#2 LSU vs #8 KENTUCKY -- NCAA BASEBALL'S BIGGEST MATCHUP OF THE WEEKEND -- IN THE BOX

Fri 5 -- 7:00 p.m. -- TELEVISED ON CST
Sat 6 -- 6:30 p.m. -- TELEVISED ON CST
Sun 7 -- 12:00 p.m. -- TELEVISED ON CST and CSS

This is why you come to LSU: Top Ten Matchup in the Box (#1 in the NCAA in total attendance for the last 17 straight seasons)

Rankings:
#2/2/2/2/3 LSU...2.2 avg
#6/7/9/9/10 Kentucky...8.2 avg

Mainieri:
“We’re looking forward to a tremendous matchup of Top 10 teams this weekend..in front of our great fans.”

Top Five Teams in the SEC in the Current Polls:
#2/2/2/2/3 LSU
#2/3/3/3/3 Vanderbilt (play @Ole Miss this weekend)
#6/7/9/9/10 Kentucky
#9/11/12/12/14 Arkansas (play @Alabama this weekend)
#11/12/13/14/15 South Carolina (play @Tennessee this weekend)

 

The only other match-up this weekend that rivals it is #7 Oregon State at #11 UCLA:
#6/6/6/8/8 Oregon State...6.8 avg
#9/10/10/11/13 UCLA...10.6 avg

for a reminder of what UCLA's ballpark looks like.....

 

LSU is led by our two players that were just named to the Baseball America Midseason All-American team:

1B Mason Katz (two-time Second-Team All-SEC, in high school: two-time 5A All-State First-team)
--#1 in the SEC in home runs, #1 in the SEC in RBI, #1 in the SEC in slugging pct, #1 in the SEC in on base pct, #1 in the SEC in total bases, #3 in the SEC in batting avg, #3 in the SEC in hits, #4 in the SEC in runs scored
--SEC play only: #1 in home runs, #1 in RBIs, #1 in batting avg, #1 in slugging pct, #1 in total bases, #1 in on base pct, #2 in hits, #2 in runs scored, #2 in triples
--#1 in the NCAA in RBI, #1 in the NCAA in RBI per game, #2 in the NCAA in home runs, #2 in NCAA in total bases, #3 in the NCAA in slugging pct, #15 in the NCAA in hits, #21 in the NCAA in batting avg

SS Alex Bregman (drafted by the Red Sox out of high school)
--#1 in the SEC in batting avg, #1 in the SEC in hits, #1 in the SEC in runs scored, #3 in the SEC in total bases, #5 in the SEC in slugging pct, #5 in the SEC in on base pct, #5 in the SEC in doubles, #2 in the SEC in triples, #9 in the SEC in stolen bases
--SEC play only: #1 in hits, #1 in runs scored, #2 in batting avg, #2 in stolen bases, #3 in home runs, #3 in total bases, #4 in slugging pct, #4 in on base pct
--#2 in the NCAA in hits, #7 in the NCAA in batting avg, #10 in the NCAA in total bases, #12 in the NCAA in runs scored

Between the two of them, they have be named SEC Player of the Week for each of the last three weeks straight, and Katz has been named National Player of the Week for two of the last three weeks


Big Katz


THE BOSS Bregman

 

on the mound, LSU is led by:

the Saturday starter: 6 foot, 3 inch RHP Ryan Eades (drafted by the Rockies out of high school)
--#2 in the SEC in wins, #3 in the SEC in ERA, #3 in SEC in fewest runs allowed, #6 in the SEC in K's
--SEC play only: #1 in wins, #7 in ERA
--#3 in the NCAA in wins

the closer: LHP Chris Cotton (in high school: 5A All-State First-team and Shreveport All-City Pitcher of the Year)
--#2 in the SEC in saves
--SEC play only: #2 in saves
--#3 in the NCAA in saves

 

LSU is 27-2 for only the second time in LSU history, matching the 28-game start of Skip Bertman's 1986 squad (the first team in LSU history to make it to the CWS in Omaha)

LSU is 8-1 in SEC play for the first time since Skip Bertman's legendary 1997 National Champion team won eight of its first nine SEC games

 

both LSU and Kentucky enter this weekend undefeated in weekend series. Neither team has lost a weekend series all season

 

Kentucky just knocked off #9/12/14/14/15 Louisville in Louisville

 

Kentucky's pitching staff is #10 in the NCAA in ERA (2.46), only allowing 2.5 runs per 9 innings pitched as a team. Kentucky's pitching staff is also #3 in the SEC in ERA for the whole season (2.46), behind Vandy and Arkansas... and Kentucky is #2 in the SEC in SEC play in ERA (2.22) behind only Arkansas

as a whole, the Kentucky pitching staff holding opponent batters to a .243 batting avg this season, and is holding opponent batters to a .233 batting avg in SEC play (which they save their best pitchers for)


Kentucky's weekend rotation is currently the best weekend rotation in the SEC...

