GAMETHREAD: THE 310TH TULANE GAME, 6:30pm, SECN+

Here's your update on the walking wounded: Jake Latz is starting to throw bullpens, Kramer Robertson spent most of Saturday popping his pinkie back into place, and Riley Smith got a clean MRI. O’Neal Lochridge is still out, but Collin Strall is available again in the bullpen. Hitting coach Andy Cannizaro is preaching patience after LSU has left 55 men on base in 6 SEC games. After his fireball outing against ULL last week, Fr. RHP Cole McKay (0-0, 5.06 ERA, 5.1 IP, 5 BB, 7 SO) gets the start against Tulane.

But what of the horrible, no good, worthless, despicable Greenies? Trying to decipher their schedule is an exercise in frustration. For one, they somehow have STILL not yet started conference play in the AAC. They've got a west coast neutral site win over Arizona, but Arizona's on a bad year, and that trip also gave them losses to Nebraska and San Diego. Sweeping Pepperdine at home is good, right? They beat UL-L, but have in-state losses to UNO, SELA, and Nicholls(!!) They took 2 of 3 on the road at Texas, but it's a Texas where Augie Garrido is almost certainly already fired at the end of the season. The Greenies are ranked 27th in that one newspaper poll that goes to 30. Still, this is a Tulane program in rebuilding mode as David Pierce enters his 2nd year as HC.

At the plate, Tulane is scoring pretty well this year, with 23 HRs to LSU's 14. 8 of their regular 9 are slugging above .400. Highlights include SS Stephen Alemais (.415/.468/.547, 14 RBI) and 3B Hunter Hope (.337/.415/.651, 7HR, 18 RBI). Tulane steals nowhere near as much as LSU does, but C Jake Rodgers is a perfect 6-6. On the mound, the Greenies are going with RSSO J. P. France (4.71 ERA, 1-0, 3 starts, 8 app, 21.0 IP, 10 BB, 25 SO) , a reliever who has recently become their mid week starter in the last month. He got the starts and the win v Southern Miss last week and no decisions in losses to UNO and Nicholls. Tulane's staff ERA is 3.80 with an 80/212 BB/K ratio, look out for RSJR RHP Dan Rankin (1.38 ERA, 2-1, 8 App, 13.0 IP, 5 BB, 16K) out of the bullpen.

This will be the 310th baseball game between LSU and Tulane. It is LSU's oldest rivalry in any sport, going back to it's birth in 1893, a 10-8 win for LSU.