UPDATE - Friday's game against Mississippi State has been moved up to 4pm due to weather concerns
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15,000 fans. BBQ smoke wafting across the outfield. Freshly manicured grass. The wait is over, and it is finally here! SEC play. 10 series, 30 conference games. Destination Hoover!
The Texas Longhorns take their 14-game winning streak on the road as they will open up conference play in Starkville against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Non-conference play has been fun, but now the grind begins. There is no such thing as an off-night, much less an off-inning. The Horns will have to compete in all facets or make no doubt about it, they will get exposed.
The Bulldogs are a great test for the Horns right out of the gate as they are a team that has pitched well this season and have been solid on offense. Remains remain yet as they have also lost games against the high rated teams they have faced. Their Friday night guy is a veteran arm that will test the Horns offensive strategy as he fills up the zone and does not issue many free bases. Likewise on offense, Mississippi State have several very talented bats at the top of the lineup, including one that the Horns are very familiar with in Houston transfer Ace Reese.
Overall, I expect this to be a very close series with each teams trading blows. Winning on the road is tough in the SEC, but despite that, I do like the Horns ability to win their first SEC series.
#11 TEXAS LONGHORNS v. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Date: March 14-16
Where: Starkville, MS (Dudy Noble)
Time: 4pm, 2pm, 1pm
TV: Friday and Saturday will be streaming on SEC Network+; Sunday will be on national TV on SEC Network
SERIES MATCHUP:
RECORDS:
Texas: 14-1 (0-0 SEC)
Mississippi State: 13-4 (0-0 SEC)
RPI / SOS
Texas: 20 / 151
Mississippi State: 82 / 172
PREDICTION
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (depending on weather):
FRIDAY – Texas LHP Jared Spencer (2-0, 0.86 ERA) v. LHP Pico Kohn (3-0, 2.28 ERA)
Due to the weather predicted for Saturday, there is a real possibility that there is a DH on Friday and then the series finish on Sunday. That is one reason that Texas may list the Sunday starter as TBA instead of listing Volantis. The staff would like to start him there, but make no mistake, if there is a game up for grabs, the staff will use Volantis on Friday/Saturday out of the pen to snag the win, which would push fellow freshman Jason Flores into the starting role for the series finale.
Mississippi State Top Relievers:
Mississippi State Offensive Leaders:
Team Stats Comparison
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NCAA Baseball Weekend Pick Em
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SEC Baseball Weekend Pick Em
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SEC STATS RANKINGS
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15,000 fans. BBQ smoke wafting across the outfield. Freshly manicured grass. The wait is over, and it is finally here! SEC play. 10 series, 30 conference games. Destination Hoover!
The Texas Longhorns take their 14-game winning streak on the road as they will open up conference play in Starkville against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Non-conference play has been fun, but now the grind begins. There is no such thing as an off-night, much less an off-inning. The Horns will have to compete in all facets or make no doubt about it, they will get exposed.
The Bulldogs are a great test for the Horns right out of the gate as they are a team that has pitched well this season and have been solid on offense. Remains remain yet as they have also lost games against the high rated teams they have faced. Their Friday night guy is a veteran arm that will test the Horns offensive strategy as he fills up the zone and does not issue many free bases. Likewise on offense, Mississippi State have several very talented bats at the top of the lineup, including one that the Horns are very familiar with in Houston transfer Ace Reese.
Overall, I expect this to be a very close series with each teams trading blows. Winning on the road is tough in the SEC, but despite that, I do like the Horns ability to win their first SEC series.
#11 TEXAS LONGHORNS v. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Date: March 14-16
Where: Starkville, MS (Dudy Noble)
Time: 4pm, 2pm, 1pm
TV: Friday and Saturday will be streaming on SEC Network+; Sunday will be on national TV on SEC Network
SERIES MATCHUP:
- First Met: 1922
- Last Meeting: 2021 (Horns faced Miss State four times during the 2021 season, going 1-3)
- After losing to Miss State 1-2 in the opening round of the College World Series, which included reliever Landon Sims striking the Horns out 21 times, the Horns beat Tennessee and Virginia to force a must win against Miss State.
