Illini facing the #1 LSU Tigers this weekend

This weekend the University of Illinois baseball team will play their first series honest-to-goodness series, that is, three games against the same team.  And boy, they will have their work cut for them.

Louisiana State is 9-0 for the season and ranked #1 in the country.  No disrespect to our former opponents but this will be our first real test of the season.  Our pitching which has held hitters so well so far in 2009 (a 2.72 ERA) will be challenged by the formidable lineup of the Tigers which is hitting .367 and slugging .636.

If you’re looking for a weak spot in their armor, they pitching is just as good.  They are second in the SEC with a team ERA of 2.56.

	Games #7,8,9	Record: 5-1
	vs Louisiana State University Tigers	at Alex Box Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA
March 6	7:00 pm CT
March 7	2:00 pm CT
March 8	11:00 am CT

This weekend’s series will take place at Alex Box Stadium aka "The Box".  It’s a brand new stadium, not even 10 games old and seating 9,200.  Given this is the South and the Tigers are #1, I’ll bet they come close to filling all those seats.

A look at Alex Box Stadium, home of the LSU Tigers

Do I think the Illini have a chance of winning this weekend?  Let me put it this way… I think this is an excellent chance for our team to really show what they can do.  They will be on the big stage, playing the #1 team in the nation.  If they can minimize the mistakes and continue their past successes, I’m realistically giving them a fighting chance.

Also, Illinois won’t have the pressure on them like LSU will.  What’s the worse that can happen to the Illini?  They could lose three games to a 9-0 team that is ranked #1 in the country.  If I know the players like I do, they’ll see this as a challenge.

A quick look at LSU this weekend:

Go Illini!