Rumbelow to make season debut in relief tonight

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Tigers travel to Lafayette to take on ULL with Cody Glenn on the hill (6 p.m.)

By RICHARD FISCHER
Tiger Rag Associate Editor

LSU head coach Paul Mainieri met with the media Monday afternoon, and here are some important tidbits from the meeting.

The skipper said that reliever Nick Rumbelow will make his season debut tonight versus ULL. The righty strained an oblique Jan. 27 and was out of action for several weeks, but the coach is satisfied with his recent bullpen sessions and thinks he’s ready. Mainieri even mentioned he may be the first relief pitcher tonight.

That means he could take the ball from starter Cody Glenn in Lafayette tonight. The lefty will get his second start of the season after picking up a no decision versus Lamar last Tuesday. He went five innings and gave up an unearned run and three hits. He struck out five and walked two, recovering from a really shaky first inning to submit a nice performance.

“It’ll be a great environment for our guys,” Mainieri said. “We get to throw Cody Glenn right into the fire, find out whether he can handle it. It’s not going to be any more difficult than it’s going to be in Starkville, Mississippi in the middle of March so it’s going to be a good game for us to get under our belts and challenge our team.”

If he pitches well, Glenn could still earn LSU’s Sunday starter role if he seizes it from Brent Bonvillain. The senior hasn’t picked up a decision in two weekend starts. He’s gone 8.2 innings and allowed two earned runs in those outings.

“We’re going to continue to monitor the Bonvillain or Glenn situation depending on what Cody does [tonight],” said Mainieri. ”If Cody goes out there and pitches a gem, he’s competing for that Sunday role as well.”

Additionally, it appears that Chris Cotton is out of the running for the Sunday starter role. That means no “hybrid role” for the deceptive lefty.

“I’m going to leave Cotton in the bullpen. I’m sure of that,” Mainieri said Monday.

Finally, the coach indicated that he may have moved Ryan Eades to Friday night and Aaron Nola to Saturday night versus Brown this weekend had it not been for the Friday-to-Sunday rain delay versus Southeastern.

“I wasn’t 100 percent sure I was going to do it anyway. It just took it out of the possibility of considering it now,” the skipper explained.

#9 LSU Fighting Tigers (6-1) at Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (7-1)

DATE/TIME
Tuesday, February 26 - 6 p.m. CT

STADIUM
Moore Field in Lafayette, La.

RANKINGS
LSU - No. 4 by NCBWA; No. 4 by Collegiate Baseball; No. 4 by USA Today; No. 9 by Baseball America
ULL - unranked

RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
The Baton Rouge affiliate WDGL 98.1 FM
Pregame show starts 30 minutes prior to first pitch

INTERNET
www.LSUsports.net - live audio and stats

TV
KLAF TV in Lafayette only

SERIES RECORD
LSU leads the all-time series with UL-Lafayette, 47-23, as the teams first met in 1912. The Tigers are 15-6 all-time in games played in Lafayette, including a 4-3 mark in their seven trips to Moore Field since 1985. Tuesday’s contest marks LSU’s first game in Lafayette since 2002, when the Cajuns posted a 7-0 victory over the Tigers. LSU has won eight of the 12 overall meetings since 2000, including a 5-0 victory last season in Alex Box Stadium.

PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU - So. LHP Cody Glenn (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 2 BB, 5 SO)
ULL - So. LHP Kody Smith (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 0 BB, 4 SO)