Logan Tanner knows everyone remembers what happened late last February when Mississippi State hosted Tulane at Dudy Noble Field.

After the Green Wave bench harangued the Bulldogs throughout the Feb. 28 series finale, MSU reliever Brandon Smith screamed at the visitors’ dugout following a key eighth-inning strikeout. It was the culmination of plenty of tension on both sides, though it wasn’t the deciding moment in that rubber game. After Luis Aviles put Tulane ahead with a ninth-inning home run, Tanner Allen delivered a walk-off two-run single to give the Bulldogs a 5-4 win as they took two of three from the Green Wave in Starkville.

“That was a rowdy series,” Tanner said.

Another one could be in store this weekend when No. 9 Mississippi State (5-4) limps into New Orleans to face Tulane (8-1) once again. Start times are 6:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

For a Bulldogs team that lost a series to No. 25 Long Beach State, dropped a game to Northern Kentucky, barely held off Grambling State and lost to Southern Miss, the Green Wave might be just about the last team they want to see.

“They’re really good, and they’re one of the hottest teams in the country — and probably pissed off about last year, so we’re going to have our hands full,” Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis said.

Tulane averages more than nine runs per game and has scored 46 runs in the past three contests, while the Bulldogs have scored 58 runs all season. The Green Wave swept UMass-Lowell to open the season before taking two of three games last weekend at Louisiana Tech, an NCAA Regional host in 2021.

Tulane beat up on Southeastern Louisiana 23-1 on the road Tuesday before winning 10-2 at Texas Southern on Wednesday in New Orleans. It was quite the contrast to Mississippi State’s past two games: a 2-1 home win over Grambling on Tuesday and a 7-1 loss to Southern Miss on Wednesday at Trustmark Park in Pearl.

Tanner said not all is lost just nine games into the season, but so far, the Bulldogs hardly resemble the defending national championship team with six returning offensive starters they were supposed to be.

“We’re not letting the game come to us,” the MSU catcher said. “We’re trying to attack the game; that’s not really how this game is meant to be played. It’s supposed to come to you.”

Mississippi State’s struggles at the plate might not be solved this weekend against a tough Tulane pitching staff. While Friday night starter Tyler Hoffman has a respectable 3.86 ERA, Saturday starter Dylan Carmouche has allowed just one run in 13 innings for a 0.69 mark. Carmouche shut down Louisiana Tech over seven innings last Saturday, allowing just four hits and one run.

If that name sounds familiar, that’s because Carmouche transferred from Mississippi State after last season. He appeared out of the bullpen nine times, striking out 11 in 7.1 innings while allowing just one earned run.

If it’s any consolation for the Bulldogs, their own pitching rotation was solid last week against NKU. Unearned runs were an issue, but Landon Sims, Preston Johnson and Cade Smith combined to allow just two earned runs in 16.1 innings.

They’ll have a tougher test this weekend against Tulane’s high-powered offense, which features four regular hitters with averages of .300 or higher. Outfielder Ethan Groff leads the team with a .419 mark and a 1.268 OPS; three Green Wave hitters have 10 or more RBIs, including Groff and second baseman Chase Engelhard, who has a team-high 14. As a team, Tulane is hitting .284.

So Mississippi State is well aware it won’t have a cakewalk this weekend in New Orleans. It could be another chippy series between the two teams, but the Bulldogs won’t care — as long as they come out on top.

“If we don’t want to go down there and get our feelings hurt, we’d better come together and play some better baseball,” Tanner said.

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.