MSU Looks To Keep Governor’s Cup Tuesday in Pearl

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Coming off a Super Bulldog Weekend sweep of a top-three team, Mississippi State will look to ride that wave into a neutral-site meeting with No. 5 Ole Miss on Tuesday night at Trustmark Park.

The Diamond Dawgs (22-19) and Rebels (32-9) will square off in their annual Governor's Cup matchup in Pearl, Miss. The non-conference contest between in-state rivals is set for a 6:02 p.m. CT first pitch on SEC Network.

State went 3-1 last week and is riding a three-game winning streak after sweeping the Razorbacks at Dudy Noble Field. MSU rallied from down 5-0 in the game one and 3-0 in game three to take all three games. The Diamond Dawgs are now 5-1 this season against top five teams (3-0 vs. No. 3 Arkansas, 2-1 vs. No. 3 Ole Miss).

Having taken this year's Southeastern Conference series against Ole Miss by winning two of three in Starkville (April 7-8), MSU could clinch the regular-season series against the Rebels with a win on Tuesday. The Bulldogs have won the last two Governors Cup meetings in 2016 and 2017, which has led State to a 6-1 mark in its last seven against Ole Miss. The Diamond Dawgs hold a 252-207-5 advantage over the Rebels in the all-time series, dating back to 1893.

Game Notes | Live Stats

NEED TO KNOW

In 18 of State's 22 wins thus far, opponents have been held to four runs or less. In three of the remaining four, opponents scored just five runs.
The Diamond Dawgs have 11 comeback wins on the year (22 wins total), seven of which came in the month of March with the other four having come in April (two against then-No. 3 Ole Miss and two against then-No. 3 Arkansas). In 2017, 25 of State's 40 wins were come-from-behind victories.
After an up-and-down journey through the first 38 games of the season, MSU showed glimpses of what it is capable of. In a three-game sweep of one of the Southeastern Conference's most potent offenses this weekend vs. Arkansas, State erased a 5-0 and 3-0 deficit in the first and third games of the series.
Up 21 spots from last week's RPI ranking, State's sweep lifted it to the No 46 spot. This could only be the beginning of MSU's rise as 11 of its 14 regular-season games remaining will be against top-37 RPI teams. 10 will be against teams with an RPI of 18 or better.
Considering its cumulative opposition for the 2018 season, the Diamond Dawgs have the fifth-toughest schedule in all of Division I baseball. State's 14 remaining regular-season games rank as the toughest remaining schedule in the country as future opposition has a .713 winning percentage.
MSU is 21-8 when holding opponents to five or less runs, 12-2 when holding others to two or less runs and 1-11 when allowing six or more runs. State is also 13-0 when scoring six or more runs, 14-3 when scoring first and 10-2 when having scored in the first inning.
With 84 doubles on the year, State ranks third in the SEC and 15th in the country in the category. 13 different Diamond Dawgs have tallied a double on the year, with Hunter Stovall's 14 being a team best.
The MSU pitching staff has combined for 10+ strikeouts in 14 games this season.
State's staff has also collected 26 or more punch outs in six of its last eight weekend series, with five of those having been 29+ strikeout weekends. The Bulldogs most recently struck out Arkansas 29 times.
While Mangum leads MSU in multi-hit games (18), Hunter Stovall (14), Tanner Allen (13) and Josh Hatcher (11) are the next closest to their junior center fielder.
MSU leads the SEC in batters struck out looking (120), while Konnor Pilkington leads the league in strikeouts looking (32) and Ethan Small ranks sixth (20).
State's staff also ranks third in the league in batters struck out (383).
Stovall ranks second in the SEC in fielding double plays (31), while Luke Alexander ranks sixth in the conference (26) and Hatcher is seventh (25). No other SEC team has a trio ranking in the top 15.
As a team, State is tied for the league lead and ranks 23rd in the nation in fielding double plays (37).
The MSU defense also leads the SEC in runners caught stealing with 18 and is fourth in the league in runners picked off with seven.
In just 25 appearances this year, Marshall Gilbert is tied for third in the conference with nine runners caught stealing.

SCOUTING THE REBELS
Ole Miss is coming off a series win over No. 12 Georgia, with the Rebels having won games two and three in a Saturday doubleheader in Oxford. Ole Miss is 5-3 in its eight games since State took the SEC series between the two sides. At 10-8 in league play, the Rebels are currently tied for the SEC West lead with Arkansas.

PROBABLE STARTERS
Tuesday: MSU RHP Denver McQuary (1-2, 4.88 ERA) vs. OM LHP Jordan Fowler (4-0, 3.43 ERA)

WEATHER FORECAST
Tuesday Forecast: High 72, Low 54 – Mostly Cloudy – 10% Chance of Rain

LIVE VIDEO/TELEVISION
Those unable to make the trip to Pearl will be able to watch the Governor's Cup live on SEC Network. The game will also be streamed through WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app. Fans can click on the link below to be taken directly to the stream once the game begins.

Watch Tuesday's Game

LIVE STATS
All season long, fans can follow the action with pitch-by-pitch updates through live stats. Visit the Diamond Dawgs' schedule page and click on the "Live Stats" link associated with the appropriate game.

LIVE AUDIO & RADIO
Tuesday's game is scheduled to air live on the Mississippi State Baseball Radio Network and WKBB 100.9 in Starkville. With Jim Ellis on the call, the contest will also be audio streamed live online at HailState.com/Plus and on TuneIn Radio.

TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets for Tuesday's game for as low as $10 at HailState.com/tickets. The Diamond Dawgs will serve as the home team an occupy the third base dugout.

NEXT UP FOR MSU
State will be back at home this weekend to continue SEC play with a three-game series against No. 18 Texas A&M. The series will commence Friday with a 6:30 p.m. start on SEC Network+. Tickets for all three games can be purchased at HailState.com/tickets.

FOLLOW THE DIAMOND DAWGS
For more information on the Diamond Dawg program, follow the program on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateBB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."

MSU Looks To Keep Governor’s Cup Tuesday in Pearl

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Luke Alexander

Tanner Allen

Marshall Gilbert

Josh Hatcher

Denver McQuary

Konnor Pilkington

Ethan Small

Hunter Stovall

Mississippi State University Athletics

MSU Looks To Keep Governor’s Cup Tuesday in Pearl

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Luke Alexander

Tanner Allen

Marshall Gilbert

Josh Hatcher

Denver McQuary

Konnor Pilkington

Ethan Small

Hunter Stovall

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