Mississippi State Bulldogs (13-13, 1-5 SEC) at #19 LSU Fighting Tigers (16-10, 3-3 SEC)
DATES/TIMES
Thursday, March 29 – 7 p.m. CT
Friday, March 30 – 7 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 31 – 2 p.m. CT
STADIUM
Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field (10,326)
Tickets available at https://bit.ly/2E2InaI
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 19 by Collegiate Baseball; No. 21 by Baseball America
MSU – unranked
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates, including WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge
Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live
Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
TV
Thursday’s game will be televised on the SEC Network
ONLINE
All three games on SEC Network +, accessible at WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app
SERIES RECORD
Mississippi State leads the overall series with LSU, 203-184-1, and the first meeting between the teams occurred in 1905. The teams met five times last season, and LSU won all five contests, including a three-game regular-season sweep in Starkville and a two-game NCAA Super Regional sweep in Baton Rouge. LSU has won 11 of the last 12 SEC regular-season series with the Bulldogs – Mississippi State’s series win in 2016 in Baton Rouge broke a string of nine straight series wins for LSU over MSU from 2007-15. LSU coach Paul Mainieri has a 30-13 career mark against Mississippi State.
PITCHING MATCHUPS (projected)
Game 1
LSU – So. RH Zack Hess (3-3, 5.68 ERA, 31.2 IP, 17 BB, 45 SO)
MSU – Jr. LHP Konnor Pilkington (1-3, 1.82 ERA, 34.2 IP, 4 BB, 48 SO)
Game 2
LSU – Jr. RH Caleb Gilbert (3-1, 3.86 ERA, 32.2 IP, 7 BB, 20 SO)
MSU – So. LHP Ethan Small (1-2, 2.73 ERA, 33.0 IP, 10 BB, 46 SO)
Game 3
LSU – Fr. RH Ma’Khail Hilliard (5-1, 0.92 ERA, 29.1 IP, 9 BB, 28 SO)
MSU – Sr. RHP Jacob Billingsley (2-1, 3.96 ERA, 25.0 IP, 16 BB, 21 SO)
QUOTING PAUL MAINIERI
“Whenever LSU and Mississippi State compete in the sport of baseball, it’s always great competition. I think that the rivalry between LSU and Mississippi State that began in the 1980s with (former Miss. State coach) Ron Polk and (former LSU coach) Skip Bertman did more for college baseball than any other rivalry possibly could have. They’re the reason we see the interest in college baseball that we do today. Whenever LSU and Mississippi State play each other, it’s a matchup of two historic programs, and you can throw the records of the teams out the window. It’s just going to be good, old-fashioned baseball and very spirited games this weekend.”
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• The Tigers are No. 19 in this week’s Collegiate Baseball poll, marking the 121st consecutive week the Tigers have appeared in the poll … LSU has been ranked every week since the beginning of the 2012 season.
• LSU is 3-3 in the SEC after last weekend’s series at No. 5 Vanderbilt, and the Tigers are only one game out of first place in the Western Division behind Arkansas and Ole Miss.
• The LSU pitching staff was very effective in the Tigers’ series at fifth-ranked Vanderbilt last weekend, limiting the Commodores to a .209 (18-for-86) batting average while allowing only seven runs in three games.
• LSU is No. 4 in the SEC in team batting average, hitting .298 on the year. LSU’s hitters have the fewest number of strikeouts in the league with 145.
• The Tigers are No. 3 in the SEC in fielding percentage (.983) with just 16 errors in 914 chances. LSU has played 12 errorless games in 26 outings.
• Sophomore right-hander Zack Hess, LSU’s Thursday night starting pitcher, is No. 8 in the SEC in strikeouts with 45. Freshman right-hander Ma’Khail Hilliard, the Tigers’ Saturday starting pitcher, is No. 8 in the league in opponent batting average (.194).
• LSU is 10-5 this season when it scores first, and the Tigers are 6-5 when their opponents score first.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
• Mississippi State is hitting .268 as a team this season with 43 doubles, six triples, 14 homers and 20 steals in 22 attempts. The Bulldogs are No. 13 in the league in team batting average and have the fewest number of home runs.
• The Bulldogs pitching staff is No. 8 in the SEC with a 3.45 ERA, and MSU has limited its opponents to a 234 cumulative batting average.
• Junior left-hander Konnor Pilkington, MSU’s starting pitcher on Thursday night, is fourth in the SEC with 48 strikeouts and the Bulldogs’ starter on Friday, sophomore left-hander Ethan Small is fifth in the league with 46 Ks.
• The Bulldogs’ leading hitter is junior outfielder Jake Mangum, who is batting .336 with eight doubles, two triples, seven RBI, 17 and eight stolen bases. Freshman first baseman Josh Hatcher is hitting .314 with a team-best three homers, and junior infielder Luke Alexander leads the Bulldogs with 16 RBI.