SEC play is right around the corner for the LSU baseball team (12-1), but first up, coach Jay Johnson’s squad has one more non-conference weekend series.

After a perfect week that extended the Tigers’ now seven-game winning streak, they will welcome the Samford Bulldogs to town for a three-game slate that begins on Friday night at Alex Box Stadium.

“I’m proud of our guys and their approach to each game; they’re not taking any pitches off,” Johnson said in a release. “We do have talented players, and they’re focused and they’re not giving away pitches. This weekend’s series is important, because it’s the next one. I really trust our players to be in the right frame of mind; we’re going to get challenged, and I trust them to respond.

“We’ve just got to keep improving; Samford has some talented pitchers and a team that’s very capable, so we’re excited about this challenge this weekend.”

The Bulldogs enter this one at 6-6 on the year. After dropping their opening two series against Memphis and Southeastern Louisiana, they took two of three against Morehead State this past weekend. In its last outing, Samford faced an SEC team, losing 11-6 at home against Alabama on Tuesday night.

Here’s everything you need to know to follow this weekend’s series.

Game 1

• Date: Friday, March 10

• Location: Skip Bertman Field at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge

• Time: 6:30 p.m. CT

• TV: SEC Network+

• Radio: LSU Radio Network

• Live Stream: Watch ESPN (ESPN+ subscription required)

Game 2

• Date: Saturday, March 11

• Location: Skip Bertman Field at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge

• Time: 6:30 p.m. CT

• TV: SEC Network+

• Radio: LSU Radio Network

• Live Stream: Watch ESPN (ESPN+ subscription required)

Game 3

• Date: Sunday, March 12

• Location: Skip Bertman Field at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge

• Time: 1 p.m. CT

• TV: SEC Network+

• Radio: LSU Radio Network

• Live Stream: Watch ESPN (ESPN+ subscription required)

Pitching Matchups

• Game 1: LSU RH [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] (3-0, 0.50 ERA, 18.0 IP, 3 BB, 36 SO) vs. Samford RH Jacob Cravey (1-1, 4.86 ERA, 16.2 IP, 10 BB, 23 SO)

• Game 2: LSU RH [autotag]Ty Floyd[/autotag] (2-0, 1.54 ERA, 11.2 IP, 2 BB, 15 SO) vs. Samford RH Brody Westbrooks (0-0, 0.90 ERA, 10.0 IP, 7 BB, 11 SO)

• Game 3: LSU TBA vs. Samford RH Will Lynch (0-1, 8.25 ERA, 12.0 IP, 7 BB, 14 SO)

Series History

This will be the first time the two teams have ever met on the diamond. LSU is 13-0 all-time against teams from the Southern Conference with nine of those wins coming against Mercer.

Injury Report

LSU doesn’t have any new injuries coming into the weekend.

Batting Leader(s)

LSU: [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] (.465)

Samford: Garrett Howe (.366)

Doubles Leader(s)

LSU: Dylan Crews (6)

Samford: Stephen Klein (4)

Home Run Leader(s)

LSU: [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] (4)

Samford: Lucas Steele, John Anderson (3)

RBI Leader(s)

LSU: Dylan Crews (19)

Samford: Garrett Howe (10)

Stolen Base Leader(s)

LSU: [autotag]Jordan Thompson[/autotag], Dylan Crews (2)

Samford: Garrett Howe, Blake Bortak, Maurice Hampton Jr. (2)

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Story originally appeared on LSU Tigers Wire