Tigers jump to No. 1 in polls

It didn’t take the LSU baseball team long to return to No. 1 in the college baseball polls.

After winning last season’s national championship, the Tigers started this season No. 2 in the preseason polls.

But after a weekend sweep of Centenary to start the season that saw the Tigers outscore the Gents by a combined 34-12 margin, LSU is back at the top and is No. 1 in this week’s Collegiate Baseball newspaper Top 30 poll.

“We’re very pleased to receive this type of recognition, and I think being ranked No. 1 is certainly an inspiration to our players,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri in a release. “We definitely aspire to play at a level that allows to receive a top ranking.”

The Tigers got off to the strong start in the season thanks in part to dominant starting pitching.

LSU’s starters pitched 16 innings in the series and did not allow an earned run.

Junior All-American Anthony Ranaudo picked up where he left off last season in Friday’s game and worked five innings and struck out six batters.

But sophomore Joey Bourgeois stole the spotlight from Ranaudo’s gem on Sunday and he pitched six scoreless innings in his LSU debut.

The Lutcher native spent last season pitching for LSU-Eunice where he compiled a 12-2 record.

“I said last night that today would be like an audition for Joey Bourgeois,” Mainieri said following Sunday’s game. “But if he pitches the way he did today all season, we’re going to be pretty good.”

The Tigers will take over the top spot into the polls thanks to a hiccup by previously No. 1 Texas.

The Longhorns, last season’s national championship runner-ups, stumbled in the opening weekend of the season and lost their spot after dropping two of three games to unranked New Mexico.

Texas is No. 4 in this week’s poll.

The opening weekend was doubly special for Mainieri as LSU swept Centenary and Mainieri won his 1,000th career game in Saturday’s win.

The LSU coach joins his father, Demie Mainieri in the 1,000-win club. Demie Mainieri had a long career coaching at Miami Dade Community College.

“Of course it’s something I’m very proud of, but a lot of players and assistant coaches contributed to those 1,000 wins,” Mainieri said. “I’ve been very fortunate to coach a lot of great kids at some great institutions.”

The No. 1 Tigers return to the field today at 4 p.m. when they play McNeese State in Alex Box Stadium.

Nicholls swept in opening weekend:

Things did not go as smoothly on opening weekend for Nicholls and the Colonels were swept in a three-game series by Louisiana-Lafayette.

The Colonels’ offense was never able to solve the UL-Lafayette pitching staff throughout the weekend and the team was only able to muster five runs in the three games.

Nicholls will hope to change its offensive luck this weekend at home when the team takes on Bryant University, Tennessee-Martin and Houston Baptist, all as a part of the 2010 Big Boy Classic presented by Hampton Inn.