The No. 2 LSU baseball team travels to in-state rival Tulane today after winning its home series last weekend against No. 15 Ole Miss, continuing what could be a make-or-break stretch for the Tigers.”Before we started this series with Ole Miss, I looked at the next 11 games on the schedule, and I said this was going to be our toughest stretch,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri.The Tulane game is the 28th game, the halfway point, in the Tigers’ season.Mainieri and LSU hope to get the bats going after not hitting any home runs against Ole Miss, the first time since May 11-13, 2007, against Florida that LSU (21-6, 6-3 SEC) failed to hit a home run in a weekend series.”This was going to be the stretch that was really going to test our team. But I honestly felt … this is the stretch that the team is going to put it together,” Mainieri said. “It’s going to toughen us up to the point that it’s going to prepare us for the last stretch of the season.”Mainieri is confident the Tigers will fix things quickly despite the tough stretch of competition.”LSU, through [its] rich history, has always been a better team in April and May than February and March, and that’s how I feel we are going to be,” Mainieri said.The Tulane matchup has been a bitter rivalry through the last few seasons.”Anytime you play Tulane, it’s going to be a spirited, exciting ballgame,” Mainieri said. “I wasn’t there through the ‘90s and the early 2000s. I guess there’s been some really spirited games through the years.Mainieri has gone back and forth against Tulane (16-11, 1-2 Conference USA) since coming to LSU in 2006. LSU lost both games it played against Tulane, 16-9 and 8-3, in 2007, but the Tigers fired right back to win, 8-4 and 7-5, in 2008.Mainieri said one of his favorite parts of the rivalry is coaching against Tulane coach Rick Jones.”Rick does a great job,” Mainieri said. “Rick really manages a good game. I enjoy the in-game strategy against Rick. He really knows the game. I’m looking forward to that from a personal standpoint.”But LSU’s starting pitcher will be a young southpaw experiencing the rivalry for the first time.”I’m really looking forward to seeing how [freshman Chris] Matulis handles the whole situation,” Mainieri said. “This will be his real big test of the season.”Matulis is undefeated this season (4-0) and has a 2.51 ERA in 28 2/3 innings pitched.Junior outfielder Jared Mitchell said the storied rivalry doesn’t weigh on his mind when facing Tulane.”For me, it’s just another team,” Mitchell said. “It’s more of a rivalry with the fans.”Tonight’s game begins a stretch of four road games for the Tigers, who travel to No. 6 Georgia this weekend.
 
 
 
—-Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]