Mississippi State
Arkansas
No. 3 MSU Begins SEC Play With Top 5 Matchup
March 12, 2026 | Baseball
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A top five matchup awaits No. 3 Mississippi State to open Southeastern Conference play.
The Bulldogs are bound for Baum-Walker Stadium to take on fifth-ranked Arkansas for a three-game series to start SEC action. Things get underway on Friday at 6 p.m. streaming on SEC Network+ with the final two contests airing on SEC Network on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. respectively.
Mississippi State will stick with the same sophomore pitching rotation it has used for the past two weekends. Right-hander Ryan McPherson (3-0, 1.96 ERA, 28 K, 5 BB) will start on Friday against junior righty Gabe Gaeckle (2-1, 2.61 ERA, 27 K, 6 BB) of the Razorbacks.
Dueling southpaws are slated to take the bump on Saturday between the Bulldogs' Tomas Valincius (3-0, 1.74 ERA, 26 K, 6 BB) and Arkansas redshirt sophomore Hunter Dietz (2-1, 2.84 ERA, 34 K, 5 BB). Right-hander Duke Stone (3-0, 3.06 ERA, 24 K, 2 BB) is scheduled to start Sunday's finale for State while the Hogs counter with junior lefty Colin Fisher (2-1, 1.17 ERA, 30 K, 3 BB).
MSU enters conference play on a four-game winning streak and is 15-2 overall. The Diamond Dawgs swept Lipscomb last weekend by a combined score of 43-7 and rallied to beat Tulane 11-7 in Biloxi on Tuesday.
State won eight of its final nine SEC games last season to finish 15-15 in the league. The Bulldogs swept Kentucky and Missouri and also won a series over archrival Ole Miss down the stretch under then interim head coach Justin Parker.
Mississippi State have one of the nation's most prolific offenses under first-year head coach Brian O'Connor. The Diamond Dawgs rank third in the country in doubles (50), fourth in batting average (.354), sixth in hits (203), seventh in runs (183), eighth in scoring (10.8) and ninth in on-base percentage (.462). Â
MSU has clubbed 28 home runs on the year and swiped 31 bases in 38 attempts. The Bulldogs also maintain a .983 fielding percentage as a team.
Reed Stallman leads the State regulars with a .457 batting average while Gehrig Frei enters the weekend riding a 15-game hitting streak. Ace Reese and Noah Sullivan are tied for the team lead with five homers apiece with Reese topping the roster with 27 hits, 10 doubles and 25 RBIs. Bryce Chance is the leading base thief for the Diamond Dawgs and has been successful on seven of eight attempts this spring.
Diamond Dawg hurlers haven't been too shabby either. State has the fifth-best strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.88) in the country and ranks sixth in both shutouts (three) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.2). They have compiled collective 3.76 ERA with 198 strikeouts and 51 walks across 146 innings. Opposing teams has batting just .223 against them.
McPherson leads the Bulldogs in strikeouts while Tyler Pitzer, Dane Burns and Jackson Logar all have perfect ERAs. Ben Davis has recorded two of the team's five saves this season.
Arkansas heads into the conference opener at 12-5 overall having split a four-game series at home against Stetson. The Razorbacks won the opening two contests 7-1 and 13-1 (seven innings) but dropped the final two matchups with the Hatters 4-1 and 6-4 on Sunday and Monday respectively.
Dave Van Horn's squad is hitting .296 with 22 homers and scoring 6.5 runs per game. Arkansas has stolen 20 bases in 26 tries and sports a .974 fielding percentage.
Camden Kozeal has been the Hogs' top hitter batting .359 with 23 hits, six long balls and 22 RBIs. Damian Ruiz has swiped six bases in seven attempts while also hitting .340.
Arkansas has been exceptional on the mound so far this spring, posting a 2.74 ERA as a pitching staff to go along with 186 strikeouts and only 38 walks across 148 innings. Opponents are batting only .199 against them with 15 homers.
Fisher has been the Razorbacks leading strikeout artist while five different arms have flawless ERAs. Cole Gilber, Mark Brissey and Parker Coil have accounted for all three of Arkansas' saves.
The Hogs hold a slight 59-58 edge in the overall series and claimed the series the last time the two teams met in Fayetteville in 2024.
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