Mississippi State and North Alabama meet for first time as Division I opponents at 6 p.m. on Wednesday
STARKVILLE – After opening the conference slate with a series victory at LSU over the weekend, the No. 2 Mississippi State baseball program returns home to start an 11-game homestand on Wednesday (March 24) against North Alabama. First pitch will be at 6 p.m. from Dudy Noble Field.
The two programs have met eight prior times, however, Wednesday will be the first meeting with both a part of Division I. Mississippi State (16-4) and North Alabama (1-16) met eight times between 1986-94, while the Lions were Division II. The Bulldogs own a 6-2 edge in the all-time series.
Freshman Mikey Tepper will make his first career start on the mound for Mississippi State. He owns two career appearances and has allowed just one unearned run in three innings off work. He has four strikeouts to one walk.
Offensively, second-year freshman Kamren James hit .400 over four games last weekend and now leads the team with a .307 batting average in 20 starts. His 19 RBIs also pace the squad, and he is tied for the lead with junior Tanner Allen at 23 hits. Sophomore Luke Hancock is reaching base at a .439 clip with 16 hits, 19 walks and one hit-by-pitch to go along with his 18 RBIs. Hancock also paces the team with five home runs.
North Alabama is in its third of a four-year transitional period into Division I under long-time head coach Mike Keehn. In his 13th season at the helm, Keehn has posted a winning record in 11 of those seasons. Devne Daniel leads the team with a .305 batting average, six runs scored and two home runs in 17 starts. Reid Homan is the top RBI producer on the squad at five. Projected starting pitcher Will Haverstock has logged 15 1/3 innings in six appearances (four starts) with a 4.11 ERA and .224 opponent batting average against.
Game time is subject to change as weather is projected to move through the Starkville area over the next 48 hours.
Gameday Info
Wednesday, March 24 (6 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Mikey Tepper, RHP, Fr.
UNA: Will Haberstock, RHP, Fr.
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Quick Hitters
- Mississippi State held steady at No. 2 per Baseball America and sits among the top five in for the other five polls.
FULL POLLS ON PAGE 4 - In its last 17 games against ranked opponents dating back to the 2019 season, Mississippi State is 14-3 in those games. That record includes an 8-1 mark against top 10 teams.
- Mississippi State picked up its NCAA-best fifth shutout of the season at LSU on Saturday. The Diamond Dawgs are tied for the most shutouts in 2021 with Oklahoma State.
- Since March 1 (13 games), Mississippi State has shutout five opponents and allowed one run on four occasions. During the 13-game stretch, State has only allowed four-or-more runs twice.
- As a team, Mississippi State has reached via walk 102 times and been hit-by-pitch 20 times through 20 games on the season and has struck out just 102 times.
- Third baseman Kamren James (Fr.-2Y) hit .400 on the week in four starts. He boasted six hits in 15 at-bats, walked once and did not strike out. He scored two runs and drove in a pair of RBIs.
- Luke Hancock (So.) continues to power the MSU offense as he hit two home runs last week and reached base at a .389 clip. The left-handed hitter posted the first multi-home run game for MSU since 2019 with two long balls against Samford. He Scored two runs, plated three RBIs and walked five times to just one strikeout in four games.
- Will Bednar (Fr.-2Y) made his first career SEC start and fired five scoreless innings at No. 10 LSU on Saturday. Between the first and fifth innings, Bednar retired 13 straight batters.
- Landon Sims (Fr.-2Y) continued to dominate opposing hitters with two more strikeouts in two innings of work to collect the save in the series-clinching win on Saturday at No. 10 LSU.
- 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
- North Alabama is in its third season as a Division I program after spending most of its program history at the Division II level.
- Head coach Mike Keehn has posted a winning record in 11 of his 13 seasons as a head coach. Keehn has spent 33 total years at UNA – including 20 as an assistant coach – and the Lions have posted a winning record on 31 occasions.
- Devne Daniel leads the offense with a .305 batting average and five multi-hit games. He is also the only UNA player to start all 17 games in 2021.
- Kevin Brenning has the biggest hit for UNA this season, as he provided the game-winning home run in UNA’s 6-4 victory over Little Rock. Brenning two-run shot came in the bottom of the eighth to break a 4-4 tie.
Series Notes
- Mississippi State and North Alabama will meet for the ninth time in program history on Wednesday and first as Division I opponents. The Diamond Dawgs own a 6-2 all-time mark against the Lions.
- Against the current alignment of the Atlantic Sun, State owns a 28-8 all-time record. The last ASUN opponent was Eastern Kentucky during the 2016 season.
- Mississippi State hit a school-record-tying six home runs against North Alabama during the 1988 season.