One of the Mississippi State baseball team’s most experienced pitchers has drawn the assignment of tackling the school’s
biggest rival for the first time this season.
Senior Ross Mitchell, who won his only appearance in the Governor’s Cup series against Ole Miss with a 5-1 win in 2013, will starting at 6:30 tonight when MSU (23-21, 7-14 Southeastern Conference) takes on Ole Miss (23-22, 10-11) at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The game is a non-conference matchup.
Mitchell, who is fourth in the nation with 27 career wins, is 3-2 with a 4.30 ERA this season. This will be his first start of the season. At press time, Ole Miss hadn’t announced a starting pitcher.
Mitchell has made 18 relief appearances this season. He has 14 strikeouts and 11 walks in 44 innings out of the bullpen.
MSU, which earned a 2-1 win against then-No. 25 Arkansas on Sunday, has won five of the past eight Governor’s Cup games. It is looking to become the first school to win three straight Governor’s Cup games.
Ole Miss went 3-2 last week in a five-game homestand. The Rebels had 68 hits last week, tallying double digits in four of the five games. The production helped Ole Miss improve its batting average by 15 points
In a series victory against Alabama, Ole Miss hit five home runs. Connor Cloyd (13-for-23, .565), Colby Bortles (9-for-18, .500), and Austin Knight (8-for-16, .500) hit .500 or better last week.
n Southern Mississippi will take on Alabama: At Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the Alabama baseball team (23-20) will play host to Southern Mississippi (23-16-1) at 6:30 tonight (SEC Network +) at the Hoover Met. The game will kick off a six-game homestand.
Sophomore right-hander Nick Eicholtz (2-0, 1.32 ERA) is scheduled to start for Alabama, while Southern Miss is expected to counter with junior right-hander Cord Cockrell (2-0, 3.99).
Southern Miss lost two of three games to the University of Texas San Antonio this past weekend, while Alabama lost two of three games to Ole Miss.
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