When LSU travels to Hattiesburg, Miss., to face Southern Miss tonight, the Tigers will be doing something they have not done in years. LSU has not played a midweek non-conference game outside of Louisiana since 1995. “It’s a tough draw,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “When you play tough conference games every weekend, you wish that you didn’t have to play real tough teams in the middle of the week.” LSU (20-11, 5-7) is fresh off taking two of three games this past weekend from Southeastern Conference division foe Alabama. The Tigers have won five of their past six contests. The Golden Eagles (20-10) have the No. 8 RPI in the nation and were ranked in the top 25 this past week. But Southern Miss fell out of the standings after losing a series at home against then-No. 24 East Carolina. The Tigers will play SEC West-leading Ole Miss this weekend, but Mainieri said his team will have to stay focused tonight. “I look at the fact that we’re playing Southern Miss in a very positive way,” Mainieri said. “I know that if we look past Southern Miss, we won’t win. We’re going to go out there and treat it like it’s an SEC game. If we can pull off the win, it’ll be a feather in our cap.” Junior outfielder James Ewing leads Southern Miss on offense. He is batting .354 with two home runs and 10 RBIs. Senior catcher Keith Winstead is second on the team with a .322 batting average. Junior pitcher Ryan Verdugo (5-2, 3.31 ERA) is expected to start for the Tigers. The transfer from Lake Stevens, Wash., has seven starts, pitching 32 2/3 innings and striking out 31 batters while allowing 16 runs. “I’m hoping he’s going to pitch three great innings for us,” Mainieri said. “We’re going to use a bunch of different guys, so I’m not sure who they’re going to be.” Sophomore Paul Bertuccini, freshman Daniel Bradshaw and junior Nolan Caine have the most relief appearances this season. Bertuccini has a 0.87 ERA in 10 1/3 innings; Bradshaw has a 3.80 ERA through 23 2/3; and Caine boasts a 2.79 ERA in 9 2/3 innings of work. A bit of positive news for the Tigers is Michael Hollander’s injury status. The senior third baseman injured his hamstring March 26 against the University of New Orleans and has missed eight-consecutive games. Mainieri said he could play tonight.
Before his injury, Hollander was batting .338 with two home runs and 15 RBIs. “Mike [Hollander] has been a vital part of our team,” Mainieri said. “It will be good to get him back, and I’m hoping he’ll be able to play [tonight] and certainly by the weekend. ” LSU will still be without junior designated hitter Matt Gaudet who missed the Alabama series with a back injury and is not expected to return this week. “That was a big blow to us and a very unexpected thing,” Mainieri said. “I didn’t realize he was even hurting. He never said anything to anybody until we walked him off Thursday, and he said his back has been killing him for weeks.”
—-Contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]