All of junior second baseman Ryan Schimpf’s frustrations this season faded Wednesday night with one swing of the bat.Schimpf hit a three-run home run against McNeese State in the sixth inning during LSU’s 6-3 win, watching the ball sail deep over the right field fence.”It was a relief,” Schimpf said. “We’ve been emphasizing being less passive at the plate, and I think that was a step in the right direction.”Schimpf is one of five hitters in the Tigers’ regular lineup with batting averages below their 2008 totals.Junior outfielder Blake Dean, sophomore catcher Micah Gibbs and sophomore outfielder Leon Landry are among the slumping Tigers.But LSU coach Paul Mainieri is confident his slumping hitters are going to turn the corner this weekend when LSU travels to play South Carolina after combining six hits and seven RBIs in the team’s two midweek wins.”I think they’re coming,” Mainieri said. “They’re so close. We’re getting real close. It’s just a tough kid to play. College kids just can’t do it every time.”With hits being scarce, the Tigers have rode strong pitching to a 15-4 start.The Tigers have a 3.40 ERA on the season, which ranks No. 2 in the Southeastern Conference.But LSU pitchers have not been immune to inconsistency either.Junior reliever Paul Bertuccini had a slow start in 2009 and has a 4.50 ERA, up from his 2.63 ERA in 2008.But Bertuccini turned in his best effort of the season Wednesday and pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts.Bertuccini said he believes some of his early struggles are because of the big leads the Tigers have had in some of his outings.”I love pitching in tough situations,” he said. “But it’s always good to get some work.”Sophomore pitcher Anthony Ranaudo will open the series on the mound for LSU.Ranaudo has been dominant in his first four starts of the season and has recorded 42 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings.The Gamecocks will counter with sophomore pitcher Sam Dyson who has a 2-1 record and a 3.18 ERA.Dyson pitched 6 2/3 innings of shutout baseball last season in the SEC tournament against LSU.”He throws the ball extremely hard,” Mainieri said. “But we remember him well … When they took him out of the game, we were able to get to their bullpen a little bit.”This weekend’s series will be LSU’s first outside of Louisiana this season.Mainieri said he hopes the time away from home will allow his team to build the chemistry it will need to make a College World Series run.”[South Carolina has] a brand-new ballpark that they’re equally proud of,” Mainieri said. “It’s going to be a tremendous environment. All the games are sold out, and I think our kids are excited about their first road trip.”——Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]