The Preview: LSU Baseball vs. Vanderbilt Commodores in Anticipated SEC Showdown – Sports Illustrated

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The defending National Champion LSU Tigers will return to the diamond on Friday night to open Southeastern Conference play against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Charles Hawkins Field.
After arriving in Nashville (Tenn.) on Thursday, Jay Johnson and Co. will look to settle in with Game 1 inching closer on Friday evening with right-handed pitcher Casan Evans set to take the mound for LSU.
“We’re excited to travel to Nashville, get the lay of the land, and go compete against an athletic, fundamentally sound Vanderbilt team," Johnson said this week.
"I’m excited to get into SEC play and compete with our team; I like where our rotation is at right now, and if we continue to get strong performances from the bullpen, we feel good about how those pieces can come together. Offensively, we have to keep working; we have good players and we need to put them in a position to be successful, and we’re going to help them to do that.”
The Weekend Preview: No. 9 LSU Tigers (13-5) at Vanderbilt Commodores (11-7)
DATES/TIMES
• Friday, March 13 at 6 p.m. CT
• Saturday, March 14 at7 p.m. CT
• Sunday, March 15 at 3 p.m. CT
STADIUM
• Charles Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn. (3,802)
RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 9 NCBWA; No. 13 Baseball America; No. 13 D1 Baseball; No. 13 USA Today
• VU – unranked
RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
TV/ONLINE
• Friday – SEC Network +; Saturday – SEC Network; Sunday – ESPN2
LSU SERIES RECORD VS. VANDERBILT
• LSU leads the all-time series with Vanderbilt, 62-49, and the teams first met in 1954 … the teams are meeting for the first time since April 4-6, 2024, when the Commodores won two of three games over the Tigers in Baton Rouge … Vanderbilt has won nine of the past 11 SEC regular-season series between the schools; however, LSU swept three games from the Commodores when the teams last met in Nashville on May 19-21, 2022 … the 2022 sweep broke a string of four straight SEC series losses in Nashville for the Tigers.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – So. RH Casan Evans (1-0, 4.66 ERA, 19.1 IP, 7 BB, 30 SO)
VU – Jr. RH Connor Fennell (2-0, 3.80, 21.1 IP, 3 BB, 30 SO)
Game 2
LSU – Jr. RH Cooper Moore (3-1, 2.25 ERA, 24.0 IP, 5 BB, 31 SO
VU – Fr. RH Wyatt Nadeau (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 11.0 IP, 6 BB 15 SO)
Game 3
LSU – So. RH William Schmidt (3-1, 2.45 ERA, 22.0 IP, 4 BB, 33 SO
VU – So. RH Nate Taylor (0-3, 4.91 ERA, 18.1 IP, 12 BB, 24 SO)
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• LSU junior rightfielder Jake Brown tied the LSU single-game record with three homers last Friday night to lead the Tigers to a 15-4 win over Sacramento State in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field … Brown was 4-for-5 at the plate Friday night with three homers, a single, six RBI and four runs … he tied the LSU single-game homers record, which has been set on 13 previous occasions, most recently by Jared Jones on April 9, 2024, versus McNeese in Baton Rouge … Brown is batting a team-high .413 this season with six doubles, nine homers, 28 RBI, 21 runs and five stolen bases … he is hitting .474 (9-for-19) in the Tigers’ five games last week with one double, four homers, eight RBI, seven runs and two steals.
• Sophomore right-hander Casan Evans recorded a dominant outing last Friday night versus Sacramento State to log his first win of the season … Evans fired 5.0 perfect innings to begin the outing, and he worked a total of 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits with no walks and nine strikeouts … Evans is 1-0 on the year with a 4.66 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 19.1 innings.
• Sophomore centerfielder Derek Curiel is batting .421 (8-for-19) in LSU’s last five games with two doubles, one homer, three RBI and four runs scored … Curiel is hitting .329 (23-for-70) this season with five doubles, one homer, 14 RBI, 18 runs and two stolen bases.
• Sophomore left-hander Ethan Plog delivered two outstanding relief performances last week at UL Lafayette on March 4 and versus Sacramento State last Saturday … Plog worked a combined 4.1 scoreless innings in two appearances with two hits, one walk and four strikeouts … Plog is 1-0 on the year with five walks and nine strikeouts in 7.1 innings (six appearances), and he’s allowing just a .167 opponent cumulative batting average.
• Sophomore right-hander William Schmidt pitched effectively last Sunday versus Sacramento State, limiting the Hornets to three earned runs on four hits in 5.2 innings with no walks and eight strikeouts … Schmidt is 3-1 this season with a 2.45 ERA in four starts, limiting opponents to a .177 cumulative batting average … he has recorded only four walks in 22.0 innings while logging 33 strikeouts.
• Sophomore right-hander Deven Sheerin earned his first career LSU win on Tuesday night with a superb relief effort versus Creighton …. he worked 2.1 scoreless relief innings, allowing just one hit with one walk and four strikeouts … Sheerin has recorded 17 strikeouts in 9.0 innings (seven appearances) this season, and opponents are hitting only .071 against him.
• Junior left-hander Santiago Garcia delivered a dominant relief outing Tuesday night versus Creighton to earn his first career LSU save … Garcia blanked the Blue Jays over the final 2.2 innings, giving up only one hit with no walks and four strikeouts … Garcia has worked a combined 3.1 innings in his last three outings, allowing no runs, one hit, no walks and five strikeouts.
• Freshman catcher Omar Serna Jr. launched his first career LSU home run in Tuesday night’s win versus Creighton, a fifth-inning grand slam that erased a 4-2 deficit and gave the Tigers a 6-4 lead … Serna has also already thrown our three of seven runners attempting to steal this season.
ABOUT THE COMMODORES
• Vanderbilt is 11-7 this season, and the Commodores are batting .318 as a team with 36 doubles, four triples, 44 homers and 20 steals in 25 attempts … eight Vanderbilt hitters are batting .300 or better on the year.
• Infielder Ryker Waite is batting a team-high .396 with five doubles, one triple, two homers, 14 RBI and five stolen bases … utility player Braden Holcomb is hitting .353 and leads Vanderbilt in homers (10) and RBI (31).
• The Commodores’ pitching staff has a 3.94 cumulative ERA with 180 strikeouts in 146.1 innings while allowing just a .217 opponent batting average
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Zack Nagy is the Managing Editor and Publisher of LSU Country, a Sports Illustrated Publication. Nagy has covered Tiger Football, Basketball, Baseball and Recruiting, looking to keep readers updated on anything and everything involving LSU athletics. 
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