LSU to host Alcorn State in weather-torn Alex Box Stadium

BATON ROUGE – LSU’s classes were canceled, buildings were flooded, roads were closed and Alex Box Stadium suffered minor damages during torrential weather on Monday morning, but the game will go on Tuesday.

The No. 1 Tigers (37-7 overall, 14-6 Southeastern Conference) host Alcorn State (11-36, 4-17 Southwestern Athletic Conference) at 6:30 p.m. in the Box, which will be sporting two new, temporary foul poles.

The left field and right field foul poles came crashing to the field during the 50 mph winds in the storm with the right field pole denting the batting cage. The fence at the right field bleachers was also torn up by the winds, and Nicholson Drive, where the Box is located, was closed temporarily Monday because of flooding.

Two new permanent poles will be built for the Tigers’ next SEC home series, which will be against Missouri on May 8-10, LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. LSU plays at Mississippi State (23-21, 7-14 SEC) Thursday through Saturday.

The Tigers, who have won 14 of their last 16 games, are coming off the first No. 1 versus No. 2 series in Alex Box Stadium history. LSU defeated No. 2 Texas A&M, 4-3, on Thursday and, 9-6, on Friday before losing 6-2 on Saturday. The Tigers remained No. 1 in all six college baseball polls on Monday, including the USA Today’s poll.

“I was very proud of the way our guys performed in a big-time, high-pressure type of atmosphere,” Mainieri said. “We know that there are even bigger games to come, where championships may be at stake.”

The Tigers lead the SEC West by a game over Texas A&M (37-7, 13-7 SEC) and trail SEC overall leader Vanderbilt (33-12, 15-6) by a half game, but are tied in the loss column. Nine SEC regular season games remain. LSU closes the regular season at South Carolina (26-17, 9-12) from May 14-16. Missouri (26-18, 12-9) is LSU’s only remaining league opponent that is above .500 in the SEC standings.

“We have to continue to play as hard as we can and place ourselves in the best possible position to reach our goals,” Mainieri said.

TUESDAY’S STARTING PITCHERS: Senior left-hander Kyle Bouman (1-1, 5.75 ERA), LSU, versus sophomore left-hander Jonathan Morales (0-4, 6.94 ERA), Alcorn State, 6:30 p.m.

NOTES: The Tigers hit .330 against over the weekend with 35 hits in three games against Texas A&M, which entered the series No. 1 in the SEC in earned run average at 2.43. That fell to 2.47. … LSU is second in the nation in hitting at .320. … Alcorn State is hitting .259. … The total tickets sold for the Texas A&M series over the weekend was 34,353. Actual crowds were more than 10,000 for each game. While there were empty seats in the bleachers for all three games, there were overflow crowds of standing fans in the concourse.