LSU needs home edge against Rice

There are only a few miles left until the Road to Omaha ends at Rosenblatt Stadium.

As we continue our in-depth coverage of the NCAA postseason, we take an inside look at each super regional. Our breakdown continues with the Baton Rouge Super Regional, where LSU hosts Rice for what should be an outstanding series.

The Tigers advanced to the super regional with ease in the Baton Rouge Regional. Rice, meanwhile, defeated Kansas State twice to get to this point.

LSU and Rice virtually are even across the board, but the Tigers are at home and is the pick in the Baton Rouge Super Regional.

Baton Rouge Super Regional: Who has the edge?
Pitching
	The two pitching staffs are so similar it’s almost scary. The Tigers have an excellent one-two punch in the weekend rotation with Anthony Ranaudo and Louis Coleman leading the way. Rice also has an excellent one-two punch in right-handers Ryan Berry and Mike Ojala. Ranaudo has 3.09 ERA in 102 innings and Coleman has a 2.72 ERA in 106 innings. Berry has a 2.00 ERA in 76 2/3 innings and Ojala has a 1.73 ERA in 62 1/3 innings. For Rice, also keep an eye on freshman Taylor Wall. With the squads identical in terms of starting pitching, the difference is in the bullpen, where the Tigers have a dominant closer. The Owls haven’t enjoyed that luxury this season. LSU closer Matty Ott has appeared in 33 games, has recorded 15 saves and has a 2.22 ERA in 44 2/3 innings. He also has struck out 62 and walked four, while teams are hitting him at a .246 clip.
Hitting
	If you purely look at team batting averages, the edge in this series goes to Rice. But look deeper and LSU has a slight edge. There’s no question the Owls have an explosive lineup with freshman Anthony Rendon leading the way. LSU, though, has more homers, has scored more runs and has a better on-base percentage. Sophomore shortstop DJ LeMahieu leads the LSU offense hitting .339 with 11 doubles, four homers and 38 RBIs. He also is slugging .460 and has a .407 on-base percentage. Sean Ochinko is hitting .333 with seven homers and 47 RBIs, Jared Mitchell is hitting .333 with nine homers and 42 RBIs, Ryan Schimpf is hitting .332 with 18 homers and 59 RBIs, Blake Dean is hitting .326 with 15 homers and 64 RBIs and Mikie Mahtook is hitting .323 with six homers and 29 RBIs. The Tigers have several hitters to watch out for this weekend.
Fielding
	The Tigers enter the series with a .974 fielding percentage and the Owls enter the series with a .971 fielding percentage. We’re giving the edge to the Owls. First baseman Jimmy Comerota has a .996 fielding percentage and at third base, Rendon is fielding at a .945 clip. Also worth noting, second baseman Brock Holt is fielding .974 and shortstop Rick Hague is fielding .935. The only area LSU has a distinct advantage is behind the plate, where Rice’s Diego Seastrunk is fielding .974 as compared to .991 for Micah Gibbs. Still, though, the Owls have the overall edge in the field. That could mean a lot in this series.
Intangibles
	The Tigers could have up to 10,000 screaming fans at Alex Box Stadium this weekend, but don’t look for that to deter Rice. The Owls are more than used to dealing with fans in hostile environments. LSU coach Paul Mainieri is one of the best in the business, but also throw in the Wayne Graham factor. Graham is the long-time coach of the Owls and is the best in the business when it comes to preparing his team for a big series. Despite all chips being stacked against the Owls this weekend, the Graham factor could put them over the top and back in Omaha. This will be a fabulous series.