Another weekend is arriving and with it comes an opportunity for Mississippi State’s No. 17 baseball team to grab a much-needed SEC victory as conference play hits the midseason mark. After a hot start to the year, the Bulldogs (27-10, 7-8) stumbled winless (0-6) through their last two series against Georgia and Tennessee and now begin a road-trip at South Carolina (19-19, 5-10) with an opportunity to climb back above .500 in SEC play. Game 1, which will be broadcast on SEC Network+, begins on Friday at 6 p.m.
The Bulldogs are hoping to dispel a recent downturn of quiet hitting in conference play, one that kept them just short of winning games against Georgia over two weeks ago and one that left them completely overwhelmed by Tennessee last weekend. The Bulldogs, who are second in the SEC in batting average (.319) were outhit 33-23. Head coach Brian O’Connor said sometimes there are things you can do to fix a slump and sometimes that’s just baseball.
“Some of it is an adjustment of approach and things like that … but they just have to keep fighting and keep hanging in there,” he said. “There are so many teams in this league that are around .500 and whatnot, and that’s not our standard here by any means, and it’s not necessarily playing into the scoreboard but having the right approach in what you do. In the Georgia series and (against Tennessee), we didn’t get enough pitches and enough clutch hits. Sometimes that’s baseball, sometimes you have to make some adjustments.”
The team managed to get back on track Tuesday in an 11-1 run-rule victory at Samford in which it got two solo homers by Reed Stallman and Kevin Milewski and a single and two doubles by Ace Reese. The Bulldogs finished with 11 RBI for its most runs batted home since their 12-0 win over Southern Miss on March 24.
“I can’t really speak much on the vibe the last couple of days, but all I know is we had a great opportunity today and we came in with a lot of energy and swagger,” Stallman said after his team’s win at Samford. “I felt like the dugout and really everyone just had a lot better vibe tonight.”
He’s hoping the momentum will carry over into the weekend.
“Our mindset will be the same as always,” Stallman added. “We are very excited to get on the road and compete.”
Tomas Valincius (6-1) will get the start on Friday, Duke Stone (5-1) will be on the mound for MSU in Game 2 and Charlie Foster (0-2) will pitch the series finale on Sunday.
Surging Gamecocks
The Bulldogs have won two of their last three series against the Gamecocks dating all the way back to the 2023 season and have been mostly dominant in series’ recent history. On paper South Carolina looks as if it’s going through another rough year – and that is mostly true.
Paul Mainieri was removed as head coach in late March in his second season at the helm after getting the Gamecocks off to a 12-12, 0-5 start to the season that included losses to Northern Kentucky, Clemson, The Citadel, Florida and Charlotte. Associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Monte Lee was named the interim coach and helped the team snap its 0-6 start to conference games with a Game 1 win in a series loss against Texas. But then the team began to find some momentum.
After a narrow 6-4 loss to College of Charleston, South Carolina swept Missouri on the road and then took down Davidson 8-4 for the four-game wins streak it brings into this weekend. Part of that success is due to the surge of the long ball. The Gamecocks have hit eight homers in their last four games. Despite the recent success, the team still sits at 15th in the conference standings and near the bottom of the league in most offensive statistics: last in batting average (.248), runs scored (201), hits (311) and third in strikeouts (355).
The team’s pitching has also progressed alongside its offense with Amp Phillips being named the SEC’s Co-Pitcher of the Week on April 13 after striking out 10 batters against Missouri. The game lowered his ERA to 1.42 in SEC play. Against Texas the Gamecocks combined for a 2.33 ERA and 33 strikeouts while its offense hit five home runs.
Brandon Stone (4-1, 2.89 ERA) will get the start for South Carolina in Game 1. Phillips (3-4) will take the bump in Game 2 and Sunday’s starter has not yet been determined.
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