When the LSU baseball team matched up against Tulane on March 26 at Turchin Stadium in New Orleans, the Tigers showed the Green Wave mercy.
The contest ended in eight innings, as the No. 2 Tigers (37-4, 15-3 Southeastern Conference) downed Tulane 14-1 before a mercy rule finally called the contest. LSU pounded out 15 hits, and senior first baseman Mason Katz and junior outfielder Sean McMullen tacked on four and three RBIs, respectively.
Even with the dominant win in their last meeting, many Tigers said they won’t overlook the Green Wave (20-20) as they come to Baton Rouge today.
“We know Tulane is a great team with great players and great coaches,” said senior left fielder Raph Rhymes. “This game … when you think you have it figured out, it comes back and gets you. We don’t take any opponent lightly. We treat every opponent the same, and we’re going to approach this game like an SEC game.”
Tulane is entering Alex Box Stadium on a two-game winning streak after downing the University of Louisiana at Monroe and the University of New Orleans last week.
Meanwhile, the Tigers are coming off a road series victory against Alabama, but LSU dropped the series finale Sunday in a 4-3 extra-inning loss.
Katz is looking at Tulane as an opportunity to regroup after the defeat.
“We don’t look at anything from [the last victory against Tulane],” he said. “This is a new team for us coming in. Last time, we went out there and had a great game. Especially with the way things went [against Alabama] for us, we’re looking to go out there and kind of fix some things up and move this season along into the second half.”
After pitching two innings and picking up his third victory of the season in a 16-inning marathon victory against the Crimson Tide on Saturday, junior
right-hander Kurt McCune (3-0) will start today in Alex Box Stadium.
McCune is expected to toss at least two innings, then LSU coach Paul Mainieri said he plans to use several bullpen arms to finish the contest.
Mainieri noted he was excited to finally see his team playing in Baton Rouge again. Seven of LSU’s last nine contests have been on the road, including two weekend SEC series.
He said he expects the Alex Box crowd to get his team ready to take on the Green Wave.
“We just lost our last game, and we didn’t play very well,” Mainieri said. “This is the stretch run. We’re happy to be home, and we’re expecting a big crowd. I don’t think we’re going to have any trouble getting ready to play Tulane.”
Who: Tigers vs. Tulane
When to watch: 6:30 p.m.
Where to watch: CST
Where to listen: 98.1 FM
“This game…when you think you have it figured out, it comes back and gets you. We don’t take any opponent lightly.”
