Meet the Teams Who Could Possible Face Off Against LSU

Friday at approximately 6:30 p.m., the LSU Tigers will take the field in the team's first game of the SEC series in the quarterfinals. However, before that, three teams are competing to secure that spot.

So, who are these teams, and what does LSU have to worry about on Friday evening? The three teams are the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the Texas A&M Aggies and the Auburn Tigers.

Mississippi State:

The Bulldogs from the neighboring state aren't strangers to the Tigers. LSU and Mississippi State have faced off more than 400 times, with the Bulldogs leading the all-time series 219-194. However, the Tigers have been steadily closing that gap in recent years. After being swept by them earlier this season in the early hours of the morning due to 9 p.m. starting times following severe weather in Baton Rouge, what are the concerns about the Bulldogs?

For starters, the Bulldog offence has assembled a strong lineup with lead-off hitters Ace Reece, Hunter Hines, and Joe Powell. When the bats get hot, the balls are in trouble because these players know how to make just the right contact in clutch moments to rack up the runs. With a team batting average of .309 compared to LSU's .306, there will be a heavy reliance on the pitcher's mound to slow down these hits.

Now on the mound for the Bulldog is a bit of a toe-to-toe competition, with a WHIP of 1.26. When the Bulldogs find the zone, those three hitters who step into the box quickly come down, limiting the number of hits that an opposing team can get. Earlier in the season, it was hit or miss whether the pitching would be intact, but now there is almost no worry when the Bulldogs are on defense.

Texas Aggies

The fighting Texas Aggies are very familiar with the Tigers, with a long-standing school rivalry that often results in a heated matchup, not only during the regular season but also in the postseason. This season, the Aggies did take the series win against the Tigers, so if they were to beat out the Auburn Tigers, there is a determination to reclaim the victory they let slip away.

The Aggie bats are almost always hot, featuring hitters like Jace LaViolette, Caden Sorrell, and Wyatt Hensler. The Tigers have struggled against the Aggies in the past, who are patient enough to find the ball and swing for it, sending it way out of the ballpark. If LSU's starting and relief pitchers can shut down this team with a .263 batting average, there is a strong chance of walking away with a win to kick them out of the series.

On the mound, the Aggies' Friday starting pitcher, Justin Lamkin, has had a pretty impressive season. With over 79 innings pitched and 93 strikeouts, he is a formidable pitcher when he finds the zone. Having Ryan Prager come in on Saturday to help continue the hold on the mound has worked very well for the Aggies, with a team WHIP of 1.28; the Tigers' offence has a little to be worried about and have to ensure the bats are hot.

Auburn Tigers

The last time Auburn and LSU faced off was earlier in the season when LSU got swept back to Baton Rouge after a poor performance from all fronts of the Tigers' staff.

In the War Eagle hitting box, there is little threat to the LSU pitching staff if they are on the mark from the beginning. With a team batting average of .304, there is a .02 difference in the team's batting, but they don't have as many big-time swingers as LSU. Now that's not to say Auburn's bats can't get hot; after sweeping LSU, the bats did something to win those three games. But the question is, was it truly Auburn being a good team that was better than LSU, or was it the lackluster performance and cold bats from the Tigers?

The Auburn arms, on the other hand, are where LSU can take the leap to get ahead and stay ahead for the entirety of a game. With a WHIP of 1.31 although a slight difference between LSU, there is still less fear for the batters as long as the bats can get hot fast. However, that's not to say pitcher Samuel Dutton or Cam Tilly could be right in the zone, which would contribute to the strikeouts of the Tigers. Dutton has 89 strikeouts and a 6-3 record. Tilly comes on the mound with a 3-2 record and 52 strikeouts, which, compared to LSU, there is no competition between the better arms.

After the matchup between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Texas A&M Aggies concludes in Hoover, a clearer picture will emerge of who will face the Auburn Tigers in the quest to reach the quarterfinals on Friday evening.