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For college baseball fans, there are a few series worth keeping an eye on this weekend.
Tennessee is heading to Alabama for an SEC series that features the No. 1 and No. 12 teams in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. No. 6 Clemson and No. 13 Wake Forest will battle for positioning in the ACC while an SEC showdown features No. 5 Georgia and No. 11 Florida. Two of the country's top mid-major programs — No. 25 Coastal Carolina and previously-ranked Troy — are meeting on the Trojans' campus.
Then there's what's happening in Austin. No. 7 Texas (17-2, 3-0) will play three home games against No. 2 LSU (21-1, 3-0) at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
"This is why you come to Texas, is games like this," UT senior first baseman Kimble Schuessler said. "That's one of the best programs in college baseball history, but so are we. We're really excited. They've got a really good ball club, and so do we."
This will also be a showdown between college baseball royalty. As Texas coach Jim Schlossnagle said Thursday, "Texas and LSU, this series could be played in the last, what, four decades and would still be awesome."
Texas is a six-time national champion that won its most recent title in 2005 while LSU won its seventh national championship in 2023. The only team with more championships in its trophy case is USC, which has won 12 titles.
Dating back to 1899, Texas and LSU have played 44 times before. Texas has recorded 28 wins against LSU and the two teams tied once in 1902. However, LSU owns the most important victory in the series since it beat UT in the decisive game at the 2009 College World Series.
Texas and LSU met at least once in six of the past seven seasons. The 2018 series in Baton Rouge featured 44 runs, a middle finger and an ejection while UT's sweep of LSU in Austin a year later was the lone highlight for the Longhorns during a miserable 2019 campaign. Three of the last four meetings in this series have taken place at Houston's Minute Maid Park, although LSU stopped by UFCU Disch-Falk Field for a memorable game during their 2023 championship season.
"They're a great program," Texas catcher Rylan Galvan said of the Tigers. "They've historically been well, but just super excited for the next opportunity to get out on the field with these guys."
Since a 5-4 loss to Omaha on Feb. 22, LSU has won 16 straight games. The Tigers rank third nationally in batting average (.345) and scoring (10.4 runs); Schlossnagle noted that the LSU offense has registered more walks than strikeouts. At 3.32, LSU also boasts college baseball's 14th-best ERA (Texas is 10th at 3.22).
The Longhorns' 8-7 loss to UTSA on Tuesday was decided in the 12th inning and snapped a 17-game winning streak. After issuing seven walks and committing two errors against the Roadrunners, Schlossnagle said, "we need to play cleaner baseball."
But the Longhorns opened SEC play last weekend with a sweep at Mississippi State. Texas has also ousted Ole Miss in a nonconference game this year.
"I think every game is a learning experience, win or lose," Schlossnagle said. "In Starkville, really proud of our team for handling the environment, handling the adversity. Tuesday night, obviously super disappointed in the result. I still struggle to handle losing. I guess that's when I'll know when I'm finished is when you're 17-2 and it still doesn't taste good. But I thought that there were some good things that night as well."
Even though the baseball team got its first SEC conference games out of the way last week, the LSU series will be the conference debut for Disch-Falk Field. So are the Texas fans SEC ready?
Texas ranked fifth last season in attendance, but that average of 7,476 fans trailed four schools in the baseball-frenzied SEC. Two years ago, Texas drew 7,641 fans to its ballpark on a Tuesday night for a 3-0 loss to LSU.
"We're really excited to see this place packed out again," Schuessler said. "I know we've had some really big series here in the past. I know these fans have been waiting for a big series like this for a long time and I know they're going to show out."
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas baseball hosts LSU for SEC showdown series
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Tennessee is heading to Alabama for an SEC series that features the No. 1 and No. 12 teams in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. No. 6 Clemson and No. 13 Wake Forest will battle for positioning in the ACC while an SEC showdown features No. 5 Georgia and No. 11 Florida. Two of the country's top mid-major programs — No. 25 Coastal Carolina and previously-ranked Troy — are meeting on the Trojans' campus.
Then there's what's happening in Austin. No. 7 Texas (17-2, 3-0) will play three home games against No. 2 LSU (21-1, 3-0) at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
"This is why you come to Texas, is games like this," UT senior first baseman Kimble Schuessler said. "That's one of the best programs in college baseball history, but so are we. We're really excited. They've got a really good ball club, and so do we."
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Texas and LSU have have crossed paths before
This will also be a showdown between college baseball royalty. As Texas coach Jim Schlossnagle said Thursday, "Texas and LSU, this series could be played in the last, what, four decades and would still be awesome."
Texas is a six-time national champion that won its most recent title in 2005 while LSU won its seventh national championship in 2023. The only team with more championships in its trophy case is USC, which has won 12 titles.
Dating back to 1899, Texas and LSU have played 44 times before. Texas has recorded 28 wins against LSU and the two teams tied once in 1902. However, LSU owns the most important victory in the series since it beat UT in the decisive game at the 2009 College World Series.
Texas and LSU met at least once in six of the past seven seasons. The 2018 series in Baton Rouge featured 44 runs, a middle finger and an ejection while UT's sweep of LSU in Austin a year later was the lone highlight for the Longhorns during a miserable 2019 campaign. Three of the last four meetings in this series have taken place at Houston's Minute Maid Park, although LSU stopped by UFCU Disch-Falk Field for a memorable game during their 2023 championship season.
"They're a great program," Texas catcher Rylan Galvan said of the Tigers. "They've historically been well, but just super excited for the next opportunity to get out on the field with these guys."
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Texas looks to bounce back from Tuesday setback
Since a 5-4 loss to Omaha on Feb. 22, LSU has won 16 straight games. The Tigers rank third nationally in batting average (.345) and scoring (10.4 runs); Schlossnagle noted that the LSU offense has registered more walks than strikeouts. At 3.32, LSU also boasts college baseball's 14th-best ERA (Texas is 10th at 3.22).
The Longhorns' 8-7 loss to UTSA on Tuesday was decided in the 12th inning and snapped a 17-game winning streak. After issuing seven walks and committing two errors against the Roadrunners, Schlossnagle said, "we need to play cleaner baseball."
But the Longhorns opened SEC play last weekend with a sweep at Mississippi State. Texas has also ousted Ole Miss in a nonconference game this year.
"I think every game is a learning experience, win or lose," Schlossnagle said. "In Starkville, really proud of our team for handling the environment, handling the adversity. Tuesday night, obviously super disappointed in the result. I still struggle to handle losing. I guess that's when I'll know when I'm finished is when you're 17-2 and it still doesn't taste good. But I thought that there were some good things that night as well."
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Is UFCU Disch-Falk Field ready to become an SEC ballpark?
Even though the baseball team got its first SEC conference games out of the way last week, the LSU series will be the conference debut for Disch-Falk Field. So are the Texas fans SEC ready?
Texas ranked fifth last season in attendance, but that average of 7,476 fans trailed four schools in the baseball-frenzied SEC. Two years ago, Texas drew 7,641 fans to its ballpark on a Tuesday night for a 3-0 loss to LSU.
"We're really excited to see this place packed out again," Schuessler said. "I know we've had some really big series here in the past. I know these fans have been waiting for a big series like this for a long time and I know they're going to show out."
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas baseball hosts LSU for SEC showdown series
Continue reading...
