STARKVILLE — For head coach Chris Lemonis and the Mississippi State baseball team, the path to the postseason isn’t simple.
The Bulldogs, looking in from the outside of qualified Southeastern Conference tournament teams, need some help around the league to secure their spot in Hoover. But they also need to take care of their own business at home against Texas A&M.
Here is what to know about this weekend’s SEC series finale against the Aggies.
What: Texas A&M at Mississippi State
When: Thursday (6 p.m.), Friday (6 p.m.), Saturday (2 p.m.)
Where: Dudy Noble Field, Starkville
TV: SEC+ all three games
Records/Rankings: MSU’s record sits at (26-24, 8-19 SEC). The Bulldogs are unranked in this week’s D1baseball.com Top 25 poll. Texas A&M’s record sits at (30-22, 12-15 SEC). The Aggies are unranked in this week’s D1baseball.com Top 25 poll. MSU’s RPI is 43 and Texas A&M’s RPI is 40.
Series History: MSU was swept in last year’s series in College Station, but swept the Aggies the last time they were in Starkville in 2021. The Bulldogs have won two of the last three series against Texas A&M.
MSU Update: MSU’s postseason hopes hinges on what it can do against the Aggies, as well as needing some help around the SEC, too. The Bulldogs currently sit two games behind Missouri and Georgia for the final SEC Tournament spot in Hoover. The simplest way MSU can get it is if it sweeps Texas A&M this week, while Auburn sweeps Missouri and LSU sweeps Georgia. Tiebreakers in any scenario for MSU would go to the team with the best head-to-head record against the conference’s highest seeded team, since Missouri and Georgia are in the SEC East.
Texas A&M Update: The Aggies have a lot to play for, too this weekend in terms of trying to lock up an NCAA tournament bid. Texas A&M comes to Starkville on a two-game losing streak after dropping its final two games at home against Alabama last weekend, where it was outscored 23-1 in those contests.
The Aggies have not been an offensive machine this season, holding the lowest team batting average in the conference (.271), second-lowest slugging percentage (.450) and the second-least number of hits (462).
During its series against the Crimson Tide, only one A&M starting pitcher, Nathan Dettmer, lasted longer than three innings, allowing four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work.
Projected Texas A&M Lineup: SS Hunter Haas (.349/ 67 H/ 8 HR/ 32 RBI), 1B Jack Moss (.349/ 68 H/ 4 HR/ 33 RBI), 3B Trevor Werner (.253/ 39 H/ 12 HR/ 42 RBI), RF Jace LaViolette (.294/ 50 H/ 14 HR/ 49 RBI), CF Jordan Thompson (.265/ 35 H/ 7 HR/ 31 RBI), DH Brett Minnich (.289/ 24 H/ 8 HR/ 23 RBI), 2B Austin Bost (.218/ 39 H/ 4 HR/ 37 RBI), LF Ryan Targac (.220/ 37 H/ 5 HR/ 33 RBI), C Max Kaufer (.172/ 10 H/ 1 HR/ 5 RBI)
Texas A&M players to watch: Trevor Werner has been in the big bat in the middle of Texas A&M’s lineup all season. Werner, a junior, enters this weekend’s series on a seven-game hitting streak, including collecting five hits and six RBIs in last week’s series against Alabama. Jace LaViollete is a freshman that has come on strong for the Aggies, tallying eight hits and six RBIs over his last five games.
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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