After a weekend series loss to Alabama, the LSU baseball team dropped to a No. 6-ranking in the national polls.
LSU (21-8) hits the road again when it travels to Thibodeaux tonight to compete in a mid-week game against the Nicholls State Colonels (14-15).
“We have to keep staying focused during mid-week games,” said senior left-fielder Ryan Patterson. “We have two of them this week, but these are important because we want to go to a super regional. I think we’ve had a little bad luck early, but I think we’re still confident as a team.”
The Tigers have defeated the in-state rival three times this season and hope to add one more after losing four of their past seven games.
The team earned all three wins in a weekend series at home, but there may be a different outcome when the Colonels are on their home turf which only seats 1,000 fans.
“A lot of us have played in front of smaller crowds than that. It’s not much different than crowds a lot of guys have played in front of in high school,” Patterson said. “We’ve played so many in our career so it is like any other game to us. It doesn’t really matter how many people are there. We will get up in our game.”
The last meeting between the two teams at Nicholls State dates back to 1994 — the last time the Colonels defeated the Tigers as well.
Senior starter Brandon Nall (1-1) will take the mound tonight in hopes of continuing the LSU streak of 14 wins over the Colonels.
Nall earned his first win last week against UNO at home coming in as a reliever. The only start Nall has seen this season came earlier in the year against Centenary, which resulted in a 6-1 loss.
In his two performances the senior right-hander has posted a 6.43 ERA in seven innings of work including six walks and one strikeout.
Nicholls State coach B.D. Parker announced he will start freshman Justin Breaux against the Tigers. Breaux is 0-2 on the season, posting a 7.71 ERA in 18.2 innings on the mound.
On offense, the Tigers are still led by Patterson, who is up for player of the week after blasting 11 home runs in his last 13 games. The power hitter stands at .425 on the season.
“I think we’re confident going in,” Patterson said. “We just want to go out there this week and put up some offense and gain some more confidence going into the weekend.”
LSU will take the field at 6:30 p.m. tonight.
Sports writer Ronnie McLellan contributed to this story
Tigers set to play Nicholls State
April 4, 2005