Another LSU No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown

Published 9:23 am Thursday, April 23, 2015

If this were football, it would likely be tagged the Showdown of the Decade or some such.

But it’s baseball.

So it’s just the long-awaited matchup between the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 college teams.

LSU and Texas A&M have had one eye on each other for several weeks now, seemingly tossing the No. 1 ranking back and forth like a hot potato.

“Now we can turn our full attention to it,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said Tuesday night after the Tigers beat Tulane 6-0 on a one-hitter.

For the showdown, LSU used a two-game sweep at Georgia last week to take over the top spot while Texas A&M dropped to No. 2 after losing two of three games to Arkansas, its first series setback of the season.

It only meant No. 1 and No. 2 swapped places.

“There’s no use downplaying it,” Mainieri said. “It’s going to be really exciting. Almost the feel of a super regional. Of course, the stakes aren’t the same.”

They’re enough — even forgetting who emerges from the Thursday-Saturday fracas with the national No. 1 ranking.

LSU (35-6, 12-5 Southeastern Conference) and Texas A&M (36-5, 12-5) are tied atop the SEC West and overall conference standings, a half game ahead of East Division co-leaders Vanderbilt and Missouri (both 12-6).

It’s LSU’s first No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup since the No. 2 Tigers beat No. 1 Vanderbilt 1-0 in the championship game of the 2013 SEC tournament in Hoover, Ala.

There’s never been one in the new Alex Box Stadium.

The closest was in 2011 when Florida was No. 1 when it visited Baton Rouge and took two of three from the fifth-ranked Tigers.

“What a matchup!” Mainieri said.

Then he downplayed it into a dress rehearsal.

“I told the players that you’re going to play in bigger games down the road, SEC tournament, regional championship, hopefully super regional,” he said. “There’s the potential for much bigger games down the road.

“But how you handle this environment this weekend will help down the road.

“There’s no reason being nervous about it. This is why you come to LSU. You come for these kind of exciting games, and the stakes being so high, just embrace it and have fun. Enjoy it; be confident.”

By quirk of scheduling, LSU visited Texas A&M both seasons of the Aggies’ first two years in the SEC. The two teams were hardly strangers even before A&M joined the league, but it will be their first visit to the new Alex Box Stadium and the first trip to Baton Rouge for a regular-season game since 1991.

“It’s going to be fun to have them here in our environment, finally,” Mainieri said. “I have a sneaking suspicion that our fans are going to be slightly excited and ready for this series.”

All three games are sellouts in anticipation of a festive series.

In fact, second baseman Jared Foster of Lake Charles told The Advocate of Baton Rouge that “I want to see people with their shirts off in the outfield and stuff.”

Mainieri just wants to see his team play to its potential.

“That’s why we’re so demanding every game, regardless of who the opponent is,” he said. “You approach every game the same way every day, then when you get in the biggest games, you don’t have to try any harder than you do every day.

“I feel very confident in our team,” he added. “ Playing at The Box is going to a great thing for our team.”

LSU certainly comes in a roll, having won 12 of its last 13 games.

The Tigers’ pitching staff has allowed two runs in its last three games (27 innings).

LSU will start Jared Poché (7-1, 2.90 ERA) in tonight’s opener followed by Alex Lange (7-0, 1.40).

Lange replaced Poché as the lead starting pitcher and Mainieri said he plans to keep that rotation.

But both started in last Saturday’s doubleheader against Georgia and with the Thursday start of the A&M series, Mainieri said he preferred to give Lange, more of a power pitcher, the extra day’s rest.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Mainieri said. “They’re both outstanding pitchers.”

l NOTE: All three games will be televised. Friday’s game on the SEC Network Alternate channel (Ch. 68 on Suddenlink, Ch. 801 for HD).

Pitching Matchups

6:30 p.m. Today, ESPN2

LSU, LH Jared Poché (7-1, 2.90) vs. A&M, RH Grayson Long (8-0, 2.90).

6:30 p.m. Friday, SEC Alternate

LSU, RH Alex Lange (7-0, 1.40) vs. A&M, RH Ryan Hendrix (3-0, 1.40).

1 p.m. Saturday, ESPN

LSU, RH Austin Bain (1-1, 3.07) vs. A&M, TBA.

LSU head coach Paul Mainieri (AP Photo)

Vasha Hunt