Baton Rouge Regional:
- LSU (48-10)
- UNC- Wilmington (39-16)
- Tulane (34-23)
- Lehigh (25-29)
LSU is playing host to a regional for the 23rd time in school history. This year the Tigers have drawn the No. 2 national seed, which means, if the Tigers go on to win the Baton Rouge regional they will host the Super Regional.
The Tigers will play host to in state foe, and 3 seed, Tulane. UNC-Wilmington was selected as the 2 seed and Lehigh rounds out the field as the 4 seed. Regional play gets underway on Friday at 3 p.m. and will air on the SEC Network.
LSU
The Tiger offense is led by potential No. 1 overall pick in this June’s MLB draft, Alex Bregman. The shortstop is batting .329 with 76 hits, 22 doubles, 9 homeruns and 47 RBI on the season. Other notable players in the Tiger lineup are Chris Chinea who is batting .363 with 82 hits, 16 doubles, 11 homeruns and 55 RBI, Andrew Stevenson who is batting .361 with 78 hits, 10 doubles, 5 triples and 20 RBI. Kade Scivicque and Conner Hale also provide the Tigers with addition offense as both players are hitting above .350 with slugging percentages above .450.
The Tigers have been led all year with quality pitching from Alex Lange and Jared Poche. Lang will head into the regional with a 10-0 record on the year, 98 strikeouts, a 1.94 ERA in 88.0 innings pitched. Poche carried a 3.35 ERA with a 7-1 record into postseason play.
Lehigh University
Lehigh University (25-29) is led offensively by Mike Garzillo, Justin Pacchioli and Jacen Nalesnik. The junior, Garzillo is batting .363 with 73 hits, 16 doubles, 13 homeruns and 54 RBI. Pacchioli is batting .348 with 63 hits, 7 doubles, 3 triples, 2 homeruns and 18 RBI. Nalesnik is batting .311 with 60 hits, 13 doubles, 2 homers and 35 RBI. The Mountain Hawk offense on the year is batting .266.
The Mountain Hawks have named game 1 starter as senior left handed pitcher Nick Macaione. The senior from Andover, NJ posts a 2.82 ERA in 67.0 innings pitched with a 3-4 record. Game two starter not yet available but some options for the Mountain Hawks are Kevin Long (5-2,6.64), J.R. Edwards (1-3,3.40) and Nick Stephens (4-6,4.20).
Tulane
The Greenwaves (34-23) head into the Baton Rouge regional as the No. 3 seed and are slated to square off against the No. 2 seed UNC-Wilmington. Tulane brings a team batting average of .252 into the tournament and is led offensively by Stephen Alemais who is batting .314 with 75 hits, 11 doubles, 2 triples, 1 homerun and 22 RBI. Hunter Wiliams and Tyler Wilson both look to pace the Greenwave offense as Williams is batting .281 and Wilson is batting .272, good for second and third best on the team. Tulane looks to get additional pop from Lex Kaplan, his seven homeruns and twelve doubles are the teams best.
The Greenwave pitching staff is led by Patrick Duester, Alex Massey, Emerson Gibbs and Corey Merril. Duester brings a 2.44 ERA, 56 strikeouts, 29 walks and a 7-5 record into Baton Rouge. Massey has a 3.38 ERA, a 6-3 record, 71 strikeouts and 45 walks in 85.1 innings pitched. Merrill posts a 2.04 ERA, a 4-6 record, 77 strikeouts and 42 walks in 97.0 innings. Rounding out the staff is Gibbs who has a 2.81 ERA in 77.0 innings pitched and carries a 5-3 record.
UNC-Wilimington
The No. 2 seed in the Baton Rouge Regional is UNC-Wilmington. The Seahawks are 39-16 and bring a powerful offense into the tournament. Terence Connelly leads the Seahawks offense with a .354 average, 47 runs, 63 hits, 7 doubles and 25 RBI. Zach Shields is batting .348 with 71 hits, 6 doubles, 3 homers and 37 RBI. Gavin Stupienski is batting .337 with 58 hits, 12 doubles, 6 homeruns and 34 RBI. Steven Unkous is batting .327 with 73 hits, 8 doubles, 4 triples, 1 dinger and 19 RBI. Rounding out the three hundred averages is CAA Tournament ‘Most Outstanding Player’ Corey Dick. The senior is batting .325 with 51 hits, 13 doubles, 6 homeruns and 39 RBI,
The Seahawk pitching staff will be led by Ryan Foster, Nick Monroe and Jordan Ramsey. Foster is 6-1 on the year with a 4.42 ERA in 79.1 innings pitched. Monroe is 3-3 on the year with a 6.75 ERA in 69.1 innings pitched. Ramsey is 8-2 on the year with a 1.60 ERA in 45.0 innings pitched.
Predicted Winner: LSU
Baton Rouge Regional
LSU vs. Lehigh, 3 p.m., SEC Network
Tulane vs. UNC-Wilmington, 7 p.m., ESPN3
