BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 14 Louisiana Tech will play its final road contest of the 2021 regular season on Tuesday, facing off against in-state foe LSU for the second time this season at Alex Box Stadium.
 
Tuesday's contest will mark the end of a stretch of 26 straight games against Conference USA opponents. LA Tech is 14-5 against nonconference opponents and 11-3 against teams from the state of Louisiana in 2021.

LA Tech's first midweek matchup since March 23 will now have a first pitch of 5 p.m. First pitch was moved up to 5 p.m. on Tuesday due to inclement weather in the Baton Rouge area later this evening. The Bulldogs will look to avenge their loss to the Tigers from earlier this season, which was LA Tech's second game of the 2021 campaign.
 
Tuesday night's matchup will stream live on SEC Network+.
 
Game Information
 
Game Time: 5 p.m.
Location: Alex Box Stadium (Baton Rouge, La.)
Live Video Stream: SEC Network+
Radio/Streamed Radio Broadcast: KNBB 97.7 FM | latechsports.com
 
Projected Starting Pitchers
 
LA Tech: Jarret Whorff (RHP)
 
Whorff: 8-1, 3.15 ERA, 65.2 IP, 57 K, 23 BB
 
LSU: Will Hellmers (RHP)
 
Hellmers: 6-1, 2.94 ERA, 33.2 IP, 31 K, 12 BB

About the No. 14 Diamond Dogs:
After an eventful, rainy weekend in South Florida, the Bulldogs will return to Louisiana to play their final game against a non-Conference USA opponent of the 2021 regular season. No. 14 LA Tech will face off against LSU for the second time in the same season for the first time since 1997, which is when the Bulldogs and Tigers each hosted one game apiece at their respective home ballparks.
 
After having its Sunday doubleheader canceled due to heavy rain in Miami, LA Tech had to settle for a 1-1 series split at FIU. The Bulldogs dropped the series opener after a 16-hour suspension in play from the final pitch on Friday to the first pitch of the resumed game on Saturday afternoon. The Diamond Dogs then responded in game two, scoring 10 runs over the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to record a 12-7 victory.
 
Third baseman Hunter Wells put the game out of reach in the top of the seventh, blasting a two-out grand slam to extend Tech's lead from 6-5 to 10-5. Wells' slam came on an 0-2 pitch, marking the Bulldogs' first grand slam this season. Right-hander Landon Tomkins picked up his team-high fifth save of the season after allowing just one earned run over the final four frames of the game. Tomkins did not allow a hit over the sixth, seventh and eighth innings in his dominant relief appearance.
 
Usual Sunday starter Jarret Whorff will toe the rubber for LA Tech on Tuesday. Whorff, who leads Tech with eight pitching victories, has helped the Bulldogs win their past 10 games with the right-hander on the mound. Whorff has delivered at least five innings in all 11 of his starts, posting his best start of the season against SEC foe Arkansas earlier this season. Ten strikeouts helped power him to a two-hit shutout over the Razorbacks back on March 14, handing Arkansas its first loss of the season.
 
The Bulldogs rank 12^th in the nation with a .305 batting average this season, which is the top mark in the C-USA. LA Tech's offense has slugged its way to 10 or more hits in 22 games, translating to 12 games with 10 runs scored or more. Seven Bulldogs with 95 at-bats or more are batting over .300, which includes sophomore Cole McConnell (.354), who went a combined 6-for-9 with two doubles, four runs scored and a pair of RBI at FIU over the weekend.
 
Leadoff batter Taylor Young leads the Bulldogs with 55 runs scored. Young's 55 runs scored is tied for fourth nationally and tops the C-USA statistical leaderboard. The second baseman has also been excellent defensively, posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Young has 102 defensive assists and has helped turn 22 double plays this season.
 
LA Tech is 6-17 against LSU all-time. The Bulldogs' most recent win over the Tigers came in 2019, which is when Tech raced past LSU in an 11-1 victory at Alex Box Stadium. Head coach Lane Burroughs is 68-43 in road games since taking over the LA Tech program back in 2017.
 
Scouting LSU:
LSU has heated up over the past month, winning three of its past five SEC series. The Tigers are coming off a series victory at Auburn over the weekend, notching an 8-3 win on Thursday before scoring the final three runs of the ballgame on Friday night to clinch the series win.
 
The Tigers have won 11 straight nonconference games following a 3-1 defeat to Oral Roberts on March 7. LSU has won all four of its games against Conference USA opponents this season, using a comeback to down the Bulldogs early in the season before sweeping UTSA in Baton Rouge in March.
 
Freshman Tre' Morgan highlights a talented, young LSU roster. Morgan batted .529 with three extra-base hits over the past week. Morgan leads the Tigers with a .363 batting average, 13 doubles, four triples, five home runs, 33 RBI, 49 runs and 12 stolen bases.
 
Starting pitcher Will Hellmers will take the mound in the midweek matchup. Hellmers, a freshman from Metairie, Louisiana, has not allowed an earned run over his past four pitching appearances.
 
The Tigers rank No. 22 in the most updated NCAA RPI Rankings. LA Tech slots in just two spots behind at No. 24.