Diamond Dawgs Open SEC Play Against LSU

STARKVILLE - The Mississippi State baseball team returns to Dudy Noble Field this weekend to open SEC play. The Diamond Dawgs host No. 2 LSU Tigers in a three game series that opens up Friday.

Friday and Sunday's game will be broadcasted on SECN+, while Saturday's game will be on SEC Network. The Series will also be carried on the Bulldog Sports Network powered by LEARFIELD along with live audio stream via HailState.com/OnDemand.

Gameday Info
Friday, March 15 (6 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Evan Siary, (0-1), RHP, So.
LSU: Luke Holman, (4-0), RHP, Jr.

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Saturday, March 16 (4 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Khal Stephen, (2-1), RHP, Jr.
LSU: Gage Jump, (2-0), LHP, So.

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Sunday, March 17 (1 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Jurrangelo Cijntje, (3-0), BHP, So.
LSU: Thatcher Hurd, (1-1), RHP, Jr.

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Promotions/Giveaways
Friday, March 15 – The first 1,000 fans can receive a Maroon Cowbell Keychain.
Saturday, March 16 – Fans will have the chance to receive a Jim Ellis Ring of Honor baseball.
Sunday, March 17 – Sunday is Kids Day at the Dude! Kids get to run the bases following the game.

Quick Hitters

Mississippi State sophomore outfielder Dakota Jordan has been named SEC Co-Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday. Jordan led the SEC with a .692 batting average (9-for-13) last week to go along with a .778 on-base percentage, four home runs and two doubles. He drove in 13 runs and helped the Bulldogs to a 4-0 record for the week. Jordan was 2-for-4 with a home run against Southern Miss on Tuesday, and he homered in all three games in a sweep over Evansville. He drove in four runs in each of the first two games of the series. His homer against Southern Miss in Pearl on Tuesday night put the Dawgs ahead for good in the top of the seventh inning.
Diamond Dawgs have started to show their power at the plate. Mississippi State has hit eight home runs over the last five games, including Dakota Jordan hitting four. He had a stretch of hitting a homer in five straight games, the longest stretch for a player dating back to 2011. During this stretch, Hunter Hines and Connor Hujsak hit their first long balls of the season. Hines now has 39 in his career at Mississippi State, the 10th most in program history. In the win over New Orleans, Freshman Nolan Stevens showed off his power as he hit his first collegiate home run. His homer went 398' at Shuckers Ballpark.
The power has picked up for the Dawgs but one consistent this season has been the pitching for MSU. Over the last five games, Mississippi State pitching has pitched 46 innings and have hold opponents to a .202 batting average. They have only allowed 14 earned runs and have an ERA of 2.74 as a staff over five games. They have limited opponents to 34 hits over this span and only issued 20 free passes. The Dawgs have pounded the strike zone during this stretch and have 57 strikeouts. Coming out of the pen is Cam Schuelke, who has made three appearances over the last five games and has an ERA of 1.93. Over the last five games, the Dawgs starters each have pitched at least six innings. The starters combined for 23 strikeouts last weekend.
The Diamond Dawgs have been hot as of late as they have won 10 of their last 11 games. During this span, the Dawgs offense has hit .311 and has 11 home runs and 25 doubles. They have an on-base percentage of 4.32 as they have drawn 66 walks. The team is 19-for-20 on stolen bases over the last 11 games. Like the hitting, the pitching has stepped up these past 11 games. As a team, the pitching staff has an ERA of 2.57 and has limited opponents to a .203 batting average. They have only walked 39 batters while striking out 125. This season the Diamond Dawgs own the sixth best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the nation and are striking out 11.7 batters per nine innings.
Following a freshman season that saw Dakota Jordan show off his power by hitting tape measure homers, the sophomore is ready for his second season in the Maroon and White. On Feb. 9, Jordan was one of 55 players in the nation that were named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. The Golden Spikes award to the best amateur baseball player in the nation. Jordan leads the team with nine home runs and is hitting a team-best .415. Jordan has homered in five of the last six games for the Dawgs.
Just last year Joe Powell was in EMT school training to be a firefighter but a call from Mississippi State's staff turned things around and got him back on the diamond. After 18 months away from the diamond, Powell has put together a .350 batting average, four hits and four RBIs.
The Dude Effect is alive and well. Reserved seating has once again sold out for the season. Mississippi State has sold out reserved seating since 1987.
Mississippi State is great at turning out major league talent, with 68 Diamond Dawgs reaching the highest level of the sport, but it is also great at keeping student-athletes on campus.

Scouting the Opponent - LSU

LSU is ranked 2nd in the D1 Baseball Top 25 and enter this weekend with a 16-2 record. The Tigers are coming off a two-game midweek series sweep against North Dakota State.
LSU's offense holds a .304 batting average and a .488 slugging percentage with Steven Milam leading the Tigers with a .389 batting average.
The LSU pitching staff has collected a 2.81 ERA, the sixth best ERA in the nation. Will Hellmers, Gage Jump and Luke Holman each have a 0.00 ERA. LSU's pitchers have punched out 234 this season.
At the dish, the Tigers have five players hitting .300 or better on the season. Steven Milam leads the team with a .368 batting average.
LSU has hit 21 homers this season, by eight different players. Jared Jones leads the team with six home runs on the season.

Series History

Mississippi State leads the series 218-190.
The Diamond Dawgs last faced LSU in Baton Rouge in 2023 and took the series 2-1 in walk off fashion. The Dawgs dropped the first game of the series before bouncing back and winning the next two.
The first meeting between these two programs came during the 1907 season.

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Diamond Dawgs Open SEC Play Against LSU

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Hunter Hines

Connor Hujsak

Dakota Jordan

Joe Powell

Cam Schuelke

Evan Siary

Khal Stephen

Nolan Stevens

Mississippi State University Athletics

Diamond Dawgs Open SEC Play Against LSU

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Hunter Hines

Connor Hujsak

Dakota Jordan

Joe Powell

Cam Schuelke

Evan Siary

Khal Stephen

Nolan Stevens

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