The tigers (38-4, 15-3) host the gamecocks (31-11, 11-7) for another key weekend series which begins Friday night at 7:00.  LSU ace Aaron Nola will face South Carolina senior left-hander Nolan Belcher in the opener.

 The series will mark South Carolina’s first visit to the new Alex Box Stadium.  The gamecocks will bring a slew of left-handed pitching including game 1 and 2 projected starters Nolan Belcher and Jordan Montgomery as well as relievers Tyler Webb and Adam Westmoreland.

The tiger bats have struggled somewhat recently in the last two games having only managed 7 hits a game.  The challenge LSU faces this weekend will certainly test the tigers ability to overcome their recent struggles at the plate.

South Carolina leads the SEC in home runs and is a powerful hitting team.  The gamecocks won the national title in 2010 and 2011 while of course LSU won the college baseball title in 2009.  This weekend’s series will certainly have the nation’s attention.

All three games this weekend will be shown on television.  The first two contests including Saturday’s game 2 at 6:30 from Baton Rouge will be on Cox Sports Television and Sunday’s 2:00 contest will be picked up by ESPN.