Preview and Predictions: LSU Baseball vs. Oklahoma Sooners in Pivotal SEC Showdown

Jay Johnson and the LSU Tigers will square off against the Oklahoma Sooners on Thursday night at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field with an opportunity to bounce back in SEC play.

After dropping a series to the Vanderbilt Commodores last weekend, Johnson and the defending National Champions will look to get back on track with a three-game series against the Sooners up next on the docket.

“I think you have to invest in a way that a loss like this is going to hurt really bad when something like that happens,”Johnson said last weekend. “I was proud of our team for the way we fought back in the game after falling behind, and I think we’re a much better team now than we were at the beginning of this week."

Now, with the Sooners arriving in Baton Rouge, the LSU Tigers will look to make a statement against a Top-10 team in America.

The Preview: No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners (17-4, 2-1 SEC) at No. 20 LSU Tigers (15-7, 1-2 SEC)

DATES/TIMES
• Thursday, March 19 at 7 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
• Friday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
• Saturday, March 21 at 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)

STADIUM
• Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Baton Rouge, La. (10,718)

RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com

RANKINGS
LSU – No. 20 (NCBWA)
OU – No. 7 (Baseball America); No. 8 (D1 Baseball, USA Today, NCBWA, Perfect Game)

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – So. RH Casan Evans (1-0, 6.45 ERA, 22.1 IP, 12 BB, 35 SO)
OU – Jr. LH Cameron Johnson (3-0, 3.04 ERA, 23.2 IP, 12 BB, 34 SO)
Game 2
LSU – Jr. RH Cooper Moore (3-2, 3.21 ERA, 28.0 IP, 7 BB, 35 SO)
OU – Jr. RH LJ Mercurius (4-1, 1.59 ERA, 28.1 IP, 8 BB, 41 SO)
Game 3
LSU – So. RH William Schmidt (3-1, 3.12 ERA, 26.0 IP, 7 BB, 39 SO)
OU – Fr. LH Cord Rager (2-1, 4.71 ERA, 21.0 IP, 7 BB, 28 SO)

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“Oklahoma is a very talented team, they are a very mature team with a lot veteran position players who have gotten better. They have a distinct offensive style of play; last year, we were able to get the lead in our games against them, and that helped us to dictate and play the way we wanted to play. It’s going to be really important that we do the same this weekend in order to have a chance to win against them.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• LSU junior rightfielder Jake Brown is hitting .368 (7-for-19) in LSU’s last five games with two doubles, three homers, 11 RBI, seven runs and two steals … in the Tigers’ SEC series last weekend at Vanderbilt, Brown batted .455 (5-for-11) with one double, two homers, nine RBI and four runs … he tied his career high with six RBI in Sunday’s win at Vanderbilt, delivering a three-run homer, a two-run single and a sacrifice fly … Brown is hitting a team-high .400 this season with seven doubles, 11 homers, 37 RBI, 26 runs and six steals.

• Freshman catcher Omar Serna Jr. has collected nine RBI in his last four games … he blasted his first career collegiate home run, a grand slam, on March 10 versus Creighton to erase a 4-2 fifth-inning deficit and lift the Tigers to an 8-4 win … he logged four RBI while playing in two games of the Vanderbilt series, delivering an two-run single on Saturday night, and a sacrifice fly and an RBI single on Sunday … he added a solo homer Tuesday night in the Tigers’ win over Grambling.

• Sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide hit .385 (5-for-13) in the Vanderbilt series with two doubles, three RBI, five runs and a .467 on-base percentage … in Sunday’s 16-9 win over the Commodores, Arrambide was 2-for-5 with one double, three RBI and two runs scored.

• Junior shortstop Steven Milam served as the Tigers’ leadoff hitter for all three games of the Vanderbilt series, and he batted .357 (5-for-14) with one double, one RBI, seven runs, one walk, one hit-by-pitch and a .438 on-base percentage … Milam has not committed an error through 22 games this season, posting a 1.000 fielding percentage in 67 chances.

• Junior left-hander Santiago Garcia earned his first career LSU save on March 10 versus Creighton, working 2.2 scoreless innings with one hit, no walks and four strikeouts … Garcia made his first career appearance in an SEC game on Sunday at Vanderbilt, and he recorded three strikeouts in 1.0 inning of relief.

ABOUT THE SOONERS
• Seventh-ranked Oklahoma is 17-4 this season, and the Sooners opened SEC play last weekend by winning two of three home games over Texas A&M.

• Oklahoma is hitting .306 as a team this season with 44 doubles, eight triples, 23 home runs and 65 steals in 70 attempts … catcher Deiten Lachance is batting a team-high .358 with eight doubles, one triple and 22 RBI; infielder Jaxon Willits is hitting .350 with six doubles, two triples, two homers and 23 RBI, and outfielder Trey Gambill is batting .346 with three doubles, four homers and 17 RBI … catcher/OF Brendan Brock has team highs of six homers and 26 RBI.

• The Oklahoma pitching staff has a 3.60 cumulative ERA with 223 strikeouts in 175.0 innings while allowing a .209 opponent batting average and 13 home runs … OU’s Game 1 starting pitcher, left-hander Cameron Johnson, was a member of LSU’s 2024 team, and he pitched 9.0 innings for the Tigers over 13 appearances, recording 16 walks and 13 strikeouts.

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