Two days after romping Southeastern Conference rival Ole Miss, 18-6, the No. 1 LSU baseball team is set to hit the road to face inner-city foe Southern at 6 p.m. tonight at Lee-Hines Field.
The Tigers (18-2, 2-1 SEC) are coming off their first SEC series win during the weekend, where they collected 41 hits, 11 extra base hits and 27 runs. The Tigers’ win Sunday featured the most runs scored against the Rebels since 1936.
“Let’s take it one year at a time, and let’s put the best team we can on the field right now and go for it,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “We have a team that could compete for it all, so why would we sell ourselves short this year?”
LSU’s powerful weekend keeps it at the top of the SEC in nearly all batting statistics with a .323 batting average, .482 slugging percentage, 229 total hits, 12 triples and 341 total bases. 
LSU seniors Kade Scivicque and Conner Hale have been hot at the plate for the Tigers this season. Scivicque is batting .420 with a .680 slugging percentage and a .448 on-base percentage, which are all team bests.
Hale is batting .378 with a team-best seven doubles and 19 RBIs. Hale has reached safely in 19 of the Tigers’ first 20 games, with his only hitless game coming in a 7-0 victory against McNeese State on March 11.
Mainieri said he will give Hale a rest day against the Jaguars (2-8) due to arm soreness, but he will be ready to go for the weekend series against Arkansas.
LSU is ranked second in the SEC in RBIs with 133, which is 13 behind No. 5 Texas A&M. The Tigers’ ability to drive in runs has vastly improved since their slow start to the season against the likes of Nicholls State and Kansas.
Southern comes into the game with a 6.67 team ERA, having allowed seven triples on the year. The Jaguars’ struggles in the Southwestern Athletic Conference this season could hamper their hopes of a possible upset, but Mainieri said he expects a challenge when they take the field tonight.
“We’re looking forward to the long drive across town to the Bluff,” Mainieri said. “[2008] was the last time we were there. I know that they’ve had a little bit of a tough start to the season, but they had a big win [Sunday]. They’ve got some good players. They always do.”
Tonight’s game marks the first of nine road games in the Tigers’ next 12 games, putting them in true enemy territories for the first time this season.
The test begins against the Jaguars, and Mainieri said LSU is ready to take on the challenge ahead.
“We’re ready — more than ready,” Mainieri said. “We’re excited about it. This is going to be a challenging part of our schedule, starting with [tonight] going on the road and then to Arkansas.”
You can reach Jack Chascin on Twitter @Chascin_TDR.