Diamond Dawgs meet South Carolina for 76th time on Friday night at Founders Park
COLUMBIA, S.C. – With three weekends left in the regular season, the No. 2 Mississippi State baseball program will travel to No. 12 South Carolina for a three-game series at Founders Park. The first two games of the series are available on the SEC Network+ with the final game airing live on the SEC Network.
Mississippi State (33-10, 14-7 SEC) will meet South Carolina (27-15, 11-10 SEC) for the 22nd time in the Gamecocks 30 seasons as a part of the SEC. Overall, South Carolina holds a three-game lead in the all-time series, 36-36, but Mississippi State has won each of the last four series and is 8-4 over that span.
The Diamond Dawgs have won five of seven SEC series this season and 14 of the last 18 conference series since sweeping No. 1 Florida to close out the 2018 campaign. Of those 14 series wins, seven have been sweeps, with three of those coming this season (TAMU, Kentucky and at Auburn).
This series features two of the top pitching staffs in the country, with Mississippi State leading the nation at 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings and South Carolina sitting No. 2 with 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings. State also ranks among the top 20 nationally in ERA (No. 18), hits allowed per nine innings (No. 7), strikeout-to-walk ratio (No. 9) and WHIP (No. 11).
Offensively, State owns the edge in in batting average (.281-.255), runs per game (7.3-6.0) and hits per game (9.4-85.), however SC is among the top home run hitting teams in the nation. The duo of Wes Clarke and Brady Allen each rank among the top 40 in home runs with 17 and 11, respectively. Clarke’s total ranks No. 2 nationally and leads the SEC.
Gameday Info
Friday, May 7 (6 p.m. CT)
Probable Starters
MSU: Christian MacLeod, RHP, Fr. (3Y)
USC: Brannon Jordan, RHP, Sr.
Live Video: https://hailst.at/3xSftY7
Live Audio: https://hailst.at/audio
Live Stats: http://hailst.at/StatBroadcast
Saturday, May 8 (3 p.m. CT)
Probable Starters
MSU: Will Bednar, RHP, Fr. (2Y)
USC: Will Sanders, RHP, Fr.
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Live Audio: https://hailst.at/audio
Live Stats: http://hailst.at/StatBroadcast
Sunday, May 9 (1 p.m. CT)
Probable Starters
MSU: Jackson Fristoe, RHP, Fr.
USC: Thomas Farr, RHP, Jr.
TV: SEC Network
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Live Audio: https://hailst.at/audio
Live Stats: http://hailst.at/StatBroadcast
Quick Hitters
- Mississippi State will spend its 11th straight week ranked among the top five by at least one major poll, sitting as high as No. 2 by Perfect Game. FULL POLLS ON PAGE 6
- Mississippi State posted its ninth winning weekend n 11 tries and collected its fifth series sweep of the year with three victories over Texas A&M. The Diamond Dawgs now have three SEC series sweeps (TAMU, Kentucky and at Auburn) in 2021.
- Mississippi State had one of its better weeks at the plate against Texas A&M, hitting .325 on the weekend with 7.0 runs per game and 12.1 hits per game. The Diamond Dawgs also walked 20 times and took four hit-by-pitch – 24 free bases – to just 22 strikeouts.
- Mississippi State continues to sit atop the NCAA leader board in strikeouts with 553 on the season. MSU has 10-plus punchouts in 37 of 43 games, including a school-record 21-straight games earlier in the season.
MORE ON PAGE 11 - Tanner Allen added his 53rd career double to his stat sheet against Texas A&M and now sits tied for No. 7 all-time at MSU with current MSU Director of Athletics John Cohen (1988-90).
MORE ON PAGE 8 - Allen is also closing in on joining an exclusive club at Mississippi State. With 239 career hits, 150 runs scored and 156 RBIs, he can become just the eight Diamond Dawg to pile up 250 hits, 150 runs scored and 150 RBIs in a career.
- At 28 games, Rowdey Jordan’s reached base streak is the eighth longest streak single season streak since 2018 at Mississippi State. Of the 28 games, Jordan has reached base multiple times in 22 of those, including 10 with multiple hits, and has a run in 19 games.
MORE ON PAGE 8 - Head coach Chris Lemonis sits at 97 wins during his tenure at Mississippi State (126 games coached) and looks to become the fastest head coach in program history to reach the 100-win mark. Pat McMahon reached the 100-win mark in his 146th career game as head coach, while Ron Polk took 150 games to reach the 100-win mark.
- In SEC play this season, Landon Sims has been virtually untouchable. The right-hander has appeared in eight games – seven of which MSU has won – and allowed just one run 18 1/3 innings of work (0.49 ERA). He is 2-0 with four saves and is limiting opponents to a .117 batting average with a 0.71 WHIP. Of his 55 outs, 30 of them have come via strikeout (55%) and his K/9 is 14.75.
Scouting the Opponent
- South Carolina enter with a 27-15 overall record and 11-10 mark in the SEC. The Gamecocks won a midweek tilt over North Florida, 7-6, after dropping all three games last weekend at Ole Miss.
- Overall, South Carolina is hitting .255 as a team6.0 runs per game, which is bolstered by a 1.45 home runs per game clip, a mark that sits No. 16 in the NCAA.
- In SEC games, the USC offense is hitting .221 with 5.0 runs per game. The Gamecocks have 26 home runs in 21 conference games.
- The pitching staff ranks among the top 25 nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (No. 2; 11.9), hits per nine innings (No. 11; 7.31), WHIP (No. 20; 1.24) and ERA (No. 23; 3.63).
- Wes Clarke and Brady Allen each rank among the top 40 in home runs with 17 and 11, respectively. Clarke’s total ranks No. 2 nationally and leads the SEC.
- Friday night’s starting pitcher Brannon Jordan ranks No. 12 nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (4.88) and has 80 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings of work over 11 starts.
Series Notes
- Mississippi State and South Carolina will meet for the 76th time to open its series on Friday, with South Carolina owning a 39-36 advantage all-time.
- Since South Carolina joined the SEC in 1991-92, the Bulldogs and Gamecocks have met during the regular season in 22 of 30 seasons, even though the two teams are in different divisions.
- Mississippi State has had the better showing in recent meetings, winning the last four series and both meetings at the SEC Tournament since 2013.
- This will be just the third trip to Columbia since 2010 (7 series)for the Diamond Dawgs.
- Seven of the 76 meetings have taken extra innings, including a 14-inning contest in Columbia during the 1996 season.