Following a come-from-behind win at Memphis on Tuesday night, Mississippi State returns to Dudy Noble Field for a three-game weekend series against South Carolina.
The Bulldogs (17-12) and Gamecocks (18-12) are both 1-8 in Southeastern Conference play, but MSU — which is at home and had higher preseason expectations to begin with — is the more desperate team. Head coach Chris Lemonis is on a contract that expires in June, and if the Bulldogs continue to struggle, his days in Starkville could soon be coming to an end.
It’s not like MSU has been getting blown out over and over, though. Apart from Saturday night’s series finale at LSU that lasted into Sunday morning, every Bulldogs loss has been a competitive game. But when the pitching is good, the bats have gone cold. And when the offense has been clicking, the pitching has fallen apart.
MSU’s first three SEC opponents — Texas, Oklahoma and LSU — are all ranked in the top 10 this week. While there is more where that came from on the Bulldogs’ schedule in Alabama and Ole Miss teams that are far better than expected, South Carolina is not among the conference’s elite. So if MSU cannot win at least two out of three against the Gamecocks, it is hard to see the Bulldogs climbing back into the postseason picture.
Like MSU, South Carolina earned its only SEC win against Oklahoma, though the Gamecocks played the Sooners at home. South Carolina is coming off back-to-back sweeps at the hands of the current top two teams in the D1Baseball poll, Arkansas and Tennessee. The Gamecocks were also swept in a non-conference series against in-state rival Clemson, a team that is also now in the top 10.
Otherwise, South Carolina has handled its business against weaker teams. Outfielders Nathan Hall and Ethan Petry are an excellent duo at the top of the Gamecocks’ lineup, hitting for average and power with more walks than strikeouts. As a team, South Carolina has actually hit better against SEC teams (.303 in conference play, .285 overall), but has slugged more against non-conference foes.
Keeping the ball in the yard has been a problem for the Gamecocks’ pitching staff as South Carolina’s 37 home runs allowed are more than any other SEC team except Missouri. Dylan Eskew has by far the team’s best ERA at 1.77, and although he has started in all five of his appearances, he has pitched just 20 ⅓ innings. Jarvis Evans has been a reliable starter (3-0 with a 3.62 ERA) and leads South Carolina in innings pitched.
For the Bulldogs to win this series or ideally, sweep it, they will need to get some balls in the air and hope they carry over the wall. MSU’s pitchers will have to limit the damage from Hall and Petry and work out of jams when they get on base, and most importantly, the Bulldogs must stay in the moment and avoid letting the big picture get in their heads.
They will also need to play cleaner defense, as MSU has the SEC’s worst fielding percentage in conference play and has allowed by far the most stolen bases.
“This will be a big weekend for us. It’s nice to be back home,” Lemonis said. “I’m sure our people are ready to get back, crank up the grills and have a good weekend of playing baseball. That’s our plan.”
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