LSU opens up SEC play with one of the most prominent teams out of the SEC.
No. 2 LSU Tigers (16-2) at Mississippi State Bulldogs (13-5)
DATES/TIMES
- Friday, March 15 @ 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
- Saturday, March 16 @ 4 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
- Sunday, March 17 @ 1 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
STADIUM
- Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium (7,200)
RANKINGS
- LSU – No. 2 Baseball America; No. 2 USA Today; No. 2 D1 Baseball
- MSU – unranked
RADIO
- LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
- Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
TV/ONLINE
- The games on Friday and Sunday will be streamed on SEC Network +; Saturday’s game will be televised on the SEC Network
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – Jr. RH Luke Holman (4-0, 0.00 ERA, 24.0 IP, 4 BB, 40 SO)
MSU – So. RH Evan Siary (0-1, 4.50 ERA, 6.0 IP, 0 BB, 7 SO)
Game 2
LSU – So. LH Gage Jump (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 13.1 IP, 2 BB, 21 SO
MSU – Jr. RH Khal Stephen (2-1, 3.38 ERA, 21.1 IP, 4 BB, 26 SO)
Game 3
LSU – Jr. RH Thatcher Hurd (1-1, 4.76 ERA, 17.0 IP, 7 BB, 26 SO)
MSU – So. BHP Jurrangelo Cijntje (3-0, 2.08 ERA, 21.2 IP, 11 BB, 35 SO)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
LSU will hit the road for its first SEC weekend series of the year against longtime SEC foe Mississippi State.
LSU and Mississippi State are often considered to be the cornerstone programs of SEC baseball as both schools brought prominence to SEC baseball in the 1980s due to their legendary head coaches: LSU’s Skip Bertman and Mississippi STate’s Ron Polk, who is often dubbed the “godfather of SEC baseball”.
LSU has made it to the College World Series 19 times while Mississippi State punched its ticket to Omaha 12 times. In their most recent trips to Omaha, the Tigers and the Bulldogs both won the national championship. LSU defeated Florida in three games in 2023 to win its seventh national title while Mississippi State defeated Vanderbilt in three games in 2021 to win its first-ever national title in school history regardless of sport.
Mississippi State leads the overall series with LSU, 210-195-1, but LSU has won 13 of the past 16 SEC regular season series with the Bulldogs. LSU has also won four of the past six series. However, Mississippi State won two of three games over the Tigers last season (May 11-13) in Baton Rouge in one of the biggest upsets of the college baseball season. The Bulldogs’ other series victory over LSU over the past 16 full seasons came in 2021, a 2-1 series victory in Baton Rouge.
Despite winning 10 of its 11 games, Mississippi State struggled early on with consistency. If the Bulldogs don’t turn it around soon with a grueling SEC schedule in the next two months, head coach Chris Lemonis could be out of a job after missing postseason play the two previous seasons after leading Mississippi State to its first-ever national championship in 2021.
A series win for Mississippi State can set the tone for the Bulldogs. However, LSU has the hot hand and will be the favorites to win the series after it was announced that Mississippi State ace pitcher Nate Dohm will be out for Friday night.
Pitching Rotation
After being one of the worst pitching teams in the country a year ago, Mississippi State is one of the nation’s best as they are fifth in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio, 11th in strikeouts per nine innings and have a 3.47 ERA, which is best for 15th nationally.
However, the Bulldogs are in the danger zone due to Dohm’s injury. He had a 4-0 record with a 1.50 ERA and 32 strikeouts through 24.0 innings pitched.
The pitcher replacing Dohm is right-hander Evan Siary (0-1) who has been used as a reliever for most of this season. You should expect to see Mississippi State use a lot of relievers for game one of the series not only because of not having a true starting pitcher on Friday but also because Siary has allowed seven hits through six innings pitched and has a batting average allowed of .280.
Right-hander Khal Stephen (2-1) will get the start on Saturday. Stephen has a 3.38 ERA with four walks and 26 strikeouts through 21.1 innings. He also has a .208 batting average against opposing batters.
The toughest pitcher LSU will face is Mississippi State’s day three starter, Jurrangelo Cijntje (3-0). Cijntje might be the most talented arm on the Bulldogs’ pitching staff as he is a switch pitcher, something that is extremely rare. He has a 2.08 ERA, 11 BB, and a team-high 35 strikeouts on the year. It is usually a bad day to be an opposing batter when Cijntje is on the mound as opposing batters have a .139 batting average against him.
Look for Brooks Auger, Tyler Davis and Cam Scheulke to come out of the bullpen as they all have at least seven appearances this season.
Position Players
Mississippi State has struggled with consistency behind the plate as the Bulldogs are 10th in the SEC in batting average. It doesn’t have a lot of great bats but they have five relatively reliable ones.
MSU outfielder Dakota Jordan is batting .415 this season with seven doubles, nine homers and 28 RBI which all are team-highs. He is second in the SEC in home runs, RBI and slugging percentage (.938).
Another player to watch is All-SEC performer Hunter Hines. Hines is batting .276 with two doubles, a home run and 16 RBIs.
Centerfielder Connor Hujsak is batting .327 with five doubles, a triple, a home run and 13 RBIs.
Second baseman David Mershon is batting .404 on the year with six doubles, two triples and 14 RBIs.
Designated hitter/infielder Amani Larry is batting .309 on the year with six doubles and two homers.