Diamond Dawgs host pair of 6 p.m. midweek tilts at Dudy Noble Field
STARKVILLE – Amidst 10 games in 14 days, the No. 2 Mississippi State baseball program will continue its homestand with a pair of midweek contests, hosting Grambling on Tuesday (March 9) and Louisiana Lafayette on Wednesday (March 10) at Dudy Noble Field. Both games will begin at 6 p.m. and are available on the MSU Radio Network and SEC Network+.
Coming off of the ninth no-hitter in program history, Mississippi State (8-3) looks to continue its string of strong performances on the mound. State has struck out double-digit batters in nine of 11 outing this season to account for 150 total strikeouts, including 20 last midweek against Southern Miss. The offense exploded for 16 hits and 13 runs in a 13-0 victory over Kent State on Sunday, including Kamren James‘ fourth home run of the season.
Grambling (0-7) on the tail end of an 11-game road trip to start the season and head to Starkville after being swept by Southern in Baton Rouge, Louisiana over the weekend. The Tigers had its season-opening weekend cancelled due to weather, as well.
Louisiana Lafayette (9-4) will start its week in Starkville before heading to Hattiesburg for its conference opening series with Southern Miss. The Ragin’ Cajuns took two of three games from Tulane to start the season and, like MSU, have won each of its three weekend series. The offense is powered by Carson Roccaforte (.370) and LSU transfer CJ Willis (.348) who have combined for 25 hits, 12 RBIs, 13 runs scored and 11 extra base hits on the season.
Gameday Info
Tuesday, March 9 (6 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Will Bednar, RHP, Fr.
GU: TBA
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Wednesday, March 10 (6 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Houston Harding, LHP, Jr.
ULL: Austin Perrin, LHP, Jr.
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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 9 - Mississippi State opened the week with a neutral site victory over Southern Miss, where the pitching staff fanned 20 batters and closed out the week with a combined no-hitter against Kent State to earn its third winning week of the 2021 campaign.
- 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.
- With its win over USM, State has now won 11 straight games over in-state opponents dating back to Feb. 22, 2019. The Golden Eagles defeated MSU, 1-0, in extra innings of the series opener in Starkville that season.
- 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 11 - Junior Tanner Allen has been steady at the plate for MSU with seven straight games with at least one RBI and a 10-game reached base streak. He has scored a run or drove in an RBI in 10 of 11 games and has hit safely in eight straight games.
- 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 nine occasions and thrown a no-hitter.
- For the seventh straight semester under head coach Chris Lemonis, the baseball program logged a GPA of 3.0 or better. The team compiled a 3.19 GPA, with 33 student-athletes earning a 3.0 GPA or better.
Scouting the Opponent
Grambling
- Grambling will play its eighth straight road contest to open the season and arrives at Dudy Noble Field with a 0-7 record after dropping all three games in a series at Southern over the weekend.
- Cameron Bufford leads the offense with a .375 batting average, three home runs and seven RBIs. His six runs scored are second on the team.
Louisiana Lafayette
- The Ragin’ Cajuns enter the week with a 9-4 overall record after going 3-2 last week. ULL took two of three games from Houston Baptist over the weekend, after splitting a pair of midweek games.
- Carson Roccaforte paces the ULL offense with a .370 batting average and nine RBIs.
- As a team the Ragin’ Cajuns have stolen 26 bases in 13 games this season, which ranks No. 4 nationally entering the week.
- As a pitching staff, ULL is holding opponents to a .214 batting average and just 4.1 runs per game in 13 contests..
Series Notes
Grambling
- Mississippi State and Grambling will meet for the third time in program history and first since the 2019.
- State owns a 2-0 record against Grambling, winning during the 2013 and 2019 seasons in Starkville.
- In two meetings, MSU has outscored GU 20-1, with the 2019 squad posting an 18-1 victory that came during a 14-game winning streak at the front of the season.
Louisiana Lafayette
- Mississippi State and Louisiana Lafayette will meet for the sixth time in program history and first time since 2018.
- ULL leads the all-time series, 3-2, with State winning the last meeting in the first game of the Shriners College Classic, 3-1.
- The Ragin’ Cajuns visit Starkville for the first time since a 1991 doubleheader at Dudy Noble Field.
- The two teams also met at the 2014 NCAA Lafayette Regional, where No. 1 ULL topped MSU twice to advance to the Super Regional round..
- The first meeting with the conference came in 1954 when MSU won a 12-3 season-opening decision over Northern Illinois on March 26.