Mississippi State
LSU
Bulldogs Back On The Road At No. 8 LSU
March 26, 2025 | Baseball
BATON ROUGE, La., - For the second-straight week, Mississippi State finds itself on the road against a top 10 opponent.
The Diamond Dawgs took on then 10th-ranked Oklahoma last weekend and are back in action at No. 8 LSU this week. The three-game series at Alex Box Stadium gets underway on Thursday at 7 p.m. on SEC Network.
The perennial SEC baseball powers will continue their rivalry on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and wrap up the series on Saturday at 2 p.m with the final two contests streamed on SEC Network+.
MSU will by vying for its third-straight series victory against the Tigers. Chris Lemonis' club took two games during their last trip to Baton Rouge against the eventual national champions in 2023 and also claimed a pair in last year's series in Starkville.
The Bulldogs won the opener 10-4, were edged 9-8 in Game 2 before erupting for a 15-5 run-rule victory in eight innings in last year's series finale.
Mississippi State maintains a 220-191 lead in the overall series that dates back to 1907.
With the shortened week, State will switch up its pitching rotation against LSU. Junior right-hander Evan Siary will open the series on the mound. Siary has made six appearances and one start this season and sports a 2.25 earned run average with 15 strikeouts and three walks through 11 2/3 innings but has not factored into a decision.
The Tigers will counter with sophomore southpaw Kade Anderson in Thursday's opener. Anderson will be making his seventh start and is 5-0 with a 2.65 ERA, 56 strikeouts and only six free passes through 34 frames.
Junior lefty Pico Kohn (4-0, 2.52 ERA, 53 K, 7 BB), the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, will take the mound for the Diamond Dawgs on Friday and will be opposed by junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson (3-0, 4.50 ERA, 46 K, 8 BB). Senior right-hander Karson Ligon (2-3, 4.76 ERA, 32 K, 9 BB) gets the nod for Mississippi State in Game 3 while LSU goes with sophomore righty Chase Shores (4-1, 4.88 ERA, 30 K, 12 BB).
The Bulldogs (16-9, 1-5 SEC) roll into Red Stick off the heels of a 6-1 home win over Samford on Tuesday. MSU is collectively hitting .314 as a club with 38 home runs and scoring 7.6 runs per game. It also maintains a .969 fielding percentage and has swiped 32 bases in 36 attempts.
Designated hitter Noah Sullivan leads the Diamond Dawgs and ranks tenth in the conference with a .495 batting average and has 32 hits on the year. Third baseman Ace Reese tops the team with eight homers and 34 RBIs while catcher Ross Highfill continued to pace the lineup with eight steals in 10 tries.
State continues its mound prowess ranking third nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.57) and fewest hits allowed per nine innings (4.54) while also sitting fourth in the country in strikeouts per nine innings (13.4). The Bulldogs' staff holds a 3.39 ERA with 291 strikeouts and 82 walks in 207 innings with opponents hitting just .193 against them.
Kohn leads Mississippi State in strikeouts while Sullivan, Cade O'Leary and Gavin Black sport flawless ERAs. Luke Dotson and Chase Hungate have accounted for four of the Diamond Dawgs' five saves on the season with two apiece.
Following a series loss at now No. 7 Texas last weekend, LSU (22-3, 4-2 SEC) started its five-game homestand with a 17-4 run-rule win over Louisiana in seven innings on Tuesday night to improve to 17-1 at home.
The Tigers' offense has been proficient, ranking third in the country in batting average (.337), hits (279), doubles (65) and on-base percentage (.465), fourth in runs scored (245) and sixth in slugging (.565). LSU has belted 38 homers and are scoring 9.8 runs per game. It has also stolen 20-of-30 bases and sports a .980 fielding percentage.
Derek Curiel and Jared Jones are tied atop the Tigers' lineup with .420 batting averages with Jones topping the team in hits (42), homers (eight) and RBIs (37). Steven Milam is the club's leading base thief with five steals in eight attempts.
LSU's pitching staff maintains a collective 3.74 ERA with 288 strikeouts and 96 walks across 212 innings. Opponents have homered 15 times this season and are batting .211 against them.
Anderson is the Tigers' top strikeout artist with 56 while Cooper Williams, Chandler Dorsey and Dalton Beck still sport perfect ERAs. Cason Evans has recorded four of the team's seven saves this spring.
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