Head: LSU vs. Cal State-Fullerton: CWS Pregame Warm-up
Who: LSU (53-11) and Cal State-Fullerton (39-24)
When/Where: 2 p.m. at TD Ameritrade Park | Omaha, Nebraska
Television: ESPN2
Radio: WDGL-FM 98.1 (Baton Rouge)
Series History/Last Meeting: LSU holds a 6-4 series lead against the Titans, and the Tigers won the last contest, 10-2, to cap a three-game sweep in the 2011 regular season.
LSU’s last game: A great LSU start quickly turned ugly as three errors, two walks and a hit batter were taken advantage of by TCU in the fourth and fifth innings on its way 10-3 loss. Seven Tiger pitchers allowed 11 Horned Frog batters to reach base without a hit, and TCU ace Preston Morrison allowed only one run through seven innings.
Cal State-Fullerton’s last game: The Titans led Vanderbilt 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning with ace Thomas Eshelman working with two outs. Then, the skies opened up, forcing the Titans to make a pitching change for a 2:03 p.m. restart the following day. Vandy capitalized on the mound switch, notching a run as soon as play resumed and three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The final blow came on a walk-off, two-run blast by Commodore freshman Jaren Kendall.
LSU starting lineup:
SS Alex Bregman (.315 avg., 49 RBI, 9 HR)
LF Jake Fraley (.309 avg., 34 RBI, 2 HR)
C Kade Scivicque (.350 avg., 46 RBI, 6 HR)
3B Conner Hale (.337 avg., 56 RBI, 4 HR)
DH Chris Sciambra (.301 avg., 27 RBI, 3 HR)
CF Andrew Stevenson (.354 avg., 2 RBI, 1 HR)
1B Chris Chinea (.349 avg., 58 RBI, 11 HR)
RF Mark Laird (.317 avg., 23 RBI, 1 HR)
2B Jared Foster (.289 avg., 35 RBI, 10 HR)
Cal State Fullerton starting lineup:
LF Josh Vargas (.338 avg., 16 RBI, 0 HR)
CF Tyler Stieb (.298 avg., 23 RBI, 0 HR)
DH Davi Olmedo-Barrera (.327 avg., 45 RBI, 10 HR)
3B Jerrod Bravo (.310 avg., 24 RBI, 0 HR)
1B Tanner Pinkston (.248 avg., 18 RBI, 0 HR)
RF Dalton Blaser (.265 avg., 6 RBI, 0 HR)
SS Timmy Richards (.233 avg., 26 RBI, 1 HR)
C A.J. Kennedy (.173 avg., 19 RBI, 0 HR)
2B Taylor Bryant (.198 avg., 12 RBI, 2 HR)
Pitching matchup:
LSU – RHP Alex Lange (11-0, 1.89 ERA, 121 SO, 44 BB, .214 b/avg.)
TCU – RHP Connor Seabold (5-3, 2.84 ERA, 74 SO, 12 BB, .244 b/avg.)
LSU player to watch: freshman pitcher Alex Lange
While the offense will eventually need to arrive, the national Freshman Pitcher of the Year will need to continue his lights out season on the biggest stage he has seen thus far. Despite recording the no-decision in two of his last three outings since the regular season ended, Lange has notched 7, 12 and 11 strikeouts, respectively, in those outings, including a complete game shutout against UNCW in the Baton Rouge Regional.
Cal State-Fullerton player to watch: junior designated hitter Davi Olmedo-Barrera
With just a .265 team batting average, the Titans aren’t exactly know for offensive prowess, but Olmedo-Barrera brings pop and is threat to steal bases in the heart of their order. The first-team Big West Conference member leads the team in in runs, RBIs and stolen bases, and his 10 home runs are the same amount as the rest of the team has combined.