The Preview: LSU Baseball vs. Arkansas Razorbacks in Top-Five SEC Showdown

No. 3 LSU returns to Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field on Friday night for a top-five Southeastern Conference showdown with the No. 1 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks heading to town.

Jay Johnson and Co. will look to rebound following an SEC series loss last weekend against the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station.

Now, it's full steam ahead to Friday night's Game 1 matchup in Baton Rouge between the Tigers and Razorbacks.

A look into the game information for Friday, Johnson's thoughts and a scouting report on the top-ranked Arkansas squad.

The Preview: No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks (40-9, 17-7 SEC) at No. 3 LSU Tigers (38-11, 15-9 SEC)

DATES/TIMES
• Friday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m. CT
STADIUM
• Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Baton Rouge, La. (10,718)
RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 3 D1 Baseball, No. 3 NCBWA, No. 4 USA Today, No. 6 Baseball America
• Arkansas – No. 1 NCBWA, No. 2 USA Today, No. 3 Baseball America, No. 7 D1 Baseball
RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
TV/ONLINE
• Friday’s game will be streamed on SEC Network +; the games on Saturday and Sunday will be televised on the SEC Network

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. ARKANSAS
LSU leads the all-time series with Arkansas, 77-44, and the Tigers have won 14 of the past 19 and eight of the past 12 SEC regular-season series versus the Razorbacks … Arkansas, however, swept three games from the Tigers last season in Fayetteville, Ark.

LSU posted a 2-1 series victory over the Razorbacks in 2023 in Arkansas’ most recent visit to Baton Rouge … Arkansas had won three straight SEC series versus LSU before the Tigers captured the series in 2023 … LSU is 41-26 versus Arkansas over the past 20 seasons (2005-24), including two wins over the Razorbacks in the 2009 College World Series.

PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – So. LH Kade Anderson (6-1, 3.57 ERA, 70.2 IP, 19 BB, 114 SO)
ARK – Jr. LH Zach Root (6-3, 3.95 ERA, 66.0 IP, 24 BB, 92 SO)

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“Arkansas is a real complete team, I think they’re the only team in the country with 40 wins this season. We’re really excited about this challenge and very happy to be playing at home.

"It’s going to require all of us – our coaches, our players, our fans to be awesome this weekend. Arkansas is probably playing better than anyone in the country right now.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
The Tigers are 15-9 in the SEC and are tied for third place in the league standings with Georgia … Texas (19-5) leads the league race, and Arkansas (17-7) is in second place with two conference weekends remaining.

LSU is No. 2 in the SEC in team batting average (.306), and the Tigers are No. 2 in the league in hits (496), No. 2 in doubles (107), No. 3 in on-base percentage (.419) and No. 4 in runs scored (404).

The LSU pitching staff is No. 3 in the SEC in team ERA (3.74), and the Tigers are second in the league with 551 strikeouts … LSU is No. 4 in the league in opponent batting average (.220).

Junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson fired a brilliant complete-game three hitter last Saturday in a 2-1 victory at Texas A&M … Eyanson limited the Aggies to just one run on three hits in 9.0 innings with one walk and 14 strikeouts.

He allowed only one Texas A&M hitter to advance beyond second base … Eyanson retired the first nine Texas A&M batters in order, and he did not allow a hit until the fifth inning … he retired seven of the last eight Aggies he faced to complete the outing … Eyanson threw a total of 112 pitches, including 80 pitches for strikes.

Junior first baseman Jared Jones’ solo homer last Saturday at Texas A&M increased his career total 58 home runs, and he is tied with outfielder Dylan Crews (2021-23) for fourth place on the LSU all-time homers list.

Infielder Trey McClure (1996-99) is No. 3 with 59 HR, catcher Brad Cresse (1997-2000) is No. 2 with 78 HR, and first baseman Eddy Furniss (1995-98) is No. 1 with 80 HR.

LSU junior first baseman Jared Jones is No. 3 in the SEC in total bases (130), No. 4 in home runs (16), No. 4 in RBI (60), No. 5 in hits (68) and No. 10 in slugging percentage (.667).

Freshman outfielder Derek Curiel is No. 5 in the SEC in doubles (15), No. 5 in on-base percentage (.482), No. 6 in walks (39), No. 6 in hits (66) and No. 7 in batting average (.361).

LSU sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson is No. 2 in the SEC in strikeouts (114) and No. 2 in the league in innings pitched (70.2) … junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson is No. 3 in the SEC in strikeouts with 105 Ks, and he is No. 4 in innings pitched (68.1),.

Junior second baseman Daniel Dickinson is No. 6 in the SEC in on-base percentage (.479).

Freshman right-hander Mavrick Rizy delivered his most impressive SEC relief outing this season last Saturday at Texas A&M, firing 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings with one walk and four strikeouts, needing only 22 pitches to record five outs.

ABOUT ARKANSAS
Arkansas is 40-9 overall, 17-7 in the SEC, two games behind first-place Texas in the league standings … the Razorbacks swept a three-game SEC series against Texas last weekend in Fayetteville, Ark.

Arkansas is No. 1 in the SEC with a .316 team batting average, and the Razorbacks also lead the league in hits (519) and runs (454).

Arkansas is third in the league with 102 home runs this season … the Razorbacks’ pitching staff is No. 4 in the SEC with a 3.75 ERA, and Arkansas is fifth in the league in opponent batting average (.224).

Arkansas infielder Wehiwa Aloy is batting .376 with 16 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs and 52 RBI … his younger brother, INF/OF Kuhio Aloy, is hitting .359 with 14 doubles, 12 homers and 65 RBI … outfielder Charles Davalan is batting .351 with eight doubles, one triple, 13 homers and 49 RBI.

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