Mississippi State Baseball Announces 2021 Schedule

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STARKVILLE – The crack of the bat and pop of the glove will return in just 31 days, as the Mississippi State baseball program and head coach Chris Lemonis announced the 2021 schedule on Tuesday (January 19).

Mississippi State’s schedule features 35 home games, 16 road contests and four neutral site matchups. The schedule features a pair of lengthy homestands, as Dudy Noble Field hosts nine games each from March 5-16 and March 23-April 6.

The opening weekend will feature three games at Globe Life Field (Feb. 19-21) in Arlington, Texas, home of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers. Opponents, game times and full event details will be announced at a later date.

State opens its home schedule with a pair of midweek games against Jackson State (Feb. 23-24), before hosting perennial NCAA Tournament team Tulane (Feb. 26-28) for a weekend series. The Diamond Dawgs and Green Wave have met 109 times previously, beginning in 1904, continuing as members of the SEC from 1933-66 and most recently in 1998 at the Winn-Dixie Showdown in the Louisiana Superdome.

After a quick trip to Pearl, Mississippi, to face Southern Miss (March 2), the Diamond Dawgs host the next nine games at The Dude. A weekend three-game series with Tennessee Tech (March 5-7) kicks off the homestand, before Grambling (March 9) and Louisiana Lafayette (March 10) travel to Starkville for midweek games. After Eastern Michigan (March 12-14) visits the Carnegie Hall of College Baseball, Samford (March 16) caps the nine-game stretch.

The SEC slate will begin on the road for the third time in the last five SEC seasons when MSU travels to LSU for a three-game series at Alex Box Stadium on March 19-21. Since joining the SEC in 1933, Mississippi State has opened conference play on the road in 46 of 84 seasons, including 22 of those SEC openers at LSU.

The next two weekends will feature home series, as Arkansas (March 26-28) and Kentucky (April 1-3) travel to Starkville. The Diamond Dawgs and Razorbacks have alternated series wins each year since 2012, with the home team winning each of those. The Dawgs and Wildcats meet for the third time in the last four SEC seasons, as UK travels to Dudy Noble Field for the first time since 2017 and will play a Thursday-Saturday series on Easter Weekend.

A trip to Auburn April 9-11 follows the two straight home weekends and begins an alternating schedule for the remainder of conference play. Ole Miss travels two hours south for a three-game series with State on April 16-18, before the Maroon and White trek to Nashville to face off with Vanderbilt on April 23-25.

Dudy Noble Field plays host to Texas A&M from April 30-May 2, before a pair of SEC East opponents grace the schedule. After traveling to South Carolina May 7-9, the Dawgs host Missouri May 14-16 in the final home regular season weekend series.

For the 22nd time in MSU’s SEC tenure, it will open and close the season on the road. The Bulldogs finish SEC play at Alabama May 20-22, to mark the first time since 2014 and just the second time since 2000 that they will play the first and last conference series away from home.

The remainder of the regular season non-conference matchups will come in the midweek, as State hosts UT Martin (March 23), Mississippi Valley State (March 30), Arkansas State (April 13), UAB (April 20) and Jacksonville State (May 18).

The annual Governor’s Cup contest with Ole Miss will not be played during the 2021 season.

Joint statement from Mississippi State and Ole Miss: “Due to scheduling and logistical challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ole Miss and Mississippi State have agreed that the Governor’s Cup game in Pearl will not be played this year. While we are disappointed for our loyal fans in the Jackson area, we look forward to seeing our storied rivalry renewed during the scheduled three-game series April 16-18.”

The schedule is subject to change with television designations and game times announced at a later date, as well as information regarding ticketing, operational guidelines and COVID-19 policies for Dudy Noble Field.