Diamond Dawgs Host Auburn For Super Bulldog Weekend

STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State Diamond Dawgs welcome Auburn to Dudy Noble Field for a three-game SEC Series starting Friday. The Dawgs and Tigers meet for the second time since 2022 on Super Bulldog Weekend.

Friday and Sunday's games will be aired on SECN+ and Saturday's game will be on SECN. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. The series will also be carried on the Bulldog Sports Network powered by LEARFIELD, along with a live audio stream via HailState.com/OnDemand.

Gameday Info
Friday, April 19 (6 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Khal Stephen, (5-2, 2.84 ERA), RHP, Jr.
AU: Dylan Watts, (0-0, 5.94 ERA), RHP, So.

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Saturday, April 20 (5 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Jurrangelo Cijntje, (5-1, 3.80 ERA), BHP, So.
AU: Tanner Bauman, (2-1, 5.21 ERA), RHP, Sr.

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Live Audio: hailst.at/audio
Live Stats: hailst.at/StatBroadcast

Sunday, April 21 (1 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: TBD
AU: Carson Myers (2-3, 4.13 ERA), LHP, Jr.

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Live Stats: hailst.at/StatBroadcast

Promotions/Giveaways
Friday, Apr. 19 - The first 300 fans can receive a State-To-The-Show Poster of Brent Rooker.
Saturday, Apr. 20 - The first 1,000 fans can receive a Bobby Reed Ring of Honor Baseball.
Sunday, Apr. 21 - Sunday is Kids Day at the Dude! Kids get to run the bases following the game.

Quick Hitters

A loaded lineup of events and fan experiences are set to highlight an exciting weekend in the Best Small Town in the South. The 38th annual Super Bulldog weekend, a Mississippi State spring homecoming tradition, is set for April 19-21. The Diamond Dawgs are set to host Auburn this weekend on the Diamond. Saturday's game will be televised on the SEC Network. Since the 2017 season, the Dawgs have won every Super Bulldog Weekend series. This will be the second time that Auburn and Mississippi State have met during Super Bulldog Weekend since 2017. The only other meeting came during the 2022 season, which the Dawgs won the series, 2-1.
On April 4, Jordan was name to the Golden Spikes Midseason Award Watch List. He is one of 45 players on the list and ninth Dawg in program history to be named to this list. His 51 RBIs are the 11th most in the NCAA, only nine behind the national leader. His 15 homers are the 15th most in the NCAA and fifth in the SEC. Jordan has the ninth best batting average in the SEC hitting .377 this season.
In Friday night's victory for the Diamond Dawgs, Khal Stephen was outstanding against Ole Miss. He pitched eight scoreless innings against the Rebels. This tied his career-high and was a season-best. The eight innings pitched were the first time a Diamond Dawg had pitched eight or more innings in a game since Will Bednar pitched eight innings against Alabama on May 21, 2021. Besides pitching deep into the game, Stephen recorded nine strikeouts.
On Tuesday, the Mississippi State Bulldogs recorded a shutout for the third time this season. The Dawgs shut out Alcorn State on Tuesday night. They also shut out Ole Miss (4/12) and Mount St. Mary's (3/2). The Diamond Dawgs' last shutout prior to this season was June 30, 2021, when they defeated Vanderbilt to win the 2021 National Championship. During the 2021 season, the Diamond Dawgs tallied eight shutouts, four of which came in a row from March 7 to 12. During that span, the Diamond Dawgs defeated Kent State, Grambling, Louisiana, and Eastern Michigan. Last Friday night, Khal Stephen pitched a gem at Ole Miss. The Dawgs came away with an 8-0 shutout victory over the Rebels. This was the Dawgs' first SEC shutout and first road SEC shutout since May 21 at Alabama.
Junior infielder/outfielder Hunter Hines enters the 2024 season as a Third Team Preseason All-American by Perfect Game. For his career, Hines has hit 47 home runs. The 47 home runs are the fifth most by an active player in the SEC. Tommy White (63), Jac Caglianone (61), Braden Montgomery (55) and Charlie Condon (49) are the only active players ahead of Hines. The 47 home runs are the tenth most by an active player in Division 1 baseball. The 47 home runs are tied for the sixth most in a career at Mississippi State. He is four homers away from moving into the top five at MSU.
Dakota Jordan has shined this season for the Diamond Dawgs. He leads the team in batting average (.374), home runs (15) and RBIs (51). On April 4, Jordan was named to the Golden Spikes Midseason Award Watch List. He is one of 45 players on the list and the ninth Dawg in program history to be named to this list. His 51 RBIs are the 11th most in the NCAA, only nine behind that national leader. His 15 homers are the 15th most in the NCAA this season and the fifth most in the SEC. Jordan has the ninth best batting average in the SEC hitting. 377 this season. Teams have walked Jordan 31 times this season, with 10 being intentional walks.
The Diamond Dawg pitching staff has tallied the fifth most punchouts in the SEC with 381. They are one strikeout behind Florida for the fourth spot. Jurrangelo Cijntje leads the Dawgs with 64 strikeouts this season, the eighth most in the SEC.

The Diamond Dawgs lead the SEC in runners picked off. Mississippi State has picked off 12 runners this season. The next closest team has picked off six.
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.
On March 22 Mississippi State's 5-1 victory over Texas A&M marked their 1,000^th career SEC victory. Only four schools have accomplished this feat. MSU joined Florida, LSU, and Alabama to reach 1,000 wins in SEC games.
Mississippi State is great at turning out major league talent, with 69 Diamond Dawgs reaching the highest level of the sport, but it is also great at keeping student-athletes on campus.

Scouting the Opponent – Auburn

Auburn heads to Dudy Noble Field with a 19-17 record.
The Tigers are last in the SEC West with a 2-13 record.
Cooper McMurray leads the Auburn offense with a .362 batting average. McMurray has totaled 48 RBIs, 46 hits, 30 runs, 12 home runs and 11 doubles on the year.
Chase Allsup enters the weekend with a 7.46 ERA through nine appearances this season. Allsup has 43 punchouts in 41.0 innings pitched and a 1-3 record.
Auburn ranks third in the SEC in stolen bases with 61 on the year. Cooper Weiss leads the Tigers with 25 stolen bases this season.

Series History

Mississippi State leads the all-time series 116-96-1.
The Diamond Dawgs are 60-37 in home games.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the baseball program. Fans can also follow the program on social media by searching 'HailStateBB' on X, Facebook and Instagram.

Diamond Dawgs Host Auburn For Super Bulldog Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Hunter Hines

Dakota Jordan

Khal Stephen

Mississippi State University Athletics

Diamond Dawgs Host Auburn For Super Bulldog Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Hunter Hines

Dakota Jordan

Khal Stephen

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