
The LSU Tigers face a crucial series against the Georgia Bulldogs, needing wins to boost their postseason chances. LSU's pitching will be tested against Georgia's top-ranked offense.
The LSU Tigers baseball team has had a rough go of things, but are heating back up at the right time. They have a crucial road series against the Georgia Bulldogs this weekend, which winning would bring a ton of confidence.
The Tigers have dug themselves into a hole and need a good close to the season and a run in the SEC tournament to have a chance in the national postseason. They're current in the "next four out" section of the Baseball America projected field of 64.
The Bulldogs have the best offense in the SEC, so LSU's pitching staff is really going to need to hunker down and deliver. Georgia is hitting .325 as a team and has hit 131 home runs, which is 31 more than second place. Their pitching, however, is near the bottom of the conference with a 4.83 ERA.
Here are the pitching matchups to expect to see this weekend:
Schmidt remains in the Friday night role with Casan Evans still injured. He's coming off one of his best starts in SEC play, pitching six innings of one-run ball against the South Carolina Gamecocks last weekend. He's evened out after that tough stretch against the Ole Miss Rebels and Texas A&M Aggies last month.
Volchko transferred over from the Stanford Cardinal and has taken his game to the next level this season. He has been a strikeout machine with at least seven in each of his last four outings, though the Bulldogs lost three of those games.
The freshman continues to get more opportunities. He had his longest start of the season last weekend against the Gamecocks, going five innings with eight strikeouts and just one run allowed on a solo shot, which was the only hit he gave up.
Vigue was another offseason addition, coming over from the Michigan Wolverines. His starts have almost been automatic wins for Georgia, as they've won in his last 11 outings. No SEC team has really been able to crack him, as he's not given up more than two runs all year long.
The specific pitching matchups for the series have been revealed, highlighting the importance of LSU's pitchers against Georgia's strong offense.
LSU is currently in the 'next four out' section for the projected NCAA tournament and needs a strong finish to improve their chances.
Georgia boasts the best offense in the SEC with a .325 batting average and 131 home runs, while LSU's pitching staff will need to perform well to compete.
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