2013 Baseball World Series Baton Rouge Regional Breakdown
#4 LSU, Louisiana, Sam Houston State, Jackson State
Second-ranked LSU is coming off of an SEC Tournament title, its 10th in school history, and will be hosting its second consecutive regional. To win the conference tournament, the Tigers defeated top-ranked Vanderbilt in 11 innings. LSU was up 4-0 before allowing the Commodores to tie the game at four. Mason Katz is the team's top hitter, with one-third of the squads home runs (14) and a team-leading 64 RBI, which is 15 more than the second place finisher. The team however, is a doubles machine, as three players (Alex Bregman, Christian Ibarra and Sean McMullen) have 16 doubles apiece. Raph Rhymes has 14 doubles, while Katz has 12. LSU's three weekend starters have been quite impressive this season. Aaron Nola is undefeated at 10-0 in 14 starts with a 1.94 ERA, Cody Glenn is 7-2 in 14 starts with a 2.41 ERA and Ryan Eades has an 8-1 record in 15 starts with a 2.69 ERA. Nola has 104 strikeouts, a team-high as well. The Tigers also have one of the more impressive closers, Chris Cotton, who has all 15 saves on the team with a 1.38 ERA. He has walked only two batters in 39 innings, while striking out 41 batters. LSU is tough at home, compiling a 34-4 record in Baton Rouge. That record includes a 21-game winning streak, which extended from February 24th to April 27th.
Louisiana (41-18, 19-11 Sun Belt) is set to appear in the NCAA Baseball Championship for the 13th time overall and for the first time since participating in the 2010 Austin (TX) Regional. Louisiana is one of the record four Sun Belt Conference schools appearing in the NCAA Baseball Championship. They join regular season co-champions Troy (at large) and South Alabama (at large) and conference tournament winner Florida Atlantic (automatic bid) in the regional round. Caleb Adams has 14 home runs and 51 RBI on the year. Dex Kjerstad has amassed 94 hits this season, 24 more than any other hitter.
This marks the second consecutive year that Sam Houston State has earned an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament. Luke Plucheck has eight home runs and 40 RBI, while Hayden Simerly has nine long balls. Cody Dickson carries a 9-5 record and has amassed 87 strikeouts.
The Jackson State baseball team won its 15th Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship by beating the Prairie View A&M Panthers 6-2. With the win JSU (34-20) picks up its first conference championship since 2000. The Tigers aren't a very powerful team, hitting just 12 home runs as a team, but five players have 11 or more doubles, including three players who have 13 apiece. Jose Cruz leads the team with 39 RBI. Jackson State has stolen 125-of-156 bases, led by Aneko Knowles' 25 steals in 33 tries.
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