Everything you need to know about LSU’s Baton Rouge regional

LSU baseball will play host to three teams this week in the program’s first Baton Rouge regional since 2019 – Oregon State, Sam Houston State and Tulane.

The Tigers (43-15) will take on No. 4 seed Tulane (19-40), the NCAA tournament’s most unlikely participant, at 2 p.m. Friday. LSU coach Jay Johnson hasn’t yet committed to starting right-hander Paul Skenes, who has been as dominant as any pitcher in the nation this season, against the Green Wave.

Friday’s contest is a battle between No. 2 seed Oregon State (39-18) and No. 3 Sam Houston State (38-23), which is in its last season in the WAC before making the move to Conference USA.

No. 1 LSU

Coach: Jay Johnson

NCAA berth: At-large (No. 5 overall seed)

Top hitters: Dylan Crews (.420, 59 RBIs, 15 HRs), Tommy White (.387, 91 RBIs, 20 HRs), Tre’ Morgan (.308, 43 RBIs, 7 HRs)

Top pitchers: RHP Paul Skenes (10-2, 1.89 ERA), RHP Ty Floyd (7-0, 4.59)

Worth knowing: The Tigers were No. 1 in the nation for 12 straight weeks, but they dropped two of their final three Southeastern Conference series and went 1-2 in the SEC tournament last week. They are a team with the projected Nos. 1 and No. 2 overall MLB draft picks (Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews), and LSU has a potent lineup. The rest of the pitching staff will be key to their postseason success.

2023 NCAA baseball regional odds: Here’s where LSU and the rest of the field stand https://t.co/J0ytw86LGc

— LSU Sports from The Advocate (@LSUnow) May 29, 2023

No. 2 OREGON STATE

Coach: Mitch Canham

NCAA berth: At-large

Top hitters: Travis Bazzana (.379, 10 HRs, 36 SBs), Mason Guerra (.328, 11 HRs, 54 RBIs), Micah McDowell (.343, 6 HR, 41 RBIs).

Top pitchers: RHP Ryan Brown (4-2, 10 saves, 3.44 ERA), RHP Ben Ferrer (2-1, 4.39 ERA)

Worth knowing: Fresh off a poor performance by its pitching staff in the Pac-12 tournament, Oregon State travels to Baton Rouge hoping to swing its way to a regional title. OSU was one of the better pitching teams in the Pac-12 this year with 4.65 staff ERA, but the Beavers allowed 27 runs in two losses last week.

No. 3 SAM HOUSTON STATE

NCAA berth: Automatic (WAC tournament champion)

Top hitters: Tyler Davis (.432, 7 HRs, 59 RBIs), Joe Redfield (.408, 13 HRs, 51 RBIs), Walker Janek (.306, 12 HRs, 65 RBIs).

Top pitchers: RHP Coltin Atkinson (9-4, 4.09 ERA, 1 CG), RHP David Chandler (2.21 ERA, 1 save, 68 Ks).

Worth knowing: There is one team in the Baton Rouge Regional that’s in the national Top 10 in batting average, and it’s not LSU. The Bearkats rank 10th nationally at .320. With a staff ERA of 5.26, Sam Houston will be relying on about six quality arms to stay alive in Baton Rouge.

Rival coaches explain why they weren’t surprised by Tulane baseball’s improbable run https://t.co/fIODNgdxAQ

— NOLA.com (@NOLAnews) May 30, 2023

No. 4 TULANE

Coach: Jay Uhlman

NCAA berth: Automatic (American tournament champion)

Top hitters: Teo Banks (.303, 51 RBIs, 18 HRs), Simon Baumgardt (.268, 38 RBIs, 13 HRs), Brady Hebert (.304, 23 RBIs, 3 HRs)

Top pitchers: RHP Ricky Castro (4-6, 5.14 ERA), LHP Dylan Carmouche (5-8, 5.44)

Worth knowing: The most improbable team in the NCAA regionals, Tulane (19-40) received an automatic bid after taking down No. 12 East Carolina 8-6 in the championship game of the American Athletic Conference tournament. The Green Wave had gone 2-9 in its last 11 games before the AAC tournament. Teo Banks was the hero in the championship game, going 3 for 4 with three runs scored. He had three home runs and 11 RBIs in the tournament.