STARKVILLE — With three weeks left in the regular season the Mississippi State baseball is running out of time: to secure a place in Hoover for the Southeastern Conference tournament; to win enough conference series and meaningful games to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since winning the national championship two years ago.
That sense of urgency was magnified this week when MSU head coach Chris Lemonis made the move to fire pitching coach Scott Foxhall after a disastrous weekend at Tennessee.
This weekend, the Bulldogs return home for the first time since their Super Bulldog Weekend series win over Ole Miss, with No. 6 Arkansas coming to town. It’s another strong opportunity for MSU to try to work its way off the postseason bubble.
Here is what to watch for in this weekend’s SEC series in Starkville.
What: No. 6 Arkansas at Mississippi State
When: Friday (6 p.m.), Saturday (6 p.m.), Sunday (1 p.m.)
Where: Dudy Noble Field
TV: Friday (SEC+), Saturday (ESPN2), Sunday (SEC+)
Records/Rankings: MSU’s record sits at (24-20, 6- 15 SEC). The Bulldogs are unranked in this week’s D1Baseball.com Top 25 poll. Arkansas’s record sits at (33-12, 14-7 SEC). The Razorbacks are ranked No. 6 in this week’s D1Baseball.com Top 25 poll. MSU’s RPI is 47, while Arkansas RPI is 6.
Series History: Arkansas won last year’s series in Fayetteville and has won the last three series overall.
MSU Update: MSU’s pitching hit a new low last weekend when it was swept at No. 18 Tennessee. The Bulldogs gave up 33 runs over three games, including 13 in Saturday’s run-rule victory by the Vols. With no midweek game this week, head coach Chris Lemonis felt it was the right time to part ways with pitching coach Scott Foxhall. To this point, the Bulldogs have the highest team ERA in the SEC. Hunter Hines was an offensive bright spot in Knoxville, hitting three home runs, which was more than he had total hits in MSU’s series at Auburn.
Arkansas Update: The Razorbacks quickly recovered from getting swept at Georgia, followed by a midweek loss at Missouri State two weeks ago, by sweeping Texas A&M, scoring 25 runs over last weekend’s conference play. Arkansas lost an 11-inning, 8-6, home game against Lipscomb Tuesday night. Heading into Dudy Noble Field, Arkansas sits two games back of No. 1 LSU in the SEC West Standings.
Projected Arkansas lineup: RF Kendall Diggs (.312/ 44 H/ 8 HR, 42 RBI), 2B Peyton Stovall (.253/ 38 H/ 5 HR/ 31 RBI), 3B Caleb Cali (.306/ 33 H/ 7 HR/ 25 RBI), CF Jace Bohrofen (.376/ 56 H/ 11 HR/ 38 RBI), DH Ben McLaughlin (.362/ 17 H/ 1 HR/ 7 RBI), LF Hunter Grimes (.185/ 5 H/ 0 HR/ 7 RBI), 1B Brady Slavens (.274/ 40 H/ 5 HR/ 33 RBI), C Parker Rowland (.208/ 20 H/ 2 HR/ 14 RBI), SS John Bolton (.198/ 21 H/ 0 HR/ 13 RBI)
Arkansas players to watch: Jace Bohrofen has been on an absolute tear at the plate over the past week. In Arkansas’ last series against Texas A&M, Bohrofen tallied eight hits, one homer and five RBIs over three games. He went hitless in the Razorbacks’ midweek game against Lipscomb. Cody Adcock should be no stranger to Dudy Noble Field since he is an Ole Miss transfer. The junior pitcher started two games last week (midweek at Missouri State and against Texas A&M) throwing six innings, allowing three hits, one combined earned run and striking out six.
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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