The Tigers used their customary late-game rally Friday night to take game one of their three game series with Dartmouth, 8-4 in Alex Box Stadium.   Junior first baseman Mason Katz continued his hot streak at the plate, as he went 3- for-3 with four runs scored, two walks and a solo home run in the game.   Katz has now reached safely in 17 consecutive plate appearances, one shy of tying the NCAA record.   “I’m seeing the ball well, just trying to stay calm,” Katz said. “I’ve still got a lot to learn, I swung at a couple bad pitches tonight… I’m still trying to get on base for [junior outfielder Raph Rhymes] because he’s hitting well…I’ll give him my RBIs. That’s fine, as long as he keeps doing it.”   Quietly, Rhymes had another outstanding game for LSU. The Monroe native went 3- for-5 and drove in three runs, padding his team leading total of 15.   Amidst the hoopla of Katz’ on-base streak, Rhymes has driven in 11 runs.   “It’s all because of Mason” Rhymes said. “I’ve definitely got to give credit to him — he’s on base. I’m getting a chance to get the RBIs. He gets a little upset, because I’m stealing some of his, but he’ll be alright.”   While he hadn’t seen anything about this year’s Dartmouth team, LSU coach Paul Mainieri said Thursday before the series that he thought the Big Green would make a tough opponent.   He wasn’t kidding. Dartmouth hung tough against LSU sophomore Kevin Gausman in their first outdoor contest of the season.   “They came out and surprised us,” Katz said. “It was their first game outside and they swung the bats really well off of Gausman, which doesn’t happen very often. They came out swinging, but it was a good win.”   The Big Green touched LSU’s ace for 10 hits and four runs in 6.1 innings, and were on the verge of knocking him from the game in position to be charged with the loss.   Dartmouth took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the sixth when the Tigers put together their typical big inning.   Sophomore catcher Ty Ross — who was in the midst of an 0-for-13 slump — hit a one-out double to left-center field for his third hit of the night.   After a ground out, freshman leadoff hitter Jared Foster, who got the start in left field, knocked Ross in with an RBI double down the left field line.   Sophomore JaCoby Jones followed Foster with an infield single, and Katz walked to load the bases for Rhymes, who promptly hit a two-run single to give the Tigers a three-run lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.   “They came out ready to play,” Rhymes said. “They gave us a little shock.”   Gausman tallied 6 strikeouts in the start, and moved to 3-0 on the season.   Sophomore Joey Bourgeois and junior Nick Goody were lights-out in relief, combining to post 2.2 hitless innings with three strikeouts.   Game two of the series will go tomorrow at 2 p.m. in Alex Box Stadium. Sophomore Ryan Eades (1-1) will get the nod for LSU, while sophomore left-hander Mitch Horacek (0-0) will start for Dartmouth.   —-   Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]