Following a series win at home over South Carolina, then a midweek victory Tuesday at UAB, Mississippi State is back to playing ranked opponents this weekend, starting a three-game series Friday evening at No. 12 Alabama.

The Bulldogs have had their way with the Crimson Tide under head coach Chris Lemonis, who is 12-3 against Alabama with five series wins in as many tries. That includes a 5-1 record at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa. But with MSU sitting at 3-9 in Southeastern Conference play and the Crimson Tide at an impressive 7-5, keeping that series win streak alive will be no easy task this time around.

Alabama (28-6, 7-5 SEC) is on an upward trajectory under second-year head coach Rob Vaughn, who won back-to-back Big Ten titles at Maryland before taking the Crimson Tide job. Vaughn’s team has three ranked non-conference wins against North Carolina State, Troy and Southern Miss, and in SEC play Alabama took a game from then-No. 1 Tennessee. The Crimson Tide also won a series against Oklahoma, which the Bulldogs could not accomplish.

Sophomore shortstop Justin Lebron is Alabama’s offensive leader, batting .343 with a 1.179 OPS, 14 home runs and 56 RBI. Kade Snell may not have Lebron’s power, but he is hitting .393 with a .482 on-base percentage. First baseman Will Hodo, outfielder Richie Bonmolo Jr. and third baseman Jason Torres make this one of the deeper lineups in the SEC.

“They just play really good baseball,” Lemonis said. “They have a couple of really good starters on the mound. The star of college baseball playing shortstop for them. And a really good group around them. They play really good. I respect that group a lot.”

Left-hander Zane Adams will start for the Crimson Tide in Friday’s series opener, and he leads Alabama in innings pitched but has just a 5.09 ERA. Riley Quick (3.42 ERA in 26 ⅓ innings) will start Saturday’s game, with Sunday’s starter not yet announced. The Crimson Tide do not get much length out of their starters — Adams averages less than five innings per start, with Quick frequently not making it out of the fourth.

Alabama’s strength on the mound is the back end of its bullpen. Closer Carson Ozmer has a 1.29 ERA and an SEC-leading 10 saves in 21 innings. Hagan Banks, Coulson Buchanan and Braylon Myers are also excellent late-inning relief options.

MSU will start ace lefty Pico Kohn on Friday, Evan Siary on Saturday and Karson Ligon on Sunday. Ligon is coming off his best start as a Bulldog, throwing six one-hit shutout innings in a win over South Carolina. He will need to mix up his pitches and probably work at least five innings this time out against a strong Crimson Tide offense. MSU also needs length out of Kohn to preserve its best relievers for Siary’s start on Saturday.

Offensively, the Bulldogs putting up big innings early will be important to avoid facing Alabama’s best relievers with a deficit. That means taking advantage of runners in scoring position in the early innings, jumping on starters the first time through the order and being aggressive in the strike zone.

MSU is ranked 47th in the RPI, which would put the Bulldogs close to the NCAA Tournament but not quite in the field. These games against the Crimson Tide, who have an RPI of 9, are big opportunities to move back into the postseason picture.

“We have to go out and earn it,” Lemonis said. “Go get them. There’s no excuses. At the end of the day, we’ll either have success or not, but we have to prepare well, get in there and get in the middle of the ring and be ready to fight.”