STARKVILLE — Time is quickly running out for Mississippi State baseball to turn its season around. As the Bulldogs enter the final two weeks of the regular season, they have lost six consecutive games, dating back to their Governor’s Cup victory over Ole Miss in Pearl. MSU has lost seven consecutive Southeastern Conference games, including all three games this past weekend against No. 6 Arkansas.
Here is what to watch for in Mississippi State’s midweek home game against Memphis.
What: Memphis at Mississippi State
When: Tuesday (6 p.m.)
Where: Dudy Noble Field
TV: SEC+
Records/Rankings: MSU’s record sits at (24-23, 6-18 SEC). The Bulldogs are unranked in this week’s D1Baseball.com Top 25 poll. Memphis’ record sits at (26-22, 8-10 ACC). The Tigers are unranked in this week’s D1Baseball.com Top 25 poll. MSU’s RPI sits at 57, while Memphis’ RPI sits at 155.
Series History: MSU beat Memphis, 10-4, in last year’s meeting in Memphis. The Bulldogs have won the past two meetings and four of the past five dating back to 2016.
MSU Update: Chris Lemonis’ squad is coming off its second consecutive winless weekend in SEC play, losing all three games to No. 6 Arkansas this past weekend at Dudy Noble Field. The Bulldogs were outscored 31-10 in those games, which included a 14-2 run-rule loss on Saturday. Hunter Hines, Dakota Jordan and Amani Larry all hit homers during the weekend, but the spotlight was once again on MSU’s pitchers, who allowed 18 walks and four hit-by-pitches throughout the series, their first since pitching coach Scott Foxhall was let go earlier in the week.
Memphis Update: The Tigers have gotten on a roll, winning their last five games, which include a home sweep against South Florida this past weekend. The Tigers scored 19 runs across three games. Memphis has not been an offensive juggernaut this season, hitting a conference-low 50 homers 302 RBIs, which only leads Wichita State (298) in the American Athletic Conference. The Tigers also have the second-highest team earned run average in the conference (6.03)
Projected Memphis lineup: SS Jake Curtis (.289/ 41 H/ 4 HR/ 22 RBI), RF Austin Baskin (.268/ 48 H/ 7 RBI/ 33 RBI), 3B Logan Kohler (.317/ 51 H/ 8 HR/ 28 RBI), 2B Will Spears (.295/ 23 H/ 1 HR/ 9 RBI), DH Anthony Hansen (.304/ 52 H/ 10 HR/ 28 RBI), 1B Shane Cox (.193/ 16 H/ 2 HR/ 10 RBI), LF Cameron Benson (.229/ 33 H/ 4 HR/ 12 RBI), C Jonah Sutton (.163/ 16 H/ 2 HR/ 11 RBI), CF Brayland Skinner (.301/ 44 H/ 2 HR/ 24 RBI)
Memphis players to watch: Memphis’ Austin Baskin, a junior infielder, has been swinging a hot bat for the Tigers. Over his past four games, Baskin has recorded nine hits, including six hits and five RBIs during last weekend’s series against USF. Baskin has nine RBIs over Memphis’ past five games. Logan Kohler, an Oklahoma transfer, added three hits and four RBIs in Memphis’ sweep of the Bulls.
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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