LAKE CHARLES - The McNeese State baseball team will make its annual trip to "The Box" on Wednesday as the Cowboys prepare for a showdown with the No. 1 ranked team in the country, the LSU Tigers.
 
Due to the threat of potential rain entering the Baton Rouge area, Wednesday's contest has been pushed up to a 4 o'clock start.
 
The game will be streamed live on SEC Network +, avaialble at WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app. Wednesday's game can also be heard on KEZM Sports Radio – 1310 AM and online at KEZMOnline.com. Bruce Merchant will provide the call for the game.
 
Fans can also follow the action through Twitter @McNeeseBaseball with Live Stats available through McNeeseSports.com on the baseball schedule page.
 
McNeese (11-5, 2-1 SLC) clinched the opening series in the race for the Southland Conference championship over the weekend after taking two of three at Houston Baptist. The Cowboys' series win came just a few days after defeating another SLC foe in Sam Houston State during a weekday non-conference tilt.
 
If the NCAA Tournament were to begin tomorrow, the McNeese State baseball team would have a strong argument for an at-large bid if the Cowboys were unable to secure an automatic spot. According to WarrenNolan.com, the Pokes are ranked 27th in the College Baseball RPI. The ranking is the best among other Southland Conference members as well as Division I programs in the state of Louisiana. With the ranking, the Pokes trail only one SEC school (Florida - 9th).
 
McNeese will turn the ball over to junior hurler Ethan Stremmel for Wednesday's game. Stremmel will make his fifth appearance and third start of the season. He is 2-0 with a 3.45 ERA in 15.2 innings, allowing just six earned runs, with 13 strikeouts and two walks. He earned both wins during the same week with strong outings at Sam Houston State and Houston Baptist.
 
As a team, the Cowboys are hitting .287 clip that ranks fifth in the Southland Conference, with 61 runs scored, 24 doubles, two triples, five homers and 18 stolen bases through 16 games.  On the mound, McNeese has a 2.84 ERA, with eight saves, walking 45 and striking out 144 in 152.0 frames of work, posting a .975 fielding percentage. 
 
Senior outfielder Andrew Guillotte leads the team with a .368 (25-for-68) average and has posted four doubles, a home run, seven RBIs, nine stolen bases and has scored 13 runs. Lewis Guilbeau is second on the team hitting .339 and has recorded two doubles, seven RBI, six runs scored, six walks and a stolen base.  Two other Cowboys are batting over .300 on the season, including Connor Crane (.338) and Connor Lloyd (.333)
 
Six McNeese batters have paced the offense through the early part of the season, leading the squad in both multiple-hit games and multiple-RBI games.  Andrew Guillotte (9), Lewis Guilbeau (6), Billy Sommers (6), Matt Gallier (5), Cameron Toole (3) and Bryce Packard (1) have each posted multi-hit games while Guillotte, Toole and Guilbeau lead the team with two multi-RBI games each.
 
LSU (15-1, 0-0 SEC) enters Wednesday's game with one of the best overall records in the nation while being ranked in the top five of four major baseball polls.  The Tigers are ranked 1st in the Baseball America Poll, 2nd in Collegiate Baseball Top 50, 4th in Perfect Game Top 25, 4th in D1Baseball.com Top 25.
 
The Tigers are hitting .325 as a team with Kade Scivicque pacing the offense with a .417 batting average and leads the squad with a .778 slugging percentage and a .452 on-base percentage. Jake Fraley is second on the team with a .385 average along with three doubles, three triples and four stolen bases. LSU has recorded double-digit hits in 10 contests this season while the pitching staff has posted two shutouts.
 
LSU has yet to name a starter for Wednesday.
 
The LSU pitching staff holds a 2.12 ERA with 55 walks, 141 strikeouts and a .216 opponent batting average.
 
The Cowboys have faced LSU 37 times with the Tigers holding a 28-9-0 advantage in the all-time series.  The two teams met on April 2 of last season as LSU propelled itself to a 10-3 victory over McNeese in Baton Rouge.
 
Following the mid-week contest, the Pokes will return home to face Incarnate Word in a three-game Southland Conference series set to begin on Friday, March 13 at 6 p.m.