Preview: LSU hosts Texas A&M in another SEC series

Texas A&M Aggies (39-6, 15-6 SEC) at LSU Tigers (29-17, 7-14 SEC)

DATES/TIMES

• Friday, May 3 @ 7 p.m. CT (ESPN2 and SEC Network)
• Saturday, May 4 @ 6:30 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
• Sunday, May 5 @ 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.com

TV/ONLINE

• Friday – ESPN2 and SEC Network; Saturday – ESPN2; Sunday – SEC Network +
• All three games may be viewed on the Watch ESPN app

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. TEXAS A&M

Texas A&M leads the all-time series with LSU – which began in 1907 – 31-28-1 … the Tigers won two of three games over the Aggies last season in Bryan-College Station on March 17-19, which was the opening weekend of SEC play … Texas A&M, however, later defeated LSU in an elimination game of the 2023 SEC Tournament, 5-4, on May 26 … the Aggies lead the series, 16-15, in the 31 games played between the schools since Texas A&M began playing baseball in the SEC in 2013 … 12 of the 31 games played since 2013 have been decided by one run … LSU is 6-6 vs. Texas A&M in its SEC regular-season games played in Baton Rouge since 2015. 

PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – So. LH Gage Jump (4-1, 3.62 ERA, 49.2 IP, 16 BB, 63 SO)
TAMU – So. LH Ryan Prager (8-0, 2.59 ERA, 59.0 IP, 9 BB, 80 SO)
Game 2
LSU – Jr. RH Luke Holman (6-3, 2.63 ERA, 61.2 IP, 21 BB, 88 SO)
TAMU – So. LH Justin Lamkin (2-1, 4.47 ERA, 46.1 IP, 15 BB, 59 SO)
Game 3
LSU – TBA
TAMU – TBA 

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON

“I want us to play well, because playing well can lead to winning. If we can do that, it changes our position instantaneously. I’m excited about these final 10 games of the regular season. I think our players deserve a lot of credit for not packing it in when it got tough. If you’re playing meaningful baseball with 10 games left, that’s a good spot to be in, and we’re still in that range.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS

• LSU began the week with a 26-2 victory over Grambling State on Tuesday night … the Tigers have won four of their past six SEC games and seven of their past nine games overall.

• Sophomore left-hander Gage Jump fired seven scoreless innings last Friday night, leading LSU to a 5-0 win over Auburn … Jump recorded seven shutout innings, limiting Auburn to just two singles with no walks and six strikeouts … he threw 100 pitches in the outing, 67 for strikes … Jump allowed just one Auburn baserunner to reach second base, and he retired eight hitters in a row to complete his outing … in his last two starts versus Missouri and Auburn, he has allowed only one run on five hits in 14.0 innings with one walk and 20 strikeouts.

• Freshman outfielder Ashton Larson was LSU’s leading hitting in its series victory versus Auburn, batting .462 (6-for-13) with one double, three RBI, and one stolen base … his RBI single in the seventh inning on Friday night highlighted a three-run rally in LSU’s 5-0 victory … Larson is hitting a team-high .412 (21-for-51) in SEC games this season with six doubles, three homers, nine RBI and 10 runs scored … he is batting .419 (13-for-31) in LSU’s last nine games with three doubles, one homer, six RBI and six runs.

• The LSU pitching staff has posted a 2.72 ERA in the Tigers’ last nine games, allowing just 23 earned runs while recording 23 walks and 91 strikeouts in 76 innings … opponents are batting just .197 against LSU during that nine-game span.

• Senior right-hander Christian Little is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in his last four relief appearances … Little has worked 7.0 scoreless innings in those four appearances, allowing just two hits with one walk and nine strikeouts.

• Junior shortstop Michael Braswell III is hitting .393 (11-for-28) in the Tigers’ last nine games with three doubles, four RBI and seven runs … junior third baseman Tommy White is hitting .350 and has six homers and 15 RBI in LSU’s last nine games … sophomore first baseman Jared Jones is hitting .344 and has five doubles, five homers and seven RBI in that nine-game period… LSU has out-homered its opponents, 26-4, in the Tigers’ last nine games.

• Sophomore left-hander Griffin Herring has excelled in his SEC outings, posting a 2-0 mark with a 1.44 ERA and two saves in seven league appearances … Herring has recorded 25.0 innings in SEC games, allowing just four earned runs with five walks and 36 strikeouts.

• LSU recorded back-to-back shutouts vs. Nicholls (9-0) on April 23 and vs. Auburn (5-0) on April 26, marking the Tigers’ first back-to-back shutouts since March 14-17, 2023, when LSU blanked New Orleans (16-0) and Texas A&M (9-0) in consecutive games.

• Junior leftfielder Josh Pearson’s ninth-inning single to defeat Auburn last Saturday night marked LSU’s first walk-off win since June 22, 2023, when third baseman Tommy White blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift the Tigers to a College World Series semifinal win over Wake Forest.

ABOUT THE AGGIES

• Texas A&M is No. 2 in the SEC with a .315 team batting average, and the Aggies are third in the conference in home runs with 102 … the Texas A&M pitching staff is No. 2 in the SEC with a 3.87 ERA … the Aggies are third in the league in strikeouts pitched with 477 in 391.0 innings.
• Outfielder Braden Montgomery is third in the SEC with 23 home runs, and he leads the league in RBI with 73 … Montgomery is batting a team-high .365, and he also has 13 doubles and one triple while scoring 53 times … Jace LaViolette also has 23 homers for the Aggies, and he has collected 13 doubles, three triples, 61 RBI and 68 runs … Gavin Grahovac has 12 doubles, 16 homers and 52 RBI on the year.
• Left-hander Ryan Prager is fourth in the SEC in strikeouts with 80 … lefty reliever Evan Aschenbeck is third in the league in opponent batting average (.180), and he leads the SEC with seven saves.