Bulldogs and Delta Devils meet for 28th time in program history on Tuesday at The Dude
STARKVILLE – The No. 5 Mississippi State baseball program will continue its homestand on Tuesday (March 30) with a visit from in-state foe Mississippi Valley State. The Bulldogs and Delta Devils will throw the first pitch at 6:30 p.m. at Dudy Noble Field.
The two teams will meet inside Polk-Dement Stadium for the 28th time in program history on Tuesday, with State collecting the victory in each of the first 27 meetings. Mississippi State (17-7) will look to continue that trend as Mississippi Valley State (0-9) plays its 10th game of the season and fourth straight on the road.
Gameday Info
Tuesday, March 30 (6:30 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Parker Stinnett, RHP, So.
MVSU: TBA
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Quick Hitters
- Mississippi State enters the week among the top 10 in four of the major polls. The Diamond Dawgs are as high as No. 5 per Baseball America.
FULL POLLS ON PAGE 6 - Mississippi State picked up its NCAA best fifth shutout of the season at LSU on March 20. The Diamond Dawgs are tied for the most shutouts in 2021 with Oklahoma State.
- Mississippi State has fanned 10-plus batters in 16 of 21 games this seasons, including a school-record-tying 10 straight games from Feb. 26-March 12.
MORE ON PAGE 11 - Junior Tanner Allen posted three multi-hit games last week and was on base in each of the four contests. His .438 average led the team and he tied for the team-high with five RBIs. In 17 plate appearances, Allen homered, doubled, scored four runs and struck out just once.
- Allen now leads or is tied for the team lead in hits (30), runs scored (26), RBIs (23) and batting average (.326) in 2021. He ranks among the SEC leaders in runs scored (5th), RBIs (10th), hit-by-pitch (10th), hits (11th) and stolen bases (11th).
- State has won 11 straight games against in-state opponents dating back to the 2019 season, including two in 2021.
MORE ON PAGE 8 - As a pitching staff, Mississippi State continues to own some of the best numbers in college baseball. The 2.97 ERA sits No. 2 in the SEC and No. 11 in college baseball, while sitting as one of only three Power 5 programs to rank among the top 15 in both strikeouts per nine innings (No. 2; 13.2) and WHIP (No. 6; 1.08), along with Vanderbilt and Indiana.
- At the plate, Mississippi State owns the fewest strikeouts among Power 5 programs with at least 100 base on balls. Of the 61 Division I programs with at least 100 walks, MSU has the second fewest walks, behind only Jackson State (150).
- 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
- Mississippi Valley State sits at 0-9 on the season and last took the field March 19-21 at Alabama State. The Delta Devils fell by scores of 10-1,14-0 and 8-2 to the Hornets.
- Willie Johnson leads the team with four stolen bases and two runs scored. He has two hits and two walks in six starts.
- Jason Jimenez started all three games at Alabama State and leads the team with a .300 batting average and .417 on-base percentage.
- Aaron Brazelton leads the team with six hits and five walks, while Antonio Walker chipping in five hits and three walks.
- Hunter Stallings leads the pitching staff with 22 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings off work over three starts on the mound.
- As a team, MVSU is hitting .152 with 4.5 hits per game. The pitching staff is allowing opponents to hit .384 with a 12.50 ERA over nine games.
Series Notes
- Mississippi State and Mississippi Valley State will meet for the 28th time in series history on Tuesday evening at Dudy Noble Field, with the Bulldogs winning each of the previous 27 meeting with the Delta Devils.
- The first meeting between the two schools came on February 27, 1994 in Starkville, a 14-0 win for the Bulldogs.
- The two programs met in 21 seasons, with the longest consecutive stretch coming from 2001-13.
- The 2012 season saw the two in-state programs match up three times, meeting in a pair of February contests and then once in May.
- The last meeting was an 18-5 victory for MSU during head coach Chris Lemonis’ first season on campus.