The No. 17 LSU baseball team (20-8) will travel for just the fifth time this season tonight when it heads to New Orleans to take on Tulane (18-10) in an in-state clash.
The two teams seem to be heading in opposite directions, with LSU winning three of its last four and Tulane coming into the game on a five-game losing streak.
Freshman Joe Broussard will get his first career start against the Green Wave, after seven mostly solid relief outings for the Tigers.
“Joe Broussard has pitched great baseball for us this year. He’s really coming on strong,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “He’s a kid I have a lot of confidence in. … I like his attitude, I like his competitive zeal and I like the way he pitches.”
The Gretna native has posted a 3.86 ERA in 16 1/3 relief innings this season with 19 strikeouts compared to eight walks.
“We’ve been using him exclusively out of the bullpen, and I just want to get him to start a game,” Mainieri said. “I don’t know how far he’s going to go because I think he’s a little too valuable on the weekends to let him go out there and throw 80 or 100 pitches.”
Mainieri said he plans to use several pitchers against Tulane, but he’s hoping for Broussard to keep the Green Wave in check early so his offense can get off to a good start.
LSU leads the all-time series 162-125-3, but the series has been tighter in recent years.
Mainieri sports a 6-4 record against Tulane during his tenure in Baton Rouge, and in Tulane coach Rick Jones’ 17 seasons, he has compiled a 20-21 record against LSU.
The Tigers and Green Wave split their season series last year, with each team winning at home.
The in-state rivalry has prompted some venomous comments from the Tulane fans, according to Mainieri.
“I’d walk down to the bullpen and I’d hear things that make me want to blush,” Mainieri said. “The people at Tulane, I don’t think they care for LSU all that much. They make their feelings pretty obvious for me from the things that are yelled at me.”
Junior outfielder Mikie Mahtook was named the Souteastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday after posting a .643 average with two triples, two home runs, six RBIs and six runs scored during the week.
“Mikie Mahtook is our unequivocable leader, not only on offense but in other aspects, too,” Mainieri said. “When he hits well, good things happen with our team. He makes so much happen. He’s got power. He’s got speed when he gets on base.”
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