Mississippi State
Oklahoma
State Set For SEC Series With No. 10 Sooners
March 20, 2025 | Baseball
NORMAN, Okla., - Mississippi State baseball is certainly becoming familiar with the two newcomers to the Southeastern Conference.
After opening conference play at home against now No. 8 Texas, the Diamond Dawgs trek to 10th-ranked Oklahoma to take on the Sooners as they host an SEC series for the first time.
The weekend series is set to get underway on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and continues Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. All three games will be streamed on SEC Network+.
It will be the ninth time MSU and OU have met on the diamond. The Sooners currently have a 4-3-1 edge in the all-time series following their 15-9 victory in the last meeting during the 2023 Frisco Classic in Texas.
State won two of three outings against Oklahoma to win the 2018 Tallahassee Regional on a run that eventually landed the Bulldogs back in the College World Series.
The Diamond Dawgs will once again send Pico Kohn to the mound on Friday night. The junior left-hander is a perfect 3-0 with a 3.03 earned run average with 43 strikeouts and only five walks in 29 2/3 innings this season.
OU counters with Kyson Witherspoon, who has won all five of his starts this season. The junior righty owns a 1.91 ERA with 47 strikeouts and six walks through 28 1/3 frames this spring.
Junior right-hander Ben Davis (1-1, 3.26 ERA, 24 K, 8 BB) is back on the bump for the Bulldogs on Saturday while the Sooners send junior southpaw Cade Crossland (1-1, 4.70 ERA, 20 K, 9 BB). Sunday's finale features senior righty Karson Ligon (2-2, 3.57 ERA, 27 K, 6 BB) from Mississippi State's side and Oklahoma goes with the another Witherspoon twin, Malachi, who is 2-1 with a 5.73 ERA, 22 strikeouts and 14 free passes.
Chris Lemonis' club come to town off the heels of a 16-3 home triumph over Jackson State in seven innings on Tuesday and are 14-7 overall and 0-3 in league play.
Mississippi State enters the series hitting .318 with 35 home runs and averaging eight runs per game. The Diamond Dawgs are 30 of 33 on stolen base attempts and maintain a .978 fielding percentage.
Noah Sullivan continues to lead MSU with 27 hits and a .409 batting average. Aaron Downs tops the team with seven homers and Ace Reese has driven in 27 to lead the club in that category. Ross Highfill has been the Bulldogs' biggest base thief with eight steals in 10 tries and is tied for sixth in the conference in that category.
State's pitching staff remains one of the best in the country, ranking second nationally averaging 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings and also a 1.05 WHIP. They have also limited opponents to 5.98 hits per nine innings, which is the third-best mark in the country.
Diamond Dawg hurlers have a collective 3.28 ERA with 248 strikeouts and 67 walks through 173 innings of work. Opponents are hitting just .186 against them this year.
Kohn leads Mississippi State in strikeouts while Sullivan, Evan Siary, Gavin Black and Cade O'Leary sport flawless ERAs. Chase Hungate owns half of the Bulldogs' four saves in 2025.
Oklahoma is 18-2 overall on the year and 2-1 in the league after winning a series at South Carolina last weekend. The Sooners are a perfect 13-0 at home and edged UT Arlington 7-6 at L. Dale Mitchell Park on Tuesday.
OU's lineup is batting .307 for the year with 24 long balls and scoring 7.6 runs per game. The Sooners have been aggressive on the base paths, picking up 50 steals in 60 attempts while sporting a .972 fielding percentage.
Kyle Branch's .366 batting average leads Oklahoma while Jaxon Willits currently tops the club with six homers. Easton Carmichael has come up clutch with a team-best 22 RBIs while Trey Gambill is a perfect 8-for-8 in steals.
The Sooners' pitching staff sports a 4.06 ERA with 205 strikeouts and 82 walks in 173 frames. Opponents have hit .240 against them with 11 home runs.
Kyson Witherspoon tops the team in strikeouts while Dylan Crooks owns six of OU's seven saves this spring. Landon Victorian is the lone Sooner with a perfect ERA.
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