Bulldogs and Rebels meet for 471st time in series history on SEC Network Friday at 6 p.m.
STARKVILLE – Rivalry or competition for the same objective in the same field, will be on full display this weekend when the No. 3 Mississippi State baseball program hosts No. 6 Ole Miss for a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field.
From home plate in Starkville to home plate in Oxford is just a shade over 100 miles, but this weekend the two teams are in lockstep with one another as the SEC schedule reaches it midway point. Mississippi State (25-7, 8-4 SEC) and Ole Miss (25-8, 8-4 SEC) sit tied for second in the Western Division, just one game back of Arkansas.
In the all-time series, Mississippi State owns a 258-207-5 all-time mark and enters on a six-game winning streak against the Rebels. It is tied for the eighth longest winning streak since the two teams began the rivalry in Starkville to start the 1893 season. Of the previous 470 meetings, 319 have come in SEC competition, with the Bulldogs holding a 176-141-2 edge.
Mississippi State enters with the longest winning streak in the SEC at eight games, including series sweeps over Kentucky and at Auburn. Ole Miss has won four of its last six games, but have dropped its last two SEC series, against No. 1 Arkansas and at No. 15 Florida.
Gameday Info
Friday, April 16 (6 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Christian MacLeod, RHP, Fr.
UM: Gunnar Hoglund, RHP, Jr.
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Saturday, April 17 (2 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Will Bednar, RHP, Fr. (2Y)
UM: Doug Nikhazy, LHP, Jr.
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Sunday, April 18 (1 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Jackson Fristoe, RHP, Fr.
UM: Drew McDaniel, RHP, So.
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Quick Hitters
- Mississippi State will spend its eighth straight week ranked among the top five by at least one of the major polls, sitting as high as No. 3 per Baseball America.
- The Bulldogs own the longest winning streak in the SEC and second-longest in the Power 5 (Texas; 10 games) at eight games. The streak includes back-to-back SEC series sweeps for the first time since 2017.
- The six straight SEC victories make MSU the fourth conference team to win six straight conference games this season. None of the previous three were able to push that streak to seven conference victories. The last time MSU won more than six straight conference games came to end the 2016 season (program-record 10 straight).
- The Bulldog pitching staff has fanned at least 10 batters in a school-record 12 straight games entering the week. Earlier in the season, State matched the 2001 team with 10 straight games and has now moved past that mark. State leads the NCAA with 421 strikeouts and has walked only 118 batters on the season.
- Last week, Mississippi State hit .338 as a team and slugged .591 with 10 doubles, one triple and nine home runs. The Diamond Dawgs walked 20 times, reached via HBP on eight occasions and struck out just 26 times.
- Tanner Allen leads the team with a .333 batting average, 38 hits and 34 RBIs on the year and ranks No. 2 on the team in runs scored (33) and stolen bases (6). He hit a pair of home runs at Auburn to move his season total to five and added nine RBIs in the series.
- Rowdey Jordan has found his swing after a slow start to the season, as the junior is leading the team over his 17-game reached base streak with a .383 batting average and 21 runs scored. Add his 11 HBP and six walks over that stretch and Jordan owns a .519 on-base percentage during that span.
- Mississippi State enters its annual SEC series against Ole Miss having won 11 straight games against in-state opponents. That stretch began with back-to-back wins over Southern Miss in 2019 and includes four wins over Ole Miss, three against Southern Miss, two over Jackson State and one each against Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State.
Scouting the Opponent
- Ole Miss enters with a 25-8 overall record and an 8-4 mark in SEC play, which is tied with Mississippi State for No. 2 in the Western Division.
- As a team, Ole Miss is hitting .302 with 10.1 hits and 7.9 runs per game through 33 contests. The Rebels lead the SEC and rank No. 4 nationally with 335 hits and sit No. 2 in the SEC and No. 4 in the NCAA with 263 runs scored.
- Kevin Graham leads the Rebels with 44 hits and is No. 2 on the squad with 31 RBIs and 32 runs scored. He also ranks second on the team behind Tim Elko with six home runs.
- The starting pitching duo of Doug Nikhazy and Gunnar Hoglund enter with ERAs of under 2.60 and a combined 125 strikeouts in 78 2/3 innings of work. The duo owns a 1.02 WHIP and limit hitters to under a 1.80 batting average combined.
- In SEC play, Ole Miss is hitting .315 as a team and the pitching staff owns a 5.09 ERA.
Series Notes
- Mississippi State and Ole Miss will meet for the 471st time to open a three-game series on Friday at Dudy Noble Field. The Diamond Dawgs own a 258-207-5 edge on the all-time ledger.
- The first meeting came in 1893 a Mississippi State win in Starkville, before a tie in 1895 at Ole Miss. After MSU won the third meeting in Columbus, Mississippi, the Rebels won their first game in the series later that year via forfeit.
- The longest winning streak in the series came from 1932-37 when MSU took 14 straight games, while the Diamond Dawgs also posted a 10-game winning streak from 1947-50.
- Ole Miss and State each own seven-game winning streaks in the series with the Rebels doing so twice (1955-56 & 72-73) and the Bulldogs accomplishing that three times (1921-23, 70-71 & 80-81).