Preview: No. 14 LSU Fighting Tigers (30-14, 12-9 SEC) at Alabama Crimson Tide (25-20, 9-12 SEC)

DATES/TIMES
• Friday, May 6 @ 6 p.m. CT
• Saturday, May 7 @ 7:30 p.m. CT
• Sunday, May 8 @ 1 p.m. CT

STADIUM
• Sewell-Thomas Stadium

RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 14 NCAA RPI, No. 19 USA Today, No. 20 D1 Baseball
• Alabama – unranked

RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com

TV/ONLINE
• Saturday’s game will be televised live on the SEC Network
• All three games will be streamed live on SEC Network +

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. ALABAMA
Alabama leads the all-time series with LSU, 199-175-3, and the first meeting between the squads occurred in 1906. LSU has won 12 of the 14 SEC regular-season series versus the Tide since 2007, including a 2-1 series victory last season in Baton Rouge. Alabama’s series victories since 2007 came in 2011 at Tuscaloosa and in 2016 in Baton Rouge. LSU has a 34-12 mark in games played vs. Alabama since 2007 (29-12 in regular-season games, 5-0 in the SEC Tournament).

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“Alabama has a very good team, (head coach) Brad Bohannon has done a really good job in recruiting. The longer he’s been there, the more talented their roster has become. They’ve survived some tough injuries and some tough luck, but they have a good pitching rotation and competitive position players with speed and power. They’re going to fight, I know that, and we have to be prepared. In the SEC, every game is literally the same, because everybody can beat you; you’re always facing good pitching and defense, and a strong lineup of hitters. We’ll just focus on our play, get out there and be ready to go.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• LSU opened this week with a 10-6 win over Nicholls on Tuesday night in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field … the Tigers posted an SEC series victory at home last weekend over NCAA RPI No. 4 Georgia … LSU is No. 14 in the official NCAA RPI ranking entering the Alabama series … LSU, which is 12-9 in the SEC, is in a four-way tie for third place in the overall league standings with Auburn, Texas A&M and Georgia.
• Sophomore third baseman Jacob Berry led LSU to the series win over No. 4 RPI Georgia, batting .462 (6-for-13) in three games with one double, one homer and three RBI … Berry also posted a .500 on-base percentage and a .769 slugging percentage in the series … with LSU trailing Georgia, 3-2, entering the bottom of the ninth inning on Sunday, Berry started the Tigers’ comeback with a single and scored when Cade Doughty followed with a two-run walk-off homer … Berry also launched a three-run homer in the seventh inning on Saturday, reducing an 8-4 Georgia lead to 8-7 … Berry is batting a team-high .377 this season, and he leads LSU in hits (66) and homers (15) and RBI (45).
• Second baseman Cade Doughty delivered a walk-off hit for the second straight weekend last Sunday, as his two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted LSU to a 4-3 win over Georgia … Doughty also lined a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning to defeat Missouri on April 22 … LSU homered nine times in the Georgia series last weekend – centerfielder Dylan Crews hit three dingers, including two in Sunday’s win … true freshman leftfielder Josh Stevenson’s three-run homer on Saturday was the first dinger of his career.
• LSU is near the top of the SEC in several offensive categories, including batting average (No. 2 – .292); slugging percentage (No. 2 – .520); on-base percentage (No. 2 – .406); runs scored (No. 2 – 348); RBI (No. 2 – 327); doubles (No. 2 – 89); home runs (No. 4 – 79) and total bases (No. 2 – 780) … LSU’s batters have been hit by a pitch 86 times through 44 games of the regular season; the Tigers are No. 6 in the nation and No. 1 in the SEC in batters hit-by-pitches, and the next-closest SEC team in that category is Missouri with 75 HBPs.
• Senior right-hander Ma’Khail Hilliard improved to 12-0 in his last 12 career decisions as he defeated Georgia last Friday night … Hilliard pitched six innings, limiting the Bulldogs to two run on eight hits in six innings with three walks and seven strikeouts … Hilliard has not lost a decision since May 22, 2019, to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament at Hoover, Ala. … he worked out of two bases-loaded jams in Friday night’s win, including one in the first inning and one in the fourth inning; he recorded back-to-back strikeouts to escape the first-inning predicament … Hilliard retired seven of the final eight batters he faced in earning the victory … he is now 5-0 this season with a 3.57 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 53 innings.
• True freshman right-hander Samuel Dutton delivered the longest outing of his career last Sunday, working the first 4.2 innings versus Georgia … Dutton limited the Bulldogs to two runs on four hits with no walks and four strikeouts, and he fired 65 total pitches.
• The LSU pitching staff is near the top of the SEC in a number of categories, including ERA (No. 4 – 3.68); opponent batting average (No. 4 – .229); fewest runs allowed (No. 4 – 202); fewest earned runs allowed (No. 4 – 160); fewest hits allowed (No. 4 – 340) and fewest walks allowed (No. 4 – 152).

ABOUT THE CRIMSON TIDE
• Alabama is 25-20 overall, and the Tide is 9-12 in the SEC, tied for fifth place with Mississippi State in the Western Division … Alabama is No. 48 in the official NCAA RPI ranking entering Friday’s game versus LSU.
• Alabama is hitting .281 as a team (No. 9 in the SEC) with 79 doubles, seven triples and 50 homers, and the Tide has stolen 29 bases in 40 attempts … the Alabama pitching staff has a 4.27 ERA (No. 5 in the SEC) with 413 strikeouts in 396.1 innings.
• Alabama is led at the plate by infielder Drew Williamson, who has seven homers and a team-high 37 RBI … infielder Zane Denton leads the Tide with 12 doubles and 11 homers, and he has driven in 36 runs … outfielder Andrew Pinckney has a team-best .314 batting average, and he has 10 doubles, three triples, five homers and 21 RBI.
• The Tide’s Game 1 starting pitcher, right-hander Garrett McMillan, is No. 9 in the SEC in opponent batting average (.215) and No. 10 in the league in strikeouts (65).