The two best teams in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional will face off tonight at Alex Box Stadium. LSU romped Stony Brook 17-3 last night likewise for Southern Miss 15-3 over Arizona State.
Photo Gallery: LSU vs Stony Brook
Freshman right hander Cole Henry will get the ball on the mound for the Tigers. Henry is making his first start since opening the SEC tournament on May 21st. Southern Miss is expected to start junior right hander Walker Powell on the mound.
LSU and Southern Miss combined for 32 runs in their respective wins Friday night. You won’t see that much offense in the matchup tonight.
Powell is a hard throwing big dude. When his game is on, Powell's tough to handle. He's 6 and 2 on the season with opponents hitting just .195. This guy is an SEC caliber pitcher.
The goal for Cole Henry is to score LSU five solid innings of work. Henry is still working his way back from an arm injury that caused him to miss five starts in the regular season. Here’s the thought process. If Henry gets LSU five good innings, skipper Paul Mainieri would then turn to his loaded bullpen to finish the game. Zack Hess, Devin Fontenot, and Todd Peterson are all available to pitch.
Junior right fielder Matt Wallner is the big offensive threat to watch for Southern Miss. Wallner hit 22 home runs this season including a bomb that nearly hit the iconic intimidator in right field at Alex Box in the Golden Eagles 15-3 thrashing of Arizona State. Five of the nine every day players for Southern Miss are hitting above .300 on the year.
The key to the LSU lineup right now is catcher Saul Garza. The massive 7th hole hitter has 38 hits since May 16th. Prior to May that date, Garza had just 20 hits. If he stays hot at the plate, the LSU Tigers have a real shot in this tournament.
LSU takes in Southern Miss today at 6pm, pre-game 5:30. Catch all the exciting NCAA baseball action tonight on Tiger Radio WWL, 105.3FM and the BIG 870am.