As evidenced by the new billboard in right field of Alex Box Stadium, the intimidation factor is back at LSU. The root of this factor may well be that the Tigers will take the field tonight as defending national champions for the first time since 2001. “I’ve been asked that question a lot about ‘Do you feel additional pressure to repeat?’ and these types of questions,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “I can tell you that we are approaching this year just like we have approached every year. I feel that every season is an entity into its own.”LSU’s title defense will start at home against Centenary in a three-game series this weekend with the games at 7 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.”Opening up with national champion LSU is a measuring stick for us,” Centenary coach Ed McCann said in a news release. “It provides us a gauge for where we are and where we need to be in order to achieve our goals.”The Tigers are confident they will achieve some of their goals as they start the season.”We’ve been feeling nothing but good thoughts,” said sophomore pitcher Matty Ott. “We feel like we’ve got a very talented team both offensively and defensively. We’ve got a good staff, and we’re looking to make another run at it.” LSU’s starting lineup will include four players who started the national title-clenching game in Omaha, Neb., plus two other players who saw a large amount of playing time in the 2009 season. Mainieri said he thought there was a large possibility of losing seven players who started in Omaha, but he is happy with the way the team turned out. “Even though we lost five starters that were in the lineup in the last game of the College World Series, I don’t feel like we’ve lost as much because Tyler Hanover and Leon Landry were not starting players in Omaha, yet they started I think approximately 50 games each last year,” he said. “So when you add them into the lineup and of course [senior first baseman] Blake [Dean] coming back, I really feel like we have six starting players returning to our team.”Sophomore left fielder Trey Watkins will lead off Friday night for LSU. Sophomore shortstop Austin Nola follows him, with Dean hitting in the No. 3 spot. Batting cleanup will be sophomore second baseman Tyler Hanover, who will be followed by junior catcher Micah Gibbs and junior center fielder Leon Landry. Sophomore right fielder Mikie Mahtook will bat seventh, with senior designated hitter Matt Gaudet at No. 8 and redshirt freshman third baseman Wet Delatte at the bottom of the order.   The Gents will combat LSU’s veteran lineup with a roster of 12 returning players from last season. “Our returning upperclassmen are the foundation of this team,” McCann said. Centenary’s probable starting pitchers will be three juniors — Boone Whiting will likely be taking the mound Friday with Justin Kraft and Stephen Tromblee pitching Saturday and Sunday, respectively. “Our strength is on the bump with our entire pitching staff returning,” McCann said. “We also have a lineup that can swing it a little bit, and we should surprise people early at our ability to play.”The Tigers’ probable starters on the mound will be junior Anthony Ranaudo on Friday, junior Austin Ross on Saturday and sophomore Joey Bourgeois on Sunday. —-Contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]