high 5.1 innings in last Friday’s win over Omaha, limiting the Mavericks to two runs on three hits with two walks and eight strikeouts … Anderson is 2-0 this season with a 1.74 ERA, three walks and 16 strikeouts in 10.1 innings.

• Junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson delivered an excellent outing versus Omaha last Saturday, working 6.0 shutout innings while allowing just three hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.

ABOUT THE PATRIOTS
• Dallas Baptist is 6-1 this season with a pair of three-game sweeps over North Dakota State and SIU-Edwardsville, and a 15-5 loss to UT Rio Grande Valley on Feb. 18 at Globe Life Field.
• DBU is hitting .333 this season with 23 doubles, seven home runs and 12 steals in 18 attempts … the Patriots’ pitching staff has registered a 3.66 cumulative ERA and 86 strikeouts in 59 innings … DBU is led at the plate by C/OF Grant Jay, who is hitting .571 (12-for-21) with four doubles, three homers and 13 RBI … infielder Chayton Krauss is second on the club with nine RBI, and he has collected three doubles.

*LSU press release