--for the season, Kentucky is the only team in the SEC in which all three of their starting pitchers have sub-2.6 ERAs (2.2, 2.2, 2.5)... and there is only one team in the SEC that has has just two of three starting pitchers with sub-2.6 ERAs (Vandy)

--for the season, Kentucky is one of only two teams in the SEC in which two of their three starting pitchers are holding opponent batters to a sub-.220 batting avg (.196 and .218)... the other is Vandy


--in SEC-only play, Kentucky is the only team in the SEC in which all three of their starting pitchers have sub-3.4 ERAs (0.8, 1.8, 3.3) and there are only 5 teams in the SEC that have just two of three starting pitchers with sub-3.4 ERAs, and LSU has only faced one of them in Missouri

--in SEC-only play, Kentucky is only one of three teams in the SEC that has two of three starting pitchers with sub-2.7 ERAS (0.8, 1.8)... the other two are Alabama (0.4, 1.2) and Arkansas (1.0, 1.5)

--in SEC play, Kentucky is the only team in the SEC in which all three of their starting pitchers are holding opponent batters to a sub-.250 batting avg (.188, .243, .244)....and there are only 5 teams in the SEC that have just two of three starting pitchers holding opponent batters to a sub-.250 batting avg, and LSU hasn't faced any of them yet (Vandy, Arkansas, Florida, Alabama)


a look at Kentucky's starting rotation:

Friday LHP A.J. Reed
--he's holding opponent batters to a .267 batting avg this season (.244 in SEC play) with a 2.15 ERA
--drafted by the Mets out of high school, Indiana High School Player of the Year
--2013 preseason third-best SEC prospect available for 2013 MLB Draft (Baseball America)
--2012 consensus first-team Freshman All-American (Baseball America, Louisville Slugger, NCBWA, Perfect Game)...first player in Kentucky history to be a consensus first-team Freshman All-American
--Baseball America: "he has an 88-92 mph fastball and two good secondary offerings"
--last week vs Georgia, he went over 8 innings and held them to 6 of 29 (.207), 1 earned run

Saturday LHP Jerad Grundy
--he's holding opponent batters to a .196 batting avg this season (.243 in SEC play) with a 2.17 ERA
--his career record at Kentucky is 11-5
--vs LSU last year: held LSU to 6 of 23 at the plate (.261), 1 run
--drafted by the Rangers out of high school, drafted by the Marlins out of JUCO, drafted by Twins in the last draft after his junior year at Kentucky
--Baseball America: he "works in the 88-91 range" with a great slider and an outstanding changeup
--Kentucky fan posting on LSU forum: "Grundy has a nasty slider"
--last week vs Georgia he held them to 5 of 20 (.250), 2 earned runs

Sunday LHP Corey Littrell
--he's holding opponent batters to a.218 batting avg this season (.188 in SEC play) with a with a 2.57 ERA
--he has a 13-2 record over this season and last
--drafted by the Nationals out of high school, Louisville Slugger Kentucky High School Player of the Year
--2013 preseason 10th-best SEC prospect for 2013 MLB Draft (Baseball America)
--#1 in SEC play last year with the most wins
--Baseball America: "Littrell is a bona fide ace who commands an 88-93 fastball to both sides and flashes a plus slider, as well as a solid curveball and an outstanding changeup"
--last week vs. Georgia he had an SEC-high 12 K's and went 7, holding Georgia to 3 of 25 (.120), 2 walks, 0 runs

Mainieri:
"Kentucky is an extremely talented team with three excellent left-handed starting pitchers"

 

Kentucky's bull pen features:

RHP Walter Wijas --.220 opponent batting avg, 0.60 ERA, 7-0 career record

RHP Zach Strecker .200 opponent batting avg, 1.12 ERA

LHP Dylan Dwyer .267 opponent batting avg, 1.23 ERA

RHP Chandler Shepherd -- drafted by the White Sox out of high school, 4-1 career record at UK. Baseball America: "If So. RHP Chandler Shepherd doesn't occupy the midweek starter role, he'll team with Gott to make a formidable duo in the late innings, thanks to a 90-94 mph fastball and good slider."

LHP Ryne Combs --1.20 ERA, Kentucky High School Mr. Baseball and Gatorade Kentucky Player of the Year

closer RHP Trevor Gott
--.194 opponent batting avg (last year .189), 1.06 ERA
--7-0 record over this season and last
--Gatorade Kentucky High School Player of the Year
--2011 elite Cape Cod League Reliever of the Year
--#3 in SEC play last year with most saves (one behind LSU's Nick Goody)
--Kentucky fan on LSU forum: "Gott will close it out...one of the best closers in SEC."
--Baseball America: "The undersized Gott is an overpowering one-inning closer, with a 92-95 mph fastball and a swing-and-miss low-80s slider. "


Gott

 

Hawthorne: "when he's 'on' Nola is a really good pitcher and Nola appears to be 'ON' today"

AND NOW NOLA STRIKES OUT THE SIDE IN THE TOP 2ND!!

BOOOOOOM!

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