The LSU baseball team is in first place in the SEC West, one game ahead of Mississippi State, entering the final week of the regular season. The Tigers will host Northwestern State tomorrow and Coach Paul Mainieri says they’ll start freshman right-hander Todd Peterson on the hill and hope he can go five innings. Mainieri says Peterson is auditioning to be a fourth starter in the post season.

LSU’s Alex Lange has been Snake EC Pitcher of the Week. Lange tossed a five-hit shuout against Auburn last week. Nicholls State redshirt senior pitcher Mike Hanchar has been named Southland Conference Pitcher of the week. The six-foot-five southpaw threw his first career complete-game shutout against UNO last week.

A statement from the New Orleans Pelicans says general manager Dell Demps and head coach Alvin Gentry will be back next season. Gentry is heading into his third season, while Demps has been the GM since 2010 and the franchise has made two playoff appearances.

LSU Head Football Coach Ed Orgeron appeared on the SEC teleconference today and discussed why he called for competition at starting quarterback, even though Danny Etling started 10 games last season. Orgeron says they have a new offense and wanted to give everyone a chance, but “O” admits that Etling is the clear cut favorite…
cut 30 (24) “…hard to beat”
Etling is coming off minor back surgery.

Three teams from Louisiana will be in the NCAA Baton Rouge softball regional. LSU is the top seed, while the Cajuns will be the second seed and McNeese State is the third seed. Louisiana Tech will be in the Tuscaloosa Regional.