LSU opens its 2008 baseball season at 7 p.m. Friday versus Indiana, beginning the Tigers’ final year in Alex Box Stadium. The venerable facility, which opened in 1938, will yield its position as LSU’s home park in 2009 to the New Alex Box Stadium, which is currently under construction.

“I think it’s only appropriate that we send this old stadium out in a very proper way,” said second-year LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “Make no mistake about it, our goal is to get postseason play back into old Alex Box Stadium for one last time so we can relive a little bit of the old glory days of LSU baseball. I think we have a chance to do that. I really feel we have a team put together that has a chance to be pretty good.


LSU's Alex Box Stadium is filled with many championship memories

“I describe it to a lot of people that I feel like last year everything had to go perfect for us to win a game in the SEC, and somehow we were able to win some pretty big games. Now I feel like we have the talent to jump into the fight. I don’t think there will be a lot of teams in the SEC significantly more talented than us. I think we are going to be right in there fighting every step of the way.”

Game 2 of the LSU-Indiana series will start at 1 p.m. Saturday, and Game 3 begins at 11 a.m. Sunday.