LSU had no trouble against Southern University during midweek action. The No. 1 LSU baseball team’s offense exploded for 18 hits en route to a 17-4 victory against Southern University on Wednesday night in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. With the win, LSU improved to 8-0 on the season, but now a big test awaits this weekend. The Tigers travel to Austin, Texas, for a three-game series against the No. 19 Texas Longhorns beginning Friday, March 1, at 6:30 p.m. CT in UFCU Disch-Falk Field. All three games will be aired on the Longhorn Network, and fans can listen to the game on the LSU Sports Radio Network, including 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge. Free audio streaming of the LSU Sports Radio Network broadcast is available on www.LSUsports.net/live. The Longhorns are coming off a midweek loss to UTSA. Here's a breakdown from LSU on the weekend ahead in the Lone Star State.<doc-sep>For the first time since 2009, the LSU Tigers are set to play a weekend series against the Texas Longhorns in Austin, as the nation’s No. 2-ranked team visits UFCU Disch-Falk Field for a much-anticipated matchup. Texas leads the all-tim series 22-12-1, but faces a major challenge a year after LSU beat the Horns badly in the first two games in Baton Rouge before David Pierce’s team avoided the sweep with a getaway day win. There’s nothing especially extraordinary about the three Tigers pitchers set to take the mound — one is a freshman and another is a sophomore who missed last season due to injury. The bats are a different story, however, as LSU has scored 13 or more runs in three of the last four games, as well as scoring 12 runs in the opener against ULM and 17 runs against Air Force two days later. Shortstop Josh Smith is leading the way with a .517 average and ranks third in the SEC in hits, runs scored, batting average and on-base percentage. In the outfield, Antoine Duplantis leads the conference in runs batted in with 23 after notching five on Wednesday against Southern. Meanwhile, fellow outfielder Zach Watson has gotten hot after Paul Manieri moved him into the second spot in the lineup — he’s 8-for-17 (.471) since making that move. So the Tigers will have the most powerful offense that the Longhorns pitching staff has faced this season. Can Friday starter Bryce Elder continue his torrid start? Can Saturday starter Blair Henley recover from his poor start and step up to the challenge posed by the LSU hitters? Is Sunday starter Coy Cobb ready to play in a big-time atmosphere? The answers to those questions will provide an early look into this staff’s potential this season. At the plate, junior right fielder Austin Todd has helped jumpstart the Longhorns offense with a .371 average and 12 RBIs. After losing 25 pounds during the offseason, junior third baseman Ryan Reynolds has arguably been better than Todd, leading the team with a .389 average and six extra base hits. If junior center fielder Duke Ellis can finally start getting some hits, he could serve as a catalyst at the top of the order — so far, he’s been most effective at drawing walks, leading the team with 16. Here’s the assessment of Texas from And the Valley Shook: Texas has a good team. They’ve got a deep rotation, a legit relief ace if someone falters, and plenty of options in the bullpen. They also have a potent offense that can hit for power while also showing speed on the basepths. They don’t give up too many outs, though they do have the standard bottom of the order guys who will lay down a bunt. This is a good, deep team, but it lacks those true high end stars. There’s lots of very good on this team, and even some potential greatness, but not a lot of established great players like LSU. On Friday, the school announced that the Friday and Saturday games are sellouts, but there are still tickets remaining for the series finale on Sunday. Each game will air on Longhorn Network, with Friday’s first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Central.<doc-sep>
Tuesday night's baseball game between LSU and South Alabama has been rescheduled due to inclement weather, the school announced. The two teams will now play at 6 p.m. April 3. Fans can use their Game 8 ticket on the rescheduled date. Pitcher Eric Walker was scheduled to start on Tuesday for the Tigers, his first start in 20 months. He'll instead make his return Wednesday when LSU (7-0) hosts Southern at 6:30 p.m. Back to his 'old self,' Eric Walker will make his first start in 20 months for LSU baseball LSU pitcher Eric Walker will make his first start since an injury forced him out of the 2017 College World Series, a span of 20 months, when the No. 1 Tigers host South Alabama. More ticket information can be found here. LSU sports news in your inbox If you're a Tiger fan you won't want to miss this newsletter. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Walker, a redshirt sophomore, has not started a game since he left the 2017 College World Series with an injury that later required Tommy John surgery. When preseason practice began, coach Paul Mainieri penciled in Walker as LSU's Sunday starter. Later worried about his endurance, Mainieri moved Walker's first start to LSU's game against Northwestern State. Rain postponed that game to March 12. Walker has allowed three runs over four innings this season. He made relief appearances against UL-Monroe and Bryant. He pitched 2 ⅓ scoreless innings against ULM. A week later, he allowed three runs against Bryant. “He's into the season now,” Mainieri said Sunday evening. “I just want to see him pitch well and lead his team to victory. I'm sure that's all he's thinking about at this point.”