Diamond Dawg Gameday: host Quinnipiac

by: Greg Campbell, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – The final non-conference weekend series of the regular season at Dudy Noble Field will add a new opponent to the record books for the Mississippi State baseball program in Metro Atlantic Athletic Association member Quinnipiac.

The Diamond Dawgs (7-4) and Bobcats (1-8) will open the series on Friday (March 6) at 4 p.m., before playing Saturday (March 7) at 2 p.m. CT and Sunday (March 8) at 1 p.m. The first 500 students through the gates on Friday night will receive a free tailgate cooler, while Sunday is always Kids Day at the Ballpark.

Tickets for each game of the weekend series can be found at hailstate.com/tickets, with a special Super Saturday ticket pack offered for Saturday's baseball and men's basketball game. The Super Saturday ticket pack offers tickets for both events for just $10 by using the code "SuperSaturday" at checkout.

Gameday Info
Friday, March 6 (4 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Christian MacLeod, LHP, R-Fr.
QU: ---

Live Video: https://hailst.at/38xhs6t
Live Audio: https://hailst.at/audio
Live Stats: https://hailst.at/2IjSGvI

Saturday, March 7 (2 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Will Bednar, RHP, Fr.
QU: ---

Live Video: https://hailst.at/38xhs6t
Live Audio: https://hailst.at/audio
Live Stats: https://hailst.at/32T41MN

Sunday, March 8 (1 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Eric Cerantola, RHP, So.
QU: ---

Live Video: https://hailst.at/38xhs6t
Live Audio: https://hailst.at/audio
Live Stats: https://hailst.at/38nGIfj

Quick Hitters

The Diamond Dawgs will meet Quinnipiac for the first time in program history on Friday afternoon. The Diamond Dawgs have met two MAAC opponents in program history, with a 6-1 mark in those games.
More on Page 3
Junior Jordan Westburg owns four career reached base streaks of 14-plus games, including a 30-game streak that spanned the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
More on Page 8 & 9
Mississippi State will use its third different starting rotation this weekend in the fourth weekend of the season. The Bulldogs will go with Christian MacLeod on Friday, Will Bednar on Saturday and Eric Cerantola on Sunday versus Quinnipiac.
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Redshirt-freshman Christian MacLeod struck out 11 batters in his first career start versus Wright State on Saturday, February 15, the most by a Diamond Dawg in a season debut in program history.
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Senior Riley Self owns 77 career relief appearances, a total that ranks No. 7 on MSU's career charts. He is just four appearances shy of cracking the top five.
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The Voice of the Diamond Dawgs, Jim Ellis, enters his 42nd season on the airwaves and was awarded the Wilbur Snypp Award from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, which is awarded yearly to someone for contributions to the game of college baseball.
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Scouting The Opponent

Quinnipiac is led offensively by Evan Vulgamore who is batting a .296 with 7 RBIs on the season.
Last time out, three Bobcats were able to extend hitting streaks with Vulgamore, Ian Ostberg, and Dylan Lutz extending their streaks to four, five, and four games, respectively.
On the mound, the Bobcats have recorded 62 strikeouts collectively as a team in nine games.
The Bobcats advanced to the 2019 NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Greenville Regional. They moved through the winners bracket, before losing to ECU twice in the regional finals.

Series Notes

Friday will mark the first ever meeting between Mississippi State and Quinnipiac .
All-time, Mississippi State is 6-1 all-time against the current alignment of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. State has faced Marist (4-1) and Siena (2-0).
Marist opened the 2006 season in Starkville, before returning for a pair of games in 2017. Siena visited Dudy Noble Field for a weekend series, which was limited to two games in 1999.

Diamond Dawg Gameday: host Quinnipiac

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Will Bednar

Eric Cerantola

Christian MacLeod

Riley Self

Jordan Westburg

Mississippi State University Athletics

Diamond Dawg Gameday: host Quinnipiac

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Will Bednar

Eric Cerantola

Christian MacLeod

Riley Self

Jordan Westburg

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