BATON ROUGE, LA. – There's a reason Trojans head baseball coach
Chris Curry schedules tough nonconference games. He wants his team prepared when they play in an NCAA Regional. The Trojans passed the test with a 7-3 win over then-No. 11 Ole Miss on April 15 and then dropped two games to in-state rival Arkansas later in the month.
Little Rock is leaning on those SEC experiences as they prepare to battle LSU, another SEC power, in the Baton Rouge Regional at 2 p.m., Friday on SEC Network with Dave Neal and Ben McDonald on the call.
"We play that kind of schedule here because we want our players to be ready for that competition and atmosphere when it is time to play in a Regional," Little Rock head coach
Chris Curry said. "We've said that all year as we played these teams. We want to learn from those experiences and apply them to this weekend. When we recruit players, we tell them we are going to play a tough nonconference schedule. That's an attraction."
Waiting for the Trojans (24-32) is one of the 'blue bloods' in college baseball that is looking to add to its 19 College World Series appearances and seven NCAA titles. The Tigers (43-14), who last won the CWS in 2023, finished third in the vaunted SEC and are the No. 6 national seed and ranked No. 10 in the College Baseball RPI.
LSU's pitching staff is one of the tops in the country with Anthony Eyanson (9-2) and Kade Anderson (8-1) leading the way. Both players are listed by different scouting services as potential first-round MLB draft picks.
"You can't change your approach," Trojans junior DH
Ryan Geck said. "You have to go up there ready to hit. They're both great pitchers. It's a big challenge for us, but I like going up against guys like that. We all want to play against the best."
The Tigers also have a talented batting lineup. Seven players are hitting .300 or better headlined by Ethan Frey, who hits .358 and freshman Derek Curiel, who owns a .336 average and has started all 57 games for LSU.
"They are multi-dimensional and have power all over the order from top to bottom," Curry said. "They've also done some short-game things across the season."
LSU is an upper-echelon SEC program like Arkansas and Ole Miss.
"When you play teams like that, it helps you in a situation like this," junior
Cooper Chaplain said. "We didn't play well against Arkansas in the first game and made some errors. We came back the next night and competed. We know we can't make mistakes, but we have confidence we can play with anyone if we play our best."
What may separate LSU from Little Rock's other SEC opponents is its aura. Alex Box Stadium/Skip Bertman Field may be the most electric atmosphere in college baseball. That homefield advantage has allowed the Tigers to compile an 111-29 Regional Record.
"Obviously, it is a very tough place to play," Curry said. "I think the biggest key for us will be the adjustment of the communication on the field and being able to hear each other and being able to communicate on fly balls and ground balls and bunt plays. Above all, just not being sped up in the moment. I have a positive feeling about that after seeing them play at Ole Miss and [Arkansas] on the road. I understand it will be different on a Friday in Baton Rouge, but there are some things you can draw from those experiences."
And Little Rock is riding a five-game winning streak and isn't favored by most pundits.
"If anything, it gets us loser, the stress gets lower because there is no expectation just because of how tough the regular season was," Curry said. "Last year when we finished first in the regular season, you could really feel the expectations. They were internal. Our internal expectations are always higher than our external. This team kind of has an underdog mentality, and they are glad to have a seat at the table."
