Numerous LSU baseball players were named to preseason All-American teams. LSU sophomore center fielder Leon Landry wasn’t one of those Tigers, but LSU coach Paul Mainieri was not hesitant to put his name among the All-Americans.”Be prepared. This kid is going to have a great year offensively,” Mainieri said at LSU baseball media day. “You know what he can do defensively. Offensively, he is going to be spectacular.”Mainieri’s words are beginning to look more like prophecy as Landry’s bat was once again at the center of attention in LSU’s 11-5 victory Wednesday night against Southern (1-3).With the victory, the Tigers are now undefeated in their last 21 regular-season games dating back to last season. LSU tied Georgia, 10-10, on April 20, 2008, before the streak began.Landry went 2-for-5, including a two-run homer — his third of the season — over the right field wall in the fourth inning to put a spark in LSU’s offense and put the Tigers up, 3-0.”I’m just seeing the ball right now,” Landry said. “I’m trying to put a good swing on it, and fortunately for me I’m making some good contact and a couple of them are going out.”The scoring opened for the No. 1 Tigers (4-0) when LSU junior left fielder Blake Dean blasted a solo home run — his second of the season and 29th of his LSU career — deep over the right-center field wall in the third inning.Southern (1-3) got on the board in the top of the fifth inning on a groundout by Southern second baseman Romey Bracey to score designated hitter Edmond Morton, bringing the score to 3-1 in favor of LSU.The Tigers ran into trouble in the sixth inning when LSU sophomore pitcher Jordan Nicholson loaded the bases with no outs.Southern first baseman Frazier Hall scored on third baseman Gregory Whitfield’s fielder’s choice single to cut LSU’s lead down to 4-2, but Nicholson would recover to strike out the final two outs to get out of his jam.LSU freshman Chris Matulis (1-0) had one earned run in five innings with five strikeouts on the mound in his first start as a Tiger.LSU freshman pitcher Matty Ott came on in the seventh inning and pitched two innings with three strikeouts and only two hits surrendered.”Matty Ott was phenomenal,” Mainieri said. “He was the key to the second half of the game for us.”WEEKEND SERIESThe Tigers swept their weekend series against Villanova to open the new Alex Box Stadium, posting victories of 12-3, 11-1 and 6-3.LSU amassed 33 hits, including 16 extra base hits, in the series. Sophomore shortstop DJ LeMahieu had three of the team’s five triples on the weekend.The Tigers also showed their speed on the bases, as they stole 11 of 13 during the weekend.With the sweep, the team captured their fifth-straight regular-season weekend series.LSU returns to action on Friday night at 7 p.m. to start a weekend home series against Central Florida. Central Florida coach Terry Rooney and assistant coach Cliff Godwin are in their first season with the Knights after assisting Mainieri at LSU last year.—-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]