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GAMETHREAD: LSU @ Tulane, 6:00, CBS Sports Network

LSU looks to extract revenge on their arch rivals for their defeat in March

By Adam Henderson
Adam Henderson

After a disappointing series against rivals Mississippi State and ahead of a road series against Ole Miss, LSU plays another rival, Tulane (26-13, 7-4, 2nd in American) in New Orleans. This is the return leg of their home and home up and down I-10, as LSU was completely lost in a 7-1 shutdown at the hands of the Green Wave. That game was right after the Texas A&M series and directly preceded the trip to Auburn that changed the tide a bit for the Tigers.

In that game Cole McKay got the start but didn't get out of the first inning after issuing four straight walks. Collin Strall was brought on to get out of the inning, but the second spelled disaster for Strall as he gave up three runs. LSU tried to cobble together a game with their bullpen, but the LSU offense was nowhere to be found, not even getting on the board until the bottom of the ninth when Deichmann singled home Duplantis.

Despite a bitter series where they reverted back to an anemic offense for one game, LSU is playing much better baseball as a whole. And so is Tulane. With an RPI of 39, Tulane is 4-1 against the RPI Top 25 and 7-3 against the RPI Top 50. After their victory of LSU in March, Tulane dropped a series to UConn before losing to Southeastern Louisiana in a midweek. Tulane looked like they were about to rebound after taking a series from a very good ECU club, but a midweek loss to ULL and Cincinnati brought Tulane back down to earth. Since then, the Greenies beat Southern Miss and then swept UCF, a great week for their resume.

Tulane is led offensively by first baseman Grant Witherspoon with a .406 OBP and 21 RBIs, while third sacker Hunter Hope is the big bopper for the Wave, knocking 10 homers thus far to credit 25 RBIs. DH Jeremy Montabalno leads the team in scoring hits with 31 RBis.

J.P. France (3-1, 3.98) will get the start again for the Green Wave, he was responsible for suppressing LSU for six innings in the team's earlier meeting. In 40 innings of work, France has worked a K/BB of 1.81 (38/21). Countering him will be Doug Norman, (1-0, 3.26) who in 18 innings has a K/BB of 1.75 (14/8)

The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network, also known as The Forbidden Network. You might as well try the radio tonight.