Preview: LSU Hosts Mississippi State For Weekend Series

Tigers dialed in for their SEC matchup against the Bulldogs, final regular season home series.

DATES/TIMES

• Friday, May 12 @ 7:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
• Saturday, May 13 @ 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
• Sunday, May 14 @ 1 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)

STADIUM

• Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Baton Rouge, La. (10,326)

RANKINGS

• LSU – No. 2 in all polls (No. 3 in NCAA RPI)
• MSU - unranked

RADIO

· LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates, including 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge

· Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com

ONLINE/TV

• All three games will be streamed on SEC Network +
• Friday’s game will also be televised on the SEC Network

PROMOTIONS

The first 2,500 fans at each game this weekend will receive a free poster featuring an LSU player … the featured players this weekend are Dylan Crews, Paul Skenes and Jordan Thompson.

PITCHING (LSU):

Friday: Paul Skenes

Saturday: Ty Floyd 

Sunday: TBD

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE

· Mississippi State leads the overall series with LSU, 208-194-1, but LSU has won 13 of the past 15 SEC regular season series with the Bulldogs … LSU has also won four of the past five series, including a three-game sweep last season in Starkville, Miss. … Mississippi State’s series win in Baton Rouge in 2016 broke a string of nine straight series wins for LSU over MSU from 2007-15 … the Bulldogs’ only other series victory over LSU over the past 15 full seasons came in 2021, a 2-1 series victory in Baton Rouge.

QUOTING LSU COACH JAY JOHNSON

“Mississippi State’s last two series have been against Tennessee and Arkansas, two of the best teams in the country. When I evaluate them, I see quality talent. I see an SEC team on offense that has a lot of speed. They have a good balance of left and right-handed hitters, and they have some power. On the mound, they have some really talented pitchers. It’s a tough league – the only reason Mississippi State is where they are in the standings is because they’re in the SEC. They would be near the top of any other league in the country.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS

• LSU enters this weekend’s series just 0.5 game behind Vanderbilt and Arkansas for first place in the overall SEC standings … the Tigers are seeking the school’s first SEC regular-season title since 2017.

• The Tigers were the nation’s consensus No. 1-ranked team for 12 consecutive weeks, from the beginning of the 2023 season on February 17 through May 7 … the Tigers are ranked No. 2 this week in all of the college baseball polls.

• LSU’s 38-10 record is its best through 48 games since 2015, when the Tigers were 40-8 … LSU’s 16-7 SEC record this season is the Tigers’ best conference mark through 23 games since the 2015 club was also 16-7 in league play.

• LSU suffered its first series loss of the season last weekend by dropping two of three games at Auburn … the series loss marked the Tigers’ first since May 13-15, 2022, when LSU was defeated in a series by Ole Miss … LSU had played eight straight SEC weekends – dating back to last season – without a league series loss before falling short in two games at Auburn.

• The Tigers’ eight-game SEC win streak ended with last Saturday’s loss at Auburn; the eight-game SEC win streak was LSU’s longest in a single season since 2017, when the Tigers won eight straight league games from May 6-May 20 … last Sunday’s loss at Auburn marked the first time this season that LSU has lost two games in a row.

• LSU’s 10-0 win at Southeastern Louisiana (May 2) and 3-0 win at Auburn (May 5) last week give the Tigers nine shutouts this season, a figure which leads the nation.

• LSU is No. 1 in the SEC in eight offensive categories – batting average (.313), slugging percentage (.566), on-base percentage (.442), runs (465), hits (497), RBI (426), doubles (94) and hit-by-pitch (105).

• LSU centerfielder Dylan Crews increased his reached base streak to 52 straight games, which includes all 48 games this season and the final four games of last season … Crews is No. 2 in the nation in batting average (.457), No. 2 in on-base percentage (.607), No. 2 in runs (75) and No. 3 in walks (51).

• Junior right-hander Paul Skenes was named SEC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after he defeated Auburn last Friday night, working a season-high 7.1 innings and allowing no runs on six hits with one walk and a career-high 15 strikeouts … he became the first LSU pitcher to record 15 strikeouts in a game since Tyler Jones fanned 15 at the University of New Orleans on May 17, 2011 … Skenes’ outing marked the most strikeouts by an LSU pitcher in an SEC game since April 24, 2009, when Anthony Ranaudo fanned 15 against Auburn in Baton Rouge … Skenes improved to 9-1 on the year, and he leads the nation in strikeouts (139), strikeouts per nine innings (17.22), strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.69) and WHIP (0.77) … he is also No. 1 in the SEC in ERA (1.73), innings pitched (72.2) and opponent batting average (.165).

• LSU third baseman Tommy White leads the nation in RBI per game (1.80), and he is No. 2 in the nation in total RBI (79) … he is hitting .476 (10-for-21) in the Tigers’ last five games with four doubles, two homers and eight RBI.

• Catcher Hayden Travinski is hitting .538 (7-for-13) in the last four games he has played with one double, two homers and seven RBI … Travinski has homered once in each of LSU’s past three SEC series versus Ole Miss, Alabama and Auburn … second baseman Gavin Dugas is No. 3 in the nation in hit-by-pitch with 23.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS

· Mississippi State (6-18) is tied for sixth place in the SEC Western Division with Ole Miss … the Bulldogs’ scheduled non-conference game with Memphis on Tuesday was canceled due to inclement weather.

· The Bulldogs are No. 10 in the SEC in team batting average (.283), and they have 81 home runs and 69 steals in 77 attempts … MSU’s pitching staff is No. 14 in the SEC with a 6.74 cumulative ERA.

· OF/INF Hunter Hines leads Mississippi State with 22 home runs and 57 RBI; Hines is No. 2 in the SEC in home runs … outfielder Colton Ledbetter is hitting a team-high .318 with 11 homers and 48 RBI … infielder Amani Larry has stolen 19 bases in 21 attempts this season.