Mississippi State
Texas A&M
State Starts SEC Tournament Play Against Texas A&M
May 19, 2025 | Baseball
HOOVER, Ala. – Postseason play has arrived for red-hot Mississippi State.
Having won nine of their last 10 games, the Bulldogs are set to try and carry their momentum into the Southeastern Conference Tournament. State, the No. 11 seed in the event, will battle 14th-seeded Texas A&M at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium on Tuesday night at approximately 8 p.m.Â
The game will be televised by SEC Network and start 30 minutes following the conclusion of the Florida-South Carolina game, which begins at 4:30 p.m.Â
Ryan McPherson will draw the start on the mound for the Bulldogs. It will be just the second starting assignment of the freshman right-hander's career, and he'll look to continue what has been a strong debut season with State.
McPherson has racked up 49 strikeouts over 32 2/3Â innings in 17 total appearances this year. He boasts a perfect 4-0 record, as well as a pair of saves. Opponents have hit only .176 against McPherson.
Texas A&M will counter with righty Weston Moss. The sophomore will be making his 22nd appearance of the season and third start. Moss has a 3.35 ERA over 45 2/3Â innings, striking out 49 and walking 17. Opposing batters have hit .215 against Moss.
MSU heads into Hoover riding high following a dominant sweep of Missouri that wrapped up the Diamond Dawgs' regular season with a 34-20 overall record and 15-15 mark in SEC play. State's bats bludgeoned Tiger pitching as the Bulldogs scored 50 total runs over the three games.
Ace Reese and Hunter Hines led the way for the State lineup in the series. Reese captured SEC Player of the Week honors after going 8-for-12 against Missouri, including three doubles, four home runs, five walks and six RBIs. Hines hit four long balls in the set as well to make himself MSU's all-time leader in career homers. Hines now sits at 69 big flies headed into the SEC Tournament.
Offense has been a strength for State for much of the season and the Dawgs will look for that to continue in Hoover. MSU enters this week's action with the second-best team batting average in the SEC (.309). The Bulldogs are also second in doubles (119) and fifth in home runs (97). State's 97 dingers are tied for the most in a single season in Mississippi State history. The 1998 squad also hit 97.
Reese has been a huge part of State's slugging ways. Overall this season, Reese has hit at a .369 clip and tops the Maroon and White with 21 homers, 18 doubles and 66 RBIs. He also currently sits among the top three in the SEC in multiple offensive categories including batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, hits, RBIs, doubles and home runs.
For as good as Reese has been, he's had plenty of help up and down the MSU lineup. In all, five State regulars are hitting at least .325 and four have double-digit home run totals.
All the offense has served to support a pitching staff that begins the SEC Tourney with a 4.39 earned run average. Bulldog hurlers rank second nationally averaging 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings and are sixth in the country with a 3.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Opposing batters are hitting just .227 against MSU arms.
Texas A&M enters Tuesday night's affair 28-25 overall. The guys from College Station finished 11-19 in SEC play after dropping two out of three to Georgia to wrap up the regular-season slate.
The Aggies are last in the conference in team batting average as this week's action begins, hitting .263 as a group. The ballclub is seventh in the SEC in team ERA with a 4.43 mark.
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