STARKVILLE — Winners of back-to-back Southeastern Conference series, the Mississippi State baseball team is working its way back into NCAA tournament conversation.
With no non-conference game this week, after Tuesday’s home tilt against Southern University was scrapped due to the Jaguars needing to make up some postponed games, the Bulldogs’ attention has turned to their biggest series of the season, on the road against Auburn.
With both teams sitting at 5-10 in conference play, and on the bubble of the NCAA tournament, a series win would go a long way for their postseason aspirations.
Here is what to watch for in this weekend’s series.
What: Mississippi State at Auburn
When: 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Plainsman Park, Auburn, Alabama
TV: SEC+ for all three games
Records/Rankings: MSU is 22-15, 5-10 in the SEC and unranked in the D1Baseball.com Top 25. Auburn is 21-15-1, 5-10 in the SEC and is also unranked in the Top 25. MSU has an RPI of 24 and Auburn has an RPI of 44 (As of Monday).
Series History: MSU leads the all-time series 116-96-1 and has also won the last three regular season series.
MSU update: The Bulldogs head into this weekend riding high after their Super Bulldog Weekend series victory over Ole Miss, rebounding from a game one loss to win Saturday’s and Sunday’s contests. The middle of MSU’s lineup — Colton Ledbetter, Hunter Hines and Dakota Jordan — continued to produce, combining for 10 hits, 13 RBIs and seven home runs, while the Bulldogs’ starting rotation — Cade Smith, Landon Gartman and Jurrangelo Cijntje — combined to throw 13 2/3 innings, allowing only three earned runs (four total) and striking out 13 batters.
Auburn update: The Tigers lost their third-straight conference series last weekend, dropping two games at Alabama. They have also lost series against Texas A&M, Arkansas and Florida, while beating Georgia. Auburn currently sits tied with MSU in the SEC West standings at 5-10. Auburn beat Samford 13-3 in eight innings Tuesday night. Kason Howell led the Tigers with four RBIs.
Projected Auburn lineup: SS Cole Foster (.338/45 H/27 RBI/ 5 HR), RF Bobby Peirce (.347/33 H/17 RBI/ 3 HR), DH Ike Irish (.384/58 H/35 RBI/ 3 HR), 3B Bryson Ware (.359/51 H/45 RBI/ 15 HR), 1B Cooper McMurray (.258/16 H/ 21 RBI/ 6 HR), CF Kason Howell (.266/ 37 H/ 19 RBI/ 3 HR), LF Chris Stanfield (.320/ 24 H/ 16 RBI/ 2 HR), C Nate LaRue (.123/ 10 H/ 5 RBI/ 0 HR), 2B Caden Green (.258/ 24 H/ 12 RBI/ 2 HR)
Auburn players to watch: Tommy Vail, a former Notre Dame and TCU player, has been Auburn’s most-used pitcher, starting eight games, and the team’s only pitcher to appear in every conference series. Vail holds a 4.34 ERA with a 3-1 record, and has allowed 18 earned runs with 25 walks and 41 strikeouts over 37 1/3 innings. In his last appearance, against the Crimson Tide, Vail pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings, striking out and walking four batters each.
Ike Irish, a true freshman from Michigan, has quickly made a name for himself in the SEC, producing a team-high .384 batting average. Irish, Auburn’s designated hitter, has started all 37 games for the Tigers, recording 58 hits, 35 RBIs and three home runs.
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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