Here we go again, another big time matchup for the LSU Tigers as they host the Arkansas Razorbacks for final regular season series at Alex Box Stadium.
Arkansas is the only team in the country with 40 wins. It’s the 8th consecutive 40-win season for the Razorbacks. They are the only team in the Southeastern Conference to accomplish that feat.
They are 17-7 in the SEC, coming off a series victory over SEC leader Texas.
The Razorbacks have also had a lot of success against LSU in recent history, winning four of the last five series played between the two teams. The Hogs swept LSU last year in Fayetteville, but LSU won the series in 2023.
Tale of the tape
Hitting
LSU - .306 (2nd in the SEC)
ARK - .316 (1st in the SEC, 11th in the nation. Also lead the SEC in hits and runs.)
Pitching
LSU - 3.74 ERA (3rd in the SEC, 10th in the nation)
ARK - 3.75 ERA (4th in the SEC, 11th in the nation)
Fielding
LSU - .979 (6th in the SEC)
ARK - .983 (1st in the SEC, 2nd in the country) \
Pitching matchups
Game 1, 6:30pm
LSU – So. LH Kade Anderson (6-1, 3.57 ERA, 70.2 IP, 19 BB, 114 SO)
Anderson 2nd in the SEC in strikeouts and 2nd in innings pitched.
ARK – Jr. LH Zach Root (6-3, 3.95 ERA, 66.0 IP, 24 BB, 92 SO)
The lefty is a transfer from East Carolina and is coming off a brilliant performance last week against Texas when he struck out a career-high 11 and threw eight scoreless innings. His two starts before that were not very good against Florida and Texas A&M. A combined 8.1 innings and 11 runs.
Game 2, 5:30pm
LSU – Jr. RH Anthony Eyanson (7-2, 3.16 ERA, 68.1 IP, 26 BB, 105 SO)
Threw a three-hitter last week against A&M. 80 of his 112 pitches last week were for strikes.
ARK – Jr. RH Gage Wood (1-0, 3.77 ERA, 14.1 IP, 2 BB, 28 SO)
Missed nearly two months because of an injured shoulder. Allowed one earned run in four innings last week against Texas.
Arkansas offense
During this run of 40-plus win seasons, pitching was Arkansas’ strength. But this season, the Razorbacks can also really swing it.
In 49 games, Arkansas has hit 102 home runs, good for fifth most nationally and third most in a single season in program history. Arkansas is 8 home runs away from setting a single-season program record, eclipsing the 109 they hit in 2021.
Arkansas has five players who are in double figures in home runs, and they are led by the Aloy brothers, who are from Hawaii.
Wehiwa Aloy is hitting .376 with 17 home runs and 52 RBI. His younger brother, Kuhio Aloy is hitting .359 with 12 homers and 65 RBI.
Charles Davalan from Canada is also having good season. He’s only 5-9, 190 pounds but he’s hitting .351 with 13 homers and 49 RBI.
It’s a deep lineup with seven hitters hitting .287 or better. Arkansas has been without one of its top hitters, Logan Maxwell, who has a hamstring injury. But Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn could be available against LSU. He’s hitting .342 with 9 home runs and 24 RBI.
Bullpen
Freshman right-hander Carson Wiggins and junior right-hander Christian Foutch each have three saves to lead the team.
But the top bullpen arm is right-hander Aiden Jimenez, who is 4-1 with a 1.76 ERA and has 31 strikeouts in 30.2 innings.
Senior right-hander Dylan Carter has appeared in 20 games and he’s 5-0 with a 2.37 ERA in 30.1 innings and 33 strikeouts.
LSU’s offense
There are concerns about LSU’s offense as the Tigers scored only seven runs in the three-game series against the Aggies.
Coach Jay Johnson is not overly concerned. He says they have faced several pitchers that will receive huge signing bonsues from major league teams after they are drafted.
Johnson also says their execution is just a little bit off.
“We just need to be a little better that’s it, we need to have a few more good at-bats and we’ll score five to six runs, and then this team can be as successful as we want it to be,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the rain out of Tuesday night’s game against Grambling is a blessing as the team needed a few extra days off.
