Diamond Dawg Gameday: vs. Florida

HOOVER, Ala. – The No. 3 Mississippi State baseball program will open its stay at the SEC Tournament with a 9:30 a.m. first pitch against No. 12 Florida at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex on Wednesday (May 25).

The Diamond Dawgs (40-13) are coming off of a series sweep of Alabama last weekend to post its fourth 20-win SEC season and first back-to-back 20-win conference seasons in the program's storied history. Florida (36-19) defeated Kentucky in the opening round of the SEC Tournament to earn a spot in the double-elimination field.

Junior Tanner Allen is enjoying one of the best offensive seasons in the country and was named the SEC Player of the Year, while fellow outfielder Rowdey Jordan earned second-team All-SEC honors. Second-year freshman Landon Sims was a second-team All-SEC pick, as well as a Newcomer All-SEC pick. Brandon Smith will get the start in the opening game of the SEC Tournament for the second time in his career, as he didn't factor in to the decision in MSU's 17-inning victory over LSU in 2019.

Florida is led by outfielder and first-team All-SEC pick Jud Fabian's 20 home runs and 46 RBIs, while Nathan Hickey is hitting .304 with a team-high 47 RBIs and .432 on-base percentage. Hickey has walked 41 times and struck out 38, also reaching via hit-by-pitch eight times. Hunter Barco will get the start on the mound for the Gators and owns a 9-2 record and 92 strikeouts on the year

Gameday Info

Wednesday, May 25 (9:30 a.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Brandon Smith, RHP, So.
UA: Hunter Barco, LHP, Fr. (2Y)

TV: SEC Network
Live Video: https://hailst.at/3fCFd45
Live Audio: https://hailst.at/audio
Live Stats: http://hailst.at/StatBroadcast

SEC Tournament Tidbits

Mississippi State will enter its 35th appearance in the bracket format of the SEC Tournament with a 66-55 all-time mark at the event.
The Diamond Dawgs also made eight appearances in the SEC Championship Series between 1948-71, with a mark of 15-7.
State has won seven SEC Tournament titles and claimed six of the SEC Championship Series it played in.
Mississippi State will enter the 2021 event as the No. 3 seed, which is the most common seed for MSU at the event. The Diamond Dawgs enter as the No. 3 seed for the eighth time.
(1978, 85, 88, 90, 91, 92, 2000, 21)
Florida is the second-most played opponent at the SEC Tournament, with MSU owning a 6-10 record.
State won six of the first 10 meetings at the SEC Tournament, but Florida has won six straight decisions at the event.
MSU and UF met in the 1962 SEC Championship Series, as well, with Florida winning two of three games.
The most played opponent at the SEC Tournament is LSU. The Bulldogs and Tigers have tangled 20 times at the event, including the epic 17-inning contest at the 2019 tournament. The two teams are even at 10-10.
Mississippi State's school record for longest game is 17 innings. It has happened three times, including twice at the SEC Tournament. Including the LSU game in 2019, State also played 17 innings against Missouri at the 2013 event.
In 34 previous appearances at the SEC Tournament Mississippi State has won at least one game in 30 of those and posted multiple wins in 19 of those.
In terms of the all-tournament team, 64 student-athletes have earned 71 total honors. Of the seven student-athletes earning multiple honors, those include Jeff Brantley, Adam Frazier and Bobby Thigpen, among others.

Quick Hitters

Mississippi State heads to the SEC Tournament as the No. 3 seed after posting a 20-10 record in conference play for the second straight season. The conference ledger saw State finish tied No. 2 in the SEC with Eastern Division champion Tennessee.
MSU posted back-to-back 20-win SEC seasons for the first time in program history. It is the fourth time overall that MSU won 20 SEC games, with the 2016, 2019 and 2021 teams reaching the mark and the 1989 squad posting a school-standard 21 wins.
With 40 wins on the season, it is the 23rd time in program history that Mississippi State has reached the 40-win mark.
Mississippi State closed out the regular season with a three-game sweep at Alabama. It was the first series sweep of the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa since 2004 and MSU swept Alabama in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1993-94.
State swept four SEC series during the 2021 season to mark the second-most in a single season in program history (5; 1989). That included sweeps of both Alabama and Auburn on the road for the first time in program history.
Tanner Allen became the second Mississippi State baseball student-athlete in the last four seasons to earn SEC Player of the Year. The junior led the SEC in batting average - both overall (.387) and SEC only (.411).
MORE ON PAGE 6 & 12
Allen was also selected first-team All-SEC, while classmate Rowdey Jordan and second-year freshman Landon Sims were each tabbed second-team All-SEC. Sims joined Will Bednar and Logan Tanner on the Newcomer All-SEC Team.
Head coach Chris Lemonis notched his 100th win at Mississippi State (130 games coached) against Missouri on Thursday (May 13) and is the fastest head coach in program history to reach the 100-win mark. Pat McMahon reached the 100-win mark in his 146th career game as head coach, while Ron Polk took 150 games to reach the 100-win mark.
Mississippi State is 29-1 in midweek contests over the last three seasons, including a perfect 11-0 mark during the 2021 season. The Diamond Dawgs went 15-0 in the midweek during the 2019 season and was 3-1 in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic cut the season short.

Scouting the Opponent

Florida enters with a top-15 ranking nationally and a 36-19 overall record after defeating Kentucky in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
The Gators enter with a .277 batting average and average 6.4 runs on 9.4 hits in 55 games. As a pitching staff, Florida limits opponents to a .246 batting average with a 4.25 ERA.
Jud Fabian has hit 20 of UF's 67 home runs and owns a team-best 46 RBIs. Jacob Young leads a group of three Gator hitters with a .300 average as his team-high 72 hits have led to a .309 average.
Nathan Hickey owns a .304 batting average with 62 hits and 47 RBIs. He has walked 41 times and stuck out 38 on the year.
Hunter Barco has been one of the top pitchers in the conference this season, as the second-year freshman is 9-2 with a 4.04 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 75 2/3 innings of work.
Jack Leftwich has filled both the role of starting pitcher and reliever for the Gators in 2021, owning 21 appearances (six starts) with a 7-4 record and team-high five saves.

Series Notes

Mississippi State and Florida will meet for the 119th time on Wednesday morning at the SEC Tournament. The Gators lead the series over the Bulldogs, 66-52.
The last regular season meeting came during the 2019 season, when Mississippi State won two of three meetings to open SEC play on March 15-16 in Gainesville.
State has won five of the last six meetings between the two programs, as the Bulldogs swept then-No. 1 Florida in Starkville to end the 2018 regular season and followed with two wins in Gainesville during the 2019 season.
Mississippi State won the first 10 meetings between the two programs, starting on April 25-26, 1923.
Six of the last 25 meetings have come in postseason play, with three in the 2011 NCAA Super Regional and four at the SEC Tournament.

Diamond Dawg Gameday: vs. Florida

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tanner Allen

Will Bednar

Rowdey Jordan

Landon Sims

Brandon Smith

Logan Tanner

Mississippi State University Athletics

Diamond Dawg Gameday: vs. Florida

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tanner Allen

Will Bednar

Rowdey Jordan

Landon Sims

Brandon Smith

Logan Tanner

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