Mississippi State will open the season at Globe Life Field against a trio of ranked opponents from the Big 12
STARKVILLE – After 364 days of waiting, the Mississippi State baseball program will return to the field at the State Farm College Baseball Classic in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, Feb. 20. The Diamond Dawgs will start the season against Texas at 11 a.m. at Globe Life Field, the home of the Texas Rangers.
After facing the Longhorns, MSU will take on TCU on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 11 a.m., before closing out the event with a matchup against Texas Tech at 11 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 22. The Diamond Dawgs enter the season as a consensus top 10 team. Texas Tech is a unanimous top five team entering the season, while TCU are each ranked among the top 15.
Mississippi State will be playing in a Major League Baseball facility for the third time in the last six seasons. MSU played at Dodger Stadium as part of the 2016 Dodger Stadium Classic and won three games at the Shriners College Classic at Minute Maid Park.
Gameday Info
Saturday, March 20 (11 a.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Christian MacLeod, LHP, Fr.
UT: Ty Madden, RHP, So.
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Sunday, March 21 (11 a.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Will Bednar, RHP, Fr.
TCU: Russell Smith, LHP, R-So.
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Live Audio: https://hailst.at/audio
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Monday, March 22 (11 a.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Eric Cerantola, RHP, So.
TTU: Mason Montgomery, LHP, So.
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Quick Hitters
- Mississippi State will open the season against a ranked opponent for just the ninth time since 1990. MORE ON PAGE 9
- The Diamond Dawgs will open away from home for just the third time since 2000. It will be the first neutral site season opener since the 2000 Coca-Cola Classic in Mobile, Alabama.
- Christian MacLeod was the only freshman in 2020 to post multiple double-digit strikeout games and became just the third Diamond Dawg rookie to ever accomplish the feat. MORE ON PAGE 11
- Senior Riley Self ended 2020 with 79 career relief appearances, a total that ranks No. 6 on MSU’s career charts. MORE ON PAGE 10
- The freshman trio of Will Bednar, Christian MacLeod and Landon Sims piled up 81 strikeouts in 2020, the most among any freshman trio in the NCAA. MORE ON PAGE 9
- Graduate Spencer Price posted his first two saves in over two full seasons to close out 2020 versus Texas Tech. Over 1,000 days came between his final save of 2017 and his first save of 2020. MORE ON PAGE 10
- The Diamond Dawgs finished among the top 10 in at least one of the final national polls in 2020, which marked the first time in program history with back-to-back-to-back top 10 finishes.
- When was the last time Mississippi State didn’t play a conference game? The last time State played 16 games in a season? MORE ON PAGE 9
Series Notes
- Mississippi State has faced nine of the 10 teams in the current alignment of the Big 12, with TCU the only opponent not on the current docket.
- Overall, MSU is 23-18-1 all-time against the current alignment of the Big 12.
- The last time Mississippi State played Texas came at the College World Series in 1985. Overall, Texas leads the all-time ledger 5-4.
- Five of the nine meetings with Texas have happened in the postseason, with two of those coming at the College World Series (1979,1985) and the other three at the 1983 Central Regional.
- MSU and Texas Tech will meet for the third straight season, with Mississippi State winning each of the three games played during the 2019 and 2020 season.
- Overall, MSU is 4-3 all-time against Texas Tech.