Here we go again.
For the third straight weekend the Mississippi State baseball team will take on a nationally ranked Southeastern Conference foe as No. 12 LSU is set to visit Dudy Noble Field for a three-game set beginning Thursday.
The Tigers limp into the series having lost three in a row — including a disheartening 2-0 home loss to lowly McNeese State on Tuesday.
“It seems like we have one of these games every year, it’s just hard to explain,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said after the game. “I knew coming off an emotional week at Georgia and looking forward to a series at Mississippi State, it would take an awful
lot of leadership to have the players ready to play, and we just didn’t get them inspired and motivated tonight.”
As for the Diamond Dawgs, they’ll enter Thursday’s contest as winners of five of their last six games.
MSU throttled Mississippi Valley State 18-5 Tuesday night after taking two-of-three from then-No. 16 Auburn last weekend.
Redshirt junior Ethan Small will start game one of the series. Small has dominated in six appearances this year, boasting a 1.75 ERA along with 58 strikeouts in 36 innings pitched.
For the Tigers, they’ll turn to junior righty Zach Hess to stop the bleeding on the road. Hess holds a 2.97 ERA in six starts this season.
Offensively, the Diamond Dawgs have scored 15 or more runs in each of their last three games — marking just the fourth time in program history they have done so.
Leading the charge has been sophomore infielder Jordan Westburg. Over that three-game stretch, Westburg has totaled eight hits and 12 RBIs.
“They have a lot of confidence in each other,” head coach Chris Lemonis said of his team’s play of late. “They feel like they can beat anybody.”
Game two Friday will pit freshman phenom JT Ginn against LSU freshman Cole Henry. Ginn, 6-0, currently holds a 2.58 ERA while Henry is 1-1 with a 3.24 ERA.
Lemonis has yet to announce MSU’s Saturday starter but expect senior Peyton Plumlee or redshirt junior Keegan James to be in the mix.
LSU sophomore Eric Walker will be on the bump for game three. Walker is 1-1 with a 6.04 ERA in 2019.
First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Dudy Noble Field.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
