The Preview: LSU Baseball Returns to Action for Major Matchup Against Bethune-Cookman

Jay Johnson and the LSU Tigers will square off against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats on Tuesday night with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. CT at Alex Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

After a strong SEC series win in Knoxville this past weekend over the Tennessee Volunteers, Johnson and Co. are beginning to gain momentum amid a difficult slate in SEC play.

But focus now shifts towards a non-conference showdown against Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday night with the Tigers eyeing a midweek win over a fiece foe.

The Preview: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (22-10) at LSU Fighting Tigers (22-11)

DATE/TIME
• Tuesday, April 7 at 6:30 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. 24 (D1 Baseball)

LSU Tigers Baseball: Derek Curiel — Courtesy of LSU Tigers Baseball.

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. BETHUNE-COOKMAN
LSU leads the all-time series, 3-0, with Bethune-Cookman, which is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference … the Tigers swept three games from the Wildcats on March 11-13, 2022, in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“I’m really proud of our team (following Sunday’s win at Tennessee). What a comeback, there’s so many layers to what happened in the game. It was a great team win, and I know it had been a while since LSU won a series in Knoxville. It was great seeing the enthusiasm in the dugout; this is important to our players, we’ve fought a lot here lately, and this was a great weekend for our program.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Catcher/DH Cade Arrambide batted .600 (6-for-10) in three games last week with four homers, eight RBI, six runs, three walks and a .692 on-base percentage … he led LSU to a series victory at Tennessee, establishing the school single-game home runs record by smashing four homers Sunday in the Tigers’ series-clinching 16-6 win over the Vols … Arrambide became just the fourth player in SEC history to hit four homers in a game … he was 5-for-6 on the day with seven RBI, three solo homers and a grand slam that highlighted LSU’s 10-run outburst in the top of the 12th inning.

• Arrambide’s first homer on Sunday came in the fifth inning with LSU trailing 5-0 and began the Tigers’ comeback from the deficit … his second homer in the seventh inning reduced Tennessee’s lead to 5-3, and his third homer gave LSU a 6-5 advantage in the top of the 11th … after Tennessee tied the game in the bottom of the 11th, Arrambide’s grand slam provided LSU with an 11-6 lead and highlighted a 10-run uprising in the 16-6 victory.

• LSU hit seven home runs in Sunday’s win over Tennessee, marking the first time the Tigers hit seven dingers in a game since March 7, 2009, when they homered seven times against Illinois in Baton Rouge … Sunday’s home run output included three solo shots and a grand slam by catcher/DH Cade Arrambide, solo homers by third baseman John Pearson and by second baseman Seth Dardar, and a two-run blast by shortstop Steven Milam.

• LSU scored 40 runs on 43 hits in its four games last week with one double, two triples and 15 home runs … centerfielder Derek Curiel hit .500 (8-for-16) in four games with one triple, two homers, nine RBI and seven runs scored … shortstop Steven Milam hit .368 (7-for-19) last week with three homers, five RBI and five runs, and second baseman Seth Dardar hit .353 (6-for-17) with one triple, two homers, three RBI and four runs.

• Centerfielder Derek Curiel hit grand slams in back-to-back games on Tuesday versus Southern and on Friday night at Tennessee, becoming the first LSU player to hit grand slams in consecutive games since Sean Ochinko accomplished the feat on March 4 and 5, 2009, versus New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State.

ABOUT THE WILDCATS
• Bethune-Cookman is 22-10 overall this season, and the Wildcats are tied for first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference with Texas Southern and Florida A&M with a 10-2 league record … Bethune-Cookman won two of three games over Southern last weekend in a SWAC series; the first game was played at Southern’s Lee-Hines Field in Baton Rouge, and the final two games were played at Wesley Barrow Stadium in New Orleans.
• The Wildcats are batting .288 as a team with 67 doubles, eight triples, 16 homers and 83 steals in 101 attempts … BCU is led at the plate by catcher Maikol Lucena, who is hitting .345 with five doubles and 27 RBI … outfielder Michael Rodriguez is batting .343 with five doubles, two triples, one homer and 20 RBI, and infielder Jeter Polledo is hitting .304 with 11 doubles, four triples, one homer and 28 RBI.
• The Bethune-Cookman pitching staff has a 4.45 cumulative ERA, and the Wildcats have recorded 253 strikeouts in 271.0 innings while allowing 14 home runs and a .259 opponent batting average.

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