STARKVILLE — A new face will join two returnees in Mississippi State’s opening-weekend pitching rotation.
Junior Cade Smith will take the ball in Friday’s 3 p.m. season opener against VMI at Dudy Noble Field.
Senior KC Hunt will pitch in Saturday’s 2 p.m. game, and Memphis transfer Landon Gartman will draw the final start at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Smith was the star of the Bulldogs’ 2022 rotation with a 3.86 ERA in 72 1/3 innings.
Hunt showed strikeout stuff out of the bullpen but pitched to a 7.46 ERA in 25 1/3 frames, fanning 32 batters. He started the 2022 season in the Saturday spot as well before suffering an injury in his opening start.
At Memphis last season, Gartman had a 3.56 ERA in a team-leading 86 innings, striking out 94 hitters.
MSU went 26-30 last season and was last in the Southeastern Conference but expects to rebound with an impressive freshman and transfer class.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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