Diamond Dawg Gameday: Lipscomb

STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State Bulldogs return to Dudy Noble Field this weekend when they host the Lipscomb Bisons. The series opens Friday night at 6 p.m., continuing Saturday at 2 p.m., and concluding Sunday at 1 p.m.

All three games will be broadcast on SEC Network+. The games will also be carried on the Mississippi State Sports Network powered by Learfield along with a live audio stream via HailState.com/Listen. Click HERE for a full list of the 2023 MSU Baseball Radio Affiliates.

Gameday Info
Friday, March 10 (6 p.m)
Probable Starters
MSU: Jurrangelo Cijntje (2-0), BHP, Fr.
LU: Michael Dunkelberger (0-2), LHP, Jr.

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Gameday Info
Saturday, March 11 (2 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: TBD
LU: Ethan Smith, (0-0), RHP, Sr.

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Gameday Info
Sunday, March 12 (1 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Landon Gartman (1-0), RHP, Sr.
LU: Braydon Tucker, (0-0), RHP, Gr.

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Quick Hitters

The Bulldog's captain, Luke Hancock, was named to the 2023 Buster Posey award watch list this week, awarded to the best catcher in collegiate baseball.
GOOD EYE: As a team, the Diamond Dawgs rank fifth nationally with 97 base on balls. Colton Ledbetter, Luke Hancock and Lane Forsythe rank 18^th individually with 14 total walks.
LIVING LIKE LARRY: Amani Larry excels at getting on base and his career numbers show nothing but that. Among all active D-1 players, Larry ranks ninth with a .372 career batting average and in the top-50 with a .489 on-base percentage.
The Diamond Dawgs head into the weekend batting .306 as a team. Freshman Bryce Chance tops the stat sheet with a .395 batting average.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY: Luke Hancock and Amani Larry have reached in all 13 games for the Bulldogs this season.
The Bulldogs hit back-to-back home runs for the first time this season against Valparaiso on Tuesday. Hunter Hines blasted a two-run shot, followed by a solo home run from Kellum Clark. The last time the Dawgs accomplished this feat was in 2022, when Clark followed up Kamren James against Missouri.
The Diamond Dawgs have flaunted their speed on the basepaths, accounting for 22 stolen bases, which is the fourth most of any team in the Southeastern Conference.
Bradley Loftin shined in his latest start. Against Valparaiso he tallied career-highs in innings pitched (6) and strikeouts (11), while limiting the Beacons to two hits in the contest. He is the first pitcher for MSU with ten or more strikeouts in a game since May 20, 2022 when Preston Johnson had ten.
Head Coach Chris Lemonis is closing in on 150 wins as the Mississippi State head coach. When he reaches 150, he will become just the fifth coach in Mississippi State history to achieve that mark. Lemonis currently has 148 wins at Mississippi State.

Scouting the Opponent – Lipscomb

Jeff Forehand leads the Bisons squad in his 17^th year as head coach. Forehand, the 2022 ASUN Coach of the Year, is the winningest coach in Lipscomb history, with a 427-451 record. In 22 total seasons, he has a record of 638-593-1.
Lipscomb enters the weekend with a 5-8 record and on a six-game losing streak, with losses to Belmont, Georgia Tech, Tennessee Tech and Auburn, all occurring on the road.
Alex Vergara leads the team in batting average as he is hitting .366 on the season. He has five doubles and four home runs on the season.
The Bisons have hit 26 home runs this season, this is the 15^th most in the NCAA They have nine different players who have hit a home run this season. Five different players have hit four homers this season, a team high.
Noah Thompson leads the team with two wins.
Lipscomb has a team ERA of 5.85 on the season and opponents are hitting .242. The staff has 125 strikeouts over the first 13 games of the season.
The Bisons opened the season with series wins against Notre Dame and UIC
On the 2022 campaign, Lipscomb finished with an overall record of 36-22 and a 20-10 conference record.

Series Notes

The Dawgs and Bisons meet for the first time in 11 years and six days when Lipscomb travels to Starkville for a three-game set. This is the first meeting between these two programs since 2012.
These two programs have met six times, between 2003 and 2012.
The Dawgs lead the all-time series against Lipscomb, 6-0.
Every game between the Bisons and Diamond Dawgs have been played in March and five of the six have been played in Starkville.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the baseball program. Fans can also follow the program on social media by searching 'HailStateBB' on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Diamond Dawg Gameday: Lipscomb

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bryce Chance

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Kellum Clark

Lane Forsythe

Landon Gartman

Luke Hancock

Hunter Hines

Kamren James

Preston Johnson

Amani Larry

Colton Ledbetter

Bradley Loftin

Mississippi State University Athletics

Diamond Dawg Gameday: Lipscomb

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bryce Chance

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Kellum Clark

Lane Forsythe

Landon Gartman

Luke Hancock

Hunter Hines

Kamren James

Preston Johnson

Amani Larry

Colton Ledbetter

Bradley Loftin

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