It will be a battle of the best hitting team against the one with the best pitching when Louisiana Tech starts a three-game series starting tonight against Hawai'i in the Western Athletic Conference season opener at Les Murakami Stadium.

"We've been really swinging the bat well as of late," LT coach Wade Simoneaux said before last night's workout. "Hawai'i, with the quality arms they have returning, should make it very interesting."

The Rainbows (18-6) lead all WAC teams with an earned run average of 3.86, lowered considerably after allowing five runs (four earned) in 37 innings in a five-game sweep of Western Illinois.

The Bulldogs (9-10) lead all conference teams with a .322 batting average. They average 8.4 runs per game to UH's 6.4

Still, Louisiana Tech, which has finished last in the WAC the last three seasons, was picked to place sixth, a notch ahead of affiliate member Sacramento State. Simoneaux said 14 of his 25 players are either freshmen or sophomores.

"We're awfully young," he said. "But it's an energetic group. They have fun playing the game."

The top returnee is all-WAC second-team third baseman Ryan Hamilton (.338), a sophomore who leads the team with 16 RBIs. Another sophomore is center fielder Adam Cobb (.351, 19 runs).

Among the freshmen shining is Sunday starting pitcher Jericho Jones, who will play right field or designated hitter the other games. He is batting .486 with three home runs and 10 RBIs. On the mound, he is 3-0, but with a 6.58 ERA. He would've been tonight's starter, except he pitched in LT's 14-5 win against Lamar in Tuesday's doubleheader split.

The Bulldogs have two seniors who pack the power in second baseman Amos Ramon (.423, 4 HRs, 15 RBIs) and DH Ben Tabor (.250, 5 HRs, 15 RBIs).

Besides Jones, LT has another freshman in the rotation in 6-foot-9 right-hander Luke Burnett (1-2, 2.41), who starts tonight against UH ace Steven Wright. The 35th-round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals in June has 20 strikeouts to six walks in 18 2/3 innings.

"He's not a flame thrower," Simoneaux said. "He's a good pitcher and he throws changeup, curveball, fastball. He's probably 88 to 92 (mph) at best. He's advanced for a big freshman. His better years are yet to come."

Senior right-hander Matt Lacy (2-1, 5.75) is always around the plate with a 17-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He starts tomorrow.

Last year, the Bulldogs took 2 of 3 here, while the Rainbows won two in Ruston. The third game — the last game of the season — was canceled because of rain. Coincidentally, rain is a threat for this series.

The conference opener pits the two teams geographically the farthest apart in the WAC. Yet, they will play a home-and-home series. Hawai'i visits Ruston May 4 to 6.

The past six years, the WAC played home-and-home series with each opponent. This year, teams do that with only two opponents. Teams play two different series only at home and the other two only on the road. The 24-game schedule is down six from the last four seasons. But for the first time since 1999, there is a conference tournament to determine the league champion, who gets an automatic regional berth.

"Now, anybody can go into that tournament and have four good days in a row and make it to the NCAA regionals," Simoneaux said.

Simoneaux added that teams will not be just playing out the string since no one, except for the seventh-place team, will be done until it is ousted from the double-elimination tournament.

Although the top six teams qualify for the tournament, which will be held May 25 to 28 at Beiden Field in Fresno, Calif., Simoneaux still wants to take the top seed.

"We want to win that conference," he said. "We're tired of being in the cellar."

Simoneaux feels his nonconference schedule was challenging enough to prepare the players for WAC play.

The Bulldogs were swept by No. 10 Arkansas, lost 2 of 3 from Texas-Arlington, but had road wins against Southern Mississippi and Baylor.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.