The baseball team will remain on the road tonight as they travel north to Shreveport for a match up with Centenary College at 7 p.m.
“It’s always nice to have the opportunity to go to Shreveport and visit with the fans in north Louisiana,” said coach Smoke Laval in a press release. “There is a tremendous base of support for the Tigers in that area of the state, and we enjoy playing up there.”
The Tigers (9-1) are still getting a feel for the road. Their first road trip was this past weekend to Houston for a weekend series with the Cougars. The first away game was LSU’s first and only loss on the season.
After bouncing back to take the series, the Tigers seem a little more relaxed away from Alex Box Stadium.
Tonight’s game is only the second of the season that occurs during the week. The game throws off the weekend rotation of three left-handers: Lane Mestepey, Clay Dirks and Greg Smith.
“The hardest thing to do is to get a team focused for a middle-of-the-week game,” Laval said in his pre-season press conference. “You just think you’re supposed to win those games. No matter what you tell 18, 19 or 20-year-olds, that’s No. 1. We’ve never thrown our weekend guys in the middle of the week.”
Laval will call senior right-hander Brandon Nall (0-0) to the mound tonight for the start against the Gents. Nall has seen two innings of action this season against Nicholls State with one strike out and a 4.50 ERA. Nall is returning after taking a season off due to a torn labrum in his arm.
“We’re going to give Brandon the ball and see how much he has progressed in his recovery,” Laval said in a press release. “We’re looking forward to seeing how he performs as a starter.”
Centenary (3-5) will start senior right-hander J.C. Biagi (0-0) who posts a 6.23 ERA on the season. The right-hander has eight strike outs and two walks in 4.1 innings of work. He will face a Tiger lineup who seemed to have broken out this past Sunday against the University of Houston with 26 hits combined in the doubleheader.
Senior Ryan Patterson who blasted two home runs on Sunday to break out of his early season slump. Junior Will Harris also had a home run this past weekend, which lead the team to a four-run inning.
“I don’t mind being the kind of guy in the background — I just like to go out there and do my thing on the field and know that if there is some spotlight, I’ll take it with open arms,” Patterson said in a preseason interview. “I want that. That’s why I came to LSU. I want high expectations.”
Centenary is looking to redeem itself from last year when the Tigers won 9-3 in front of the Gent’s home fans. LSU will attempt to increase its win streak against Centenary to 23.
Fans can catch the game on the radio on WTGE 107.3. Tonight’s game ends the four-game road trip for the Tigers — who return home this weekend to host the University of Alabama at Birmingham in a weekend series.