Diamond Dawgs, Eagles will meet at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 11 in the opener of a three-game series
STARKVILLE – The final weekend before conference play arrives sees the No. 2 Mississippi State baseball program welcome Eastern Michigan for a three-game set at Dudy Noble Field. The Diamond Dawgs and Eagles will meet for the first time in program history in Friday’s (March 12) series opener.
Over the last three games, Mississippi State (10-3) has scored 27 runs in the last 27 innings to support a pitching staff that has not allowed a run over that span. State has posted 31 hits in the last three games with 24 RBIs and seven extra base hits.
Junior Tanner Allen has been steady at the plate for MSU a 10-game hitting streak and 13-game reached base streak entering the weekend. He has scored a run or drove in an RBI in 12 of 13 games, including a string of eight-straight with an RBI from Feb. 24-March 9. Over the last five games, junior Rowdey Jordan is hitting .389 with eight runs scored and a .478 on-base percentage.
Eastern Michigan enters the weekend with a 4-2 record that includes wins over Alabama State and Bellarmine. Davis Feldman leads the Eagles on the mound with a 2-0 record and 0.00 ERA in 11 innings of work. He has allowed six hits, walked six and struck out 10. Mark Kattula is hitting a team-best .409 with nine hits and five runs scored.
Gameday Info
Friday, March 12 (6 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Christian MacLeod, LHP, Fr. (3Y)
EMU: Davis Feldman, RHP, Gr.
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Saturday, March 13 (2 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Eric Cerantola, RHP, So.
EMU: Justin Meis, RHP, Jr.
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Sunday, March 14 (1 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Jackson Fristoe, RHP, Fr.
EMU: TBA
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Quick Hitters
- Mississippi State sits at No. 2 in the national polls for the second straight week and is a top 10 team in all six of the major polls.
FULL POLLS ON PAGE 4 - The Bulldogs are 12-2 in the last 14 regular season games against ranked opponents dating back to the 2019 season. That includes a 6-0 mark against top 10 teams.
- State has won 11 straight games against in-state opponents dating back to the 2019 season, including two in 2021.
MORE ON PAGE 8 - The Maroon and White have won three straight games with each coming via a shutout. It is the first time since 1976 and just the 10th time in program history MSU has strung together three-or-more consecutive shutouts.
MORE ON PAGE 11 - In the series finale against Kent State, the quartet of Jackson Fristoe (6 IP), Landon Sims (1 IP), Mikey Tepper (1 2/3 IP) and Cam Tullar (1/3 IP) combined for the first no-hitter at Mississippi State since 1999. A seventh inning error and walk, along with a ninth inning walk were the only blemishes on the scorecard.
- Mississippi State will add its 230th opponent to the record books when Eastern Michigan comes to Starkville for a three-game series.
MORE ON PAGE 3 - In his third career start, Jackson Fristoe fanned a career-best eight batters through a perfect six innings of work to earn his first collegiate victory. He threw 85 pitches and 13 of his eight outs ended either on the infield or via strikeout.
- Against Southern Miss, Houston Harding fanned nine batters in five innings of work, before Preston Johnson (6 Ks), Cam Tullar (2 Ks) and Stone Simmons (3 Ks) finished off the victory and helped MSU reach the 20-strikeout mark for the first time since 2002. The quartet scattered three hits and walked three batters in the win.
MORE ON PAGE 10 - Junior Tanner Allen has been steady at the plate for MSU a 10-game hitting streak and 13-game reached base streak entering the weekend. He has scored a run or drove in an RBI in 12 of 13 games, including a string of eight-straight with an RBI from Feb. 24-March 9.
- Through 11 games in 2021, Mississippi State has defeated a pair of top 10 teams, walked off Tulane twice, struck out 10-plus batters on 11 occasions, thrown a no-hitter and posted three straight shutouts.
- For the seventh straight semester under head coach Chris Lemonis, the baseball program logged a GPA of 3.0 or better during the Fall 2020 term. The team compiled a 3.19 GPA, with 33 student-athletes earning a 3.0 GPA or better.
Scouting the Opponent
- Eastern Michigan enters the weekend with a 4-2 overall record on the season. The Eagles won two from Alabama State to start the season before splitting a pair of games at Bellarmine last weekend.
- As a team, EMU is averaging 6.8 runs per game on 7.6 hits per contest. The Eagles have earned 4.6 walks per game for an on-base percentage of .353.
- Mark Kattula lead the team with a .409 batting average (9-for-22) and .500 on-base percentage in six starts. Of his nine hits, five have gone for extra bases.
- The leading run producer is Jeff Timko with six RBIs on the season, the outfielder has two of EMU’s four home runs on the season.
- Davis Feldman has made two starts on the mound and owns a 2-0 record with 10 strikeouts in 11 innings of work. He has yet to allow a run and is limiting batters to a .171 batting average against.
Series Notes
- Mississippi State will add its 230th opponent to the record books when Eastern Michigan comes to Starkville for a three-game series.
- Of the current 11-team alignment of the Mid-American Conference, MSU has faced off with five MAC programs prior to this weekend.
- The Diamond Dawgs won two of three games last weekend over Kent State, including a 13-0 victory in the series final, which featured a no-hitter by the MSU pitching staff.
- State is 12-3 all-time against the MAC, with Akron (2-0), Central Michigan (1-0), Kent State (4-1), Miami (Ohio) (1-1) and Northern Illinois (4-1) already on the docket.
- The first meeting with the conference came in 1954 when MSU won a 12-3 season-opening decision over Northern Illinois on March 26.