Week 2 of SEC play is here, and it brings us a doozy. A top ten matchup between two of the most storied programs in college baseball with a combined 13 national titles between them.
Longhorns v. Tigers is back!
The Tigers enter the weekend with the best start to a season since 1986, while the Horns have their best start to a season since 2005. Both clubs have some of the absolute best coaching staffs in the nation and are constantly battling each other for supremacy on the recruiting trail.
LSU is powered by a trio of outstanding pitchers and an offense that may not hit for the same power as fans have seen in the past, but they get on base, and they score. In addition, the Tigers play an outstanding brand of defense.
The kryptonite to this LSU squad has been walks and hit batters. The arms have big stuff that plays up, but they have also put a lot of guys on base, which is certainly a detriment to success against good teams.
The other data point to consider is that this is the first real road test for the Tigers who have the 250th strength of schedule in the nation. For reference, there are only 307 teams in the nation playing D1 baseball.
Can the Longhorns offense score enough runs against the starting trio of Tigers pitchers and against a bullpen that will roll out multiple arms that can hit the high 90s? How do the Horns fare on Friday night when they go up against a guy that is a strikeout artist or on Sunday when they go up against a guy who’s best pitch slider that has some elite break on it?
How will the Longhorn pitching fare against two of the best hitters in the SEC (Derek Curiel and Jared Jones)? The staff will not be able to get up free bases to this group as they will punish you for it.
Also, how about the Texas bullpen which got taxed more than expected in the Tuesday night extra innings matchup against UTSA?
Good v. Good. Orange v. Purple. Horns v. Tigers. Someone’s perfect record in SEC play is coming to an end this weekend!
Get out to the Disch and have yourself a weekend!
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Around the Horns – LSU preview show with Alex Day
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#8 TEXAS LONGHORNS v. #2 LSU Tigers
Date: March 21-23
Where: Disch-Falk Field
Time: 7pm, 6pm, 2pm
TV: Friday will be on SEC Network with Ben McDonald and Keith Moreland calling the game; Saturday and Sunday will be on SEC Network+
SERIES MATCHUP:
- First Met: 1899
- Last Meeting: 2024
- Overall Series: 28-15-1
- Home: 17-3-1
- Away: 8-7
- Neutral: 3-5
- Last time Horns and Tigers met in 2024, LSU came away with a 6-3 victory at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
- LSU currently has a two-game win streak over the Horns after having beat them in Austin back in 2023 when they were the #1 team in the nation.
- LSU was picked to finish 2nd in the SEC behind Texas A&M
- LSU enters the game on a 16 game win streak which is the longest in the nation after Tennessee and Texas both lost on Tuesday
RECORDS:
- Texas: 17-2 (3-0 SEC)
- LSU: 21-1 (3-0 SEC)
RPI / SOS
- Texas: 17 / 113
- LSU: 54 / 254
PREDICTION
- Horns lose the series 1-2
- On the season, I am 16-3 overall on my predictions
PITCHING MATCHUPS:
FRIDAY – Texas LHP Jared Spencer (2-0, 2.36 ERA) v. LHP Kade Anderson (4-0, 2.57 ERA)
- Anderson has a 93-95 fastball, but has a true four pitch mix with an outstanding curve
- 8BB to 48K in 28 IP, so Kade fills up the zone and goes after hitters
- Chase Shores is 6’8” righty that runs his fastball up 99. He mixes in a 84-86 slider and 84-85 changeup. His fastball isn’t just about velo though, but he has a lot of arm side action
SUNDAY – Texas TBA v. RHP Anthony Eyanson (3-0, 3.90 ERA)
- Eyanson was one of the biggest pitchers in the portal this past offseason
- Eyanson has a plus plus slider and mixes in a solid 92mph fastball and curveball
LSU Top Relievers:
- Casan Evans (1-0, 4 saves, 7 apps, 0.73 ERA)
- Zac Cowan (2-0, 1 save, 8 apps, 1.47 ERA)
- William Schmidt (3-0, 6 apps, 2.51 ERA)
- Connor Benge (0-0, 7 apps, 5.63 ERA)
- Cooper Ware (3-0, 6 apps, 6.17 ERA)
LSU Offensive Leaders:
- Derek Curiel (.434 BA, 1.210 OPS, 1 HR, 19 RBI, .632 SLG%, 23 BB, 12 K, .578 OB%)
- Jared Jones (.424 BA, 1.311 OPS, 8 HR, 34 RBI, .812 SLG%, .519 OB%)
- Jake Brown (.397 BA, 1.035 OPS, 1 HR, 17 RBI, .586 SLG%, .449 OB%)
- Daniel Dickinson (.368 BA, 1.268 OPS, 6 HR, 28 RBI, .721 SLG%, .547 OB%)
- Steven Milam (.367 BA, 1.100 OPS, 5 HR, 24 RBI, .658 SLG%, .442 Ob%)
Few notes on the offense from LSU this season:
- Jared Jones is #16 in the nation in WAR
- Derek Curriel is #2 in the SEC in BA
- Jared Jones is #5 in SEC in BA
TEAM STATS COMPARISON
Scoring Margin (Run Differential)
#2 LSU +6.8
#35 Texas +3.7
Runs per Game
#3 LSU 10.4
#99 Texas 7.5
Hits per Game
#10 LSU - 11.3
#66 Texas - 10.1
Runs per Game Allowed
#8 LSU - 3.5
#14 Texas - 3.8
Hits per Game Allowed
#5 LSU - 5.9
#13 Texas - 6.5
| STATS | TEXAS | LSU |
| Batting Average | .296 | .345 |
| OPS | .925 | 1.057 |
| Runs | 143 | 228 |
| Hits | 192 | 250 |
| Doubles | 49 | 59 |
| Triples | 6 | 5 |
| Home Runs | 29 | 36 |
| RBIs | 132 | 211 |
| SLG% | .525 | .589 |
| Walks | 98 | 140 |
| Strikeouts | 167 | 124 |
| OB% | .400 | .468 |
| Stolen Bases | 24-34 | 20-28 |
| ERA | 3.22 | 3.32 |
| WHIP | 1.18 | 1.16 |
| Saves | 9 | 6 |
| Earned Runs | 60 | 69 |
| Bases on Balls | 74 | 87 |
| Strikeouts | 166 | 262 |
| Home Runs Allowed | 10 | 11 |
| B/Avg | .206 | .197 |
| Errors | 20 | 14 |
| Fielding% | .972 | .981 |
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NCAA Baseball Weekend Pick Em
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SEC Baseball Weekend Pick Em
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SEC STATS RANKINGS
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