Bulldogs and Commodores meet for 125th time to open series on Friday in Nashville
STARKVILLE – For the seventh time this season a top 10 opponent is on deck for the No. 2 Mississippi State baseball program. This time it is a three-game series at No. 3 Vanderbilt beginning on Friday (April 23) at Hawkins Field.
Mississippi State (28-8, 10-5 SEC) enters the series with 11 wins over its last 12 games and three straight SEC series victories to move into second place in the SEC West. Vanderbilt (29-6, 11-4 SEC) sits atop the SEC East and has won four of five SEC weekends.
Junior Tanner Allen and Rowdey Jordan are each hitting over .400 over the last 10 games and are each slugging over .750 in that span. Jordan is hitting .421 over the last 10 games with 16 runs scored and eight RBIs, while Allen is hitting .406 with 11 runs scored and 13 RBIs in that stretch. Overall, Jordan enters the weekend with a 21-game reached base streak.
After dropping its first weekend series of the season to Georgia on April 9, Vanderbilt has won four of its last five games, including a series win over Tennessee in Knoxville last weekend. While the offense leads the SEC in batting average at .306, the strength of the squad stands on the mound with a team ERA of 2.79 and an opponent’s batting average against of .176.
Gameday Info
Friday, April 23 (7 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Christian MacLeod, RHP, Fr. (3Y)
VU: Kumar Rocker, RHP, Jr.
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Saturday, April 24 (7 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Will Bednar, RHP, Fr. (2Y)
VU: Jack Leiiter, RHP, So.
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Sunday, April 25 (1 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Jackson Fristoe, RHP, Fr.
VU: TBA
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Quick Hitters
- Mississippi State has posted a winning weekend in eighth of nine weekends during the 2021 season, including four of five in SEC play.
- The Diamond Dawgs have won 11 of 12 games in the month of April, including a 5-1 record against ranked opponents and an 8-1 mark in SEC play. That stretch includes seven straight SEC games, which is the longest SEC winning streak by any conference team this season.
- State has now won 13 of its last 16 SEC series dating back to the final regular season weekend of 2018.
- The Bulldog pitching staff has fanned at least 10 batters in a school-record 16 straight games entering the week. State leads the NCAA with 464 strikeouts and is No. 2 nationally in K/BB ratio (3.46).
- After the first two-save weekend of his career, second-year freshman Landon Sims was tabbed SEC Newcomer of the Week. It is his second weekly award from the conference office, after garnering SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week during the opening weekend.
- Junior Rowdey Jordan enters the weekend on a 21-game reached base streak. He is hitting .378 over that stretch with 25 runs scored and 13 RBIs. He has eight walks and 11 hit-by-pitch for a .500 on-base percentage in the 21 games.
- The trio of Jordan, Tanner Allen and Kamren James are all hitting over .300 in SEC play. Jordan leads the team with a .351 average, followed by Allen at .333 and James at .310.
- On the season, MSU’s pitching staff has allowed 35 home runs, but just 10 of them have accounted for multiple runs. State has allowed 25 solo home runs and another eight have been two-run home runs.
Scouting the Opponent
- Vanderbilt enters with a 29-6 overall record and an SEC East-leading 11-4 conference record.
- As an offense, Vanderbilt leads the SEC in batting average (.306) and slugging percentage (.522). The pitching staff is tops in the nation in hits allowed per nine inning (5.61).
- The offense is paced by Dominic Keegan and Carter Young, who are tied for the team lead with 33 RBIs and 43 hits apiece. Keegan paces the squad with a .398 batting average and Young leads with 13 doubles and nine home runs.
- Saturday starter Jack Leiter is 7-0 on the season in nine starts with a 0.98 ERA. In 55 1/3 innings of work, Leiter has 99 strikeouts and 22 walks. He is limiting opposing hitters to a .094 batting average.
- Friday night starter Kumar Rocker is 8-1 in nine starts with a 1.64 ERA in 55 innings of work. Opponents hit just .151 against the right-hander and he has fanned 81 to just 15 walks on the season.
Series Notes
- Mississippi State and Vanderbilt will meet for the 125th time to open its series on Friday at Hawkins Field, with MSU owning a 71-51-2 advantage all-time.
- The last five meetings between the two programs have come in the postseason, including four in the NCAA Tournament. State took dropped meetings in 2019 at the SEC Tournament and the College World Series, after beating Vanderbilt, 2-1, in the 2018 NCAA Nashville Super Regional.
- While MSU holds the overall lead in the series, Vanderbilt holds the edge in the recent meetings with a 15-10 edge in over the last 25 meetings.
- Mississippi State has won the last two series in Nashville with the NCAA Super Regional in 2018 and a regular season series in 2016.