The cheers and jeers of the Southeastern Conference will be alive and well this weekend.
The LSU baseball team carries its SEC-leading record to arguably the most hostile environment in college baseball, Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Miss., for a three-game series against No. 18 Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs (31-12-1, 12-8 SEC) currently are in third place in the SEC West standings, three games back of the Tigers (31-14-1, 15-5-1).
Dudy Noble Field is well known around the SEC for the way the fans get involved in the game, especially in the “Left Field Lounge,” where fans stock up on food, beer and dirty language.
“It is going to be a fun weekend,” said LSU shortstop Aaron Hill.
Hill joked and said he has not told the new guys on the team about the Mississippi State fans’ antics because he does not want them to get scared and lose focus.
As a freshman, Hill played left field and knows very well what LSU’s left fielder Bruce Sprowl will be up against with the “loungers” directly behind him.
“They are crazy,” Hill said. “They are always hollering at you, telling you to do different things. I did most of what they told me to do. But the language out there is horrible. Even the ladies were so vulgar, I can’t even repeat some of things they yelled at me out there.”
LSU head coach Laval said the Tigers encounter that type of hostility wherever they go.
“The juices will definitely be flowing,” Laval said. “The focus will be quadrupled out there. The fans will be rowdy, but it couldn’t be worse than it was at [Vanderbilt].”
Along with the environment the Tigers are walking into, they have to combat one of the top pitching staffs in the country. The Bulldogs boast the lowest ERA in the conference (3.25) and also lead the league with 360 strikeouts.
“They have two first round picks that will start on the mound for them,” Laval said. “They are both lefties, both the Friday and the Sunday starters.”
Laval is referring to Paul Maholm and Todd Nicholas.
Maholm (6-2) is one of the SEC’s leading pitchers with a 2.34 ERA, and opponents are batting just .218 against him. He will get the nod in Friday’s game against the No. 6 Tigers.
Nicholas (4-2, 3.22) will start Sunday’s game for the Bulldogs.
LSU will pit true freshman Justin Meier (5-2, 2.85) against Maholm Friday night and Nate Bumstead (7-1, 3.90) against Nicholas.
Senior Bo Pettit (7-1, 4.64) will start Saturday’s contest against the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 9-1 conference record after the first four weekends of league play but have dropped seven of their last ten SEC games.
In the month of April, Mississippi State went 9-9 overall and 4-7 against teams in the SEC.
The Tigers on the other hand finished the month of April with a 13-5 record, scoring an average of 11 runs during its past seven games.
“We just have to go out there and continue doing what we’ve been doing,” Hill said. “We’ve gotten double-digit hits in six of the past seven games.
“Our confidence level is up, and we have to maintain our focus for the SEC Title, but we are going to concentrate on this weekend one game at a time.”
Six of LSU’s nine starters are batting better than .300, led by first baseman Clay Harris with a .384 clip. Hill follows him with a .365 batting average.
The Tigers currently rank second in the SEC with a .316 batting average.
“We’re going to have to bring our bats this weekend,” Hill said. “They have a great pitching staff.”
With only three weeks left in the SEC schedule, the remaining games on the schedule have meaning with regard to the SEC Title and hosting regionals and super regionals.
“I don’t really know how they decide where regionals are,” Laval said. “But winning the SEC is a dead lock.”