Shreveport,LA- There is a showdown in the boot this week as the #1 LSU Shreveport Pilots take on #15 University of Houston-Victoria Jaguars. The top two pitching staffs in the nation meet up this week for one of the best Big Series of the Week so far this season. The #1 Pilots have a staff earned run average of 2.44, meanwhile the #15 Jaguars have the 2nd best earned run average nationally with a 3.10. One of the best pitching matchups of the year gets rolling TODAY! 

History

Since 2019 the Pilots lead the series 12-3 and are undefeated in that time for games in Shreveport. In regular season contests the Jaguars have only bested the Pilots once last season in a 5-4 walk off walk by Juan Perez (NAIA Ball was there for it), the other 2 Jaguar wins both came in conference tournament time in Sterlington. The last series win for UHV against LSUS came in Shreveport in a 4 game sweep of the Pilots in 2016, where the Jags outscored the Pilots 36-12. 

Schedule(all times local)

Friday, April 18th at 3:00 pm

Friday, April 18th at 6:00 pm

Saturday, April 19th at 1:00 pm

How To Watch

WATCH HERE

TEAMS

#1 LSUS Pilots 41-0/24-0 – Not much else needs to be said about this Pilots team. Still having a 0 in the loss column this late in the season is almost impossible to do in any sport, especially in a game like baseball and with the tough schedule Head Coach Brad Neffendorf has given his team this season. Pitching will be highlighted in both dugouts, especially this LSU-Shreveport staff that leads the nation with a 2.44 ERA as a team. Isaac Rohde is a name we are all familiar with now, and last weekend the All-American LHP was the first to reach 100 strikeouts for the second straight season, as well as owning a 2.04 ERA and only walking 10 batters in his 75 innings of work this year. Draven Zeigler and Cobe Reeves back him up in this rotation and make up the best pitching staff in the entire country. Both arms have electric stuff and have been up to 96mph this season, and both would probably be the ace on 95% of teams around the nation. They haven’t had this historic run without offense of course, and this lineup currently ranks sixth in the nation with a .366 team average. Ryan Davenport and Josh Gibson are one of the best 1-2 hole hitters in the country as they own a .442 and .441 average respectively. Preseason All-American Vantrel Reed and Jose Sallorin also make up one of the best infield duos in the country too, and all four will need to come up big against their RRAC foe. 

#15 UHV Jaguars 34-10/19-5 – Once again, we start on the mound as we talk about this UHV Jaguars squad led by Head Coach Johnathan Stavinoha. The Jags have made national headlines already this season with three Division 1 wins on their record as they look to go on the road and take down the undefeated Pilots. Brady Parker has been elite as the ace of the staff, as he sits just behind Isaac Rohde on the national leaderboard with 97 strikeouts and a 1.97 ERA in 64 innings so far. Jonathan Jones has fit in seamlessly in his first year in Victoria after coming over from Southeastern (FL) and adds another dynamic arm to an already great staff. Jones leads the team with 74.2 innings on the year with 89 strikeouts and a 2.44 ERA. As a staff they are second in the country with a 3.10 team ERA, right behind the team in the other dugout in LSU-Shreveport (I’m sure we can sense a theme here). CF Terry Burrell III is one of the most dynamic athletes in the country with 25 stolen bases along with a .359 average and sets the table along with DeeAndre Torres for first baseman Christian Garcia. The lefty just returned to the lineup after missing the last week, and what a time to get your leading hitter back as he currently owns a .489 average and 26 walks to just 10 strikeouts. The same goes for both of these lineups; they will get their biggest test to date when stepping in the box against these ELITE pitching staffs. Buckle up ladies and gentlemen, this series has all the makings for an instant classic, and possibly one of the best overall matchups we’ve seen in recent memory 

Staff Picks

Tyler – LSU-Shreveport

Taylor – LSU-Shreveport

Conner – LSU-Shreveport

Robby – LSU-Shreveport