- The Horns prevailed 8-5 forcing an elimination game against the Bulldogs with Ivan Melendez hitting a 3 run home run in the 9th inning to give the Horns the lead and setting up an elimination game against Miss State
- In the elimination game, Miss State stars Will Bednar and Landon Sims held the Horns offense at bat and in the 9th inning got an RBI single to LF, sending Miss State to the championship series, which they won, and sending the Horns home.
- Overall Series: Miss St leads 6-7
- Home: 2-3
- Away: 1-1
- Neutral: 3-3
- Last time Horns and Bulldogs met in Starkville, MS was way back in 1922
RECORDS:
Texas: 14-1 (0-0 SEC)
Mississippi State: 13-4 (0-0 SEC)
RPI / SOS
Texas: 20 / 151
Mississippi State: 82 / 172
PREDICTION
- Horns wins the series 2-1
- On the season, I am 14-1 overall on my predictions
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (depending on weather):
FRIDAY – Texas LHP Jared Spencer (2-0, 0.86 ERA) v. LHP Pico Kohn (3-0, 2.28 ERA)
- Kohn is a senior lefty that has put up some impressive numbers this season.
- Kohn has averaged nearly 6 IP per game, while averaging just over 9Ks per game, while having only given up 4 walks across 23.3 IP
- Davis is a JUCO bandit who was two way player at Itawamba CC
- He has been a bullpen arm through his first five appearances, but went 6IP in his first start against Queens this past weekend
- Senior righty transferred from Miami where he pitched against Texas back in 2023, taking the loss in the Coral Gables Regional as he pitched just 2 innings. It should be noted that he was coming off an injury in that performance
- Ligon is averaging just 3.5 innings across his four starts
Due to the weather predicted for Saturday, there is a real possibility that there is a DH on Friday and then the series finish on Sunday. That is one reason that Texas may list the Sunday starter as TBA instead of listing Volantis. The staff would like to start him there, but make no mistake, if there is a game up for grabs, the staff will use Volantis on Friday/Saturday out of the pen to snag the win, which would push fellow freshman Jason Flores into the starting role for the series finale.
Mississippi State Top Relievers:
- Evan Siary (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 apps, 1 start, 6.1 IP)
- Chase Hungate (1-0, 2 saves, 0.00 ERA, 7 apps, 8.2 IP)
- Nate William (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 apps, 6 IP)
Mississippi State Offensive Leaders:
- Gehrig Frei (.480 BA, 1.216 OPS, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .536 OB%, 2-2 SB)
- Noah Sullivan (.412 BA, 1.245, 3 HR, 19 RBI, .559 OB%, 1-1 SB)
- Aaron Downs (.400 BA, 1.536 OPS, 7 HR, 17 RBI, .450 OB%, 3-3 SB)
- Nolan Stevens (.381 BA, 1.185 OPS, 4 HR, 11 RBI, .447 OB%, 2-3 SB)
- Ace Reese (.349 BA, 1.178 OPS, 6 HR, 22 RBI, .432 OB%, 1-1 SB)
Team Stats Comparison
| STATS | TEXAS | MISSISSIPPI STATE |
| Batting Average | .310 | .325 |
| OPS | .960 | 1.005 |
| Runs | 119 | 141 |
| Hits | 159 | 184 |
| Doubles | 43 | 40 |
| Triples | 5 | 4 |
| Home Runs | 22 | 31 |
| RBIs | 110 | 131 |
| SLG % | .542 | .574 |
| Walks | 85 | 76 |
| Strikeouts | 125 | 120 |
| OB% | .418 | .431 |
| Stolen Bases | 22-30 | 28-31 |
| ERA | 2.85 | 2.77 |
| WHIP | 1.13 | 1.01 |
| Saves | 5 | 4 |
| Earned Runs | 42 | 44 |
| Bases on Balls | 54 | 57 |
| Strikeouts | 132 | 201 |
| Home Runs Allowed | 5 | 10 |
| B/Avg | .200 | .175 |
| Errors | 16 | 14 |
| Fielding % | .972 | .976 |
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NCAA Baseball Weekend Pick Em
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SEC Baseball Weekend Pick Em
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SEC STATS RANKINGS
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