Mississippi State
Delaware
No. 4 Bulldogs Set To Battle Blue Hens
February 19, 2026 | Baseball
STARKVILLE – No. 4 Mississippi State is just past the midway point of its nine-game homestand to start the season and are off to a perfect start.
The Diamond Dawgs are off to a 5-0 start and hope to carry that momentum into their three-game series against Delaware this weekend. Things get started against the Fightin' Blue Hens on Friday at 4 p.m. followed by a 1 p.m. first pitch on Saturday. Sunday's finale gets underway at 11 a.m. with all three games streamed on SEC Network +.
It will be just the second time MSU has met Delaware on the diamond. The Bulldogs edged out a 4-3 victory in the 2001 Columbus Regional hosted by Ohio State. Future MLB first round draft pick and big leaguer Paul Maholm started that game for Mississippi State and Matthew Brinson went a flawless 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs.
Brian O'Connor will send a trio of sophomores to the mound to meet the Blue Hens this weekend. Right-hander Ryan McPherson gets the ball for his second-straight Friday start. McPherson (0-0, 4.50 ERA) fanned four and did not walk anybody during his four-inning start against Hofstra last week.
Southpaws Tomas Valincius (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 K, 1 BB) and Charlie Foster (0-0, 9.00 ERA, 5 K, 1 BB) are scheduled to start the final two outings for the Diamond Dawgs.
Delaware counters with sophomore right-hander Brady Blum (0-1, 45.00 ERA, 1 K, 1 BB) on Friday. Graduate righty Doug Marose (0-0, 9.00 ERA, 2 K, 1 BB) gets the nod on Saturday while junior lefty Elias Conway (0-1, 4.50 ERA, 2 K, 3 BB) is slated for Sunday's early start.
MSU is coming off a pair of midweek wins over Troy and Alcorn State. The Bulldogs topped the Trojans 13-7 on Tuesday before annihilating the Braves in a 19-0 seven-inning shutout on Wednesday night. Tyler Pitzer, Maddox Miller, Parker Rhodes, Jackson Logar, Dane Burns and Tanner Beliveau combined on a one-hit shutout of Alcorn State.
Mississippi State heads into the weekend hitting .321 as a team with four homers and scoring 10.2 runs per game. The Bulldogs rank sixth nationally with 16 doubles early in the year while swiping 12 of their 14 steal attempts to go along with a .994 fielding percentage.
Junior third baseman Ace Reese is on another All-American pace by batting .556 with five doubles, two homers and seven RBIs to top the team in each of those categories. Graduate outfielder Bryce Chance has been MSU's No. 1 threat on the basepaths going a perfect 5-for-5 on steal tries.
On the mound, Mississippi State maintains a 3.77 ERA as a staff with 62 strikeouts and 14 walks in 43 frames. The Diamond Dawgs have already used 17 different arms this season, a dozen of which made their MSU debuts during the first five games. Opponents have hit just .217 against them.
Valincius, Pitzer, Burns, Miller, Beliveau, Rhodes, Logar, Jack Gleason and Maddox Webb all have flawless ERAs on the young year. Sophomore Duke Stone leads the team with 10 strikeouts while Webb, Brendan Sweeney and Ben Davis have all recorded a save each.
Delaware heads to town with a 1-3 record after being swept at Elon last weekend. The Blue Hens were able to bounce back for a 6-4 win over La Salle at home on Tuesday.
Greg Mamula's club is hovering at the Mendoza mark offensively, hitting just .200 entering play. Delaware does have three homers this year but haven't shown much aggression on the bases thus far, just 1-of-2 on steal attempts. The Blue Hens also field at a .942 clip.
Delaware only has three batters hitting above .250 on its team, led by senior first baseman Evan Boldin's .462 average. Bouldin, junior right fielder Vincent Davis and sophomore left fielder Noah Burroughs have all homered with Bouldin and Burroughs pacing the Blue Hens with four RBIs apiece. Sophomore third baseman Harry Carr has the team's lone stolen base.
Delaware's pitching staff rolls into the weekend with a collective ERA of 8.18 with 37 strikeouts and 31 walks in 33 innings. Opposing teams have hit .263 against them with four long balls.
Six hurlers for the Blue Hens have perfect ERAs with junior Jackson Hulcher topping the team with 10 strikeouts.
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.
