Preview: Sacramento State at No. -- LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. (Interstat) — The LSU Tigers will look to salvage a series split when they host the Sacramento State Hornets in the finale of a three-game set Sunday evening at Alex Box Stadium/Skip Bertman Field.

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT under a forecast of 85-degree temperatures and rain.

The series has been a contrast. No. -- LSU (12-4) romped to a 15-4 victory Friday afternoon, but the Hornets (4-10) responded with a 5-4 win Saturday, keyed by a strong bullpen effort.

A player to watch for Sacramento State is reliever Kurt Marton, who earned the win Saturday with 4 1/3 perfect innings of relief, striking out four. Over his last four appearances, he has allowed just two earned runs in 14 innings.

LSU will counter with right-hander Cooper Moore (1-1, 3.38 ERA). Moore took the loss Saturday, allowing one run over 4 2/3 innings. In his previous start, he struck out 10 over 7 2/3 strong frames in a win over Northeastern.

The Tigers’ offense, which exploded for 15 runs Friday, was held in check late Saturday by Marton and Sean Carey, who combined for seven scoreless innings of relief.

Sacramento State’s Cameron Sewell provided the decisive blow Saturday, a grand slam that accounted for all five Hornets runs.

Despite their record, the Hornets have shown resilience, while LSU aims to reassert its home-field advantage before opening Southeastern Conference play next weekend at Vanderbilt.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of LSU 7, Sacramento State 2.

Following the series, LSU hosts Creighton on Tuesday. Sacramento State returns home to face UMass Lowell on Tuesday.