Diamond Dawg Gameday: at Auburn

AUBURN, Ala. – The Bulldogs open up a seven-game road trip against the Auburn Tigers this weekend. The series begins on Friday 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, April 21 (6 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Cade Smith (1-1), RHP, Jr.
AU: Tommy Vail (3-1), LHP Gr.

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Gameday Info
Saturday, April 22 (3 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Colby Holcombe (2-2), RHP, So.
AU: Christian Herberholz (0-3), RHP, R-JR.

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Gameday Info
Sunday, April 23 (1 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Jurrangelo Cijntje (3-2), BHP, Fr.
AU: TBA

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Quick Hitters

The Dawgs are looking at becoming just the third school in SEC history to win 1,000 Southeastern Conference contests. The only schools to accomplish this feat are Florida and LSU. Mississippi State has 993 SEC wins in program history.
Freshman Dakota Jordan was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week following his performance last week. Over the weekend against Ole Miss, Jordan went 5-for-13 with a pair of home runs and drove in six. His biggest hit came in game two in the bottom of the ninth, when he collected the game winning two-run RBI single, giving the Dawgs the 8-7 victory.
The Diamond Dawgs have been racking up strikeouts this season. Over 37 games, the Dawgs have tallied 388 Ks. The 388 punchouts are the tenth most in the NCAA this season. The staff ranks 12th in the country in strikeouts per nine innings, averaging 10.9.
Since starting SEC play, sophomore Hunter Hines has been crushing the baseball. He is hitting .351 over SEC play. Out of his 20 hits, eight have been home runs and he has 17 RBIs over 15 games. Over the course of the season, Hines is hitting .336 with 17 home runs and 47 RBIs.
Ross Highfill exploded at the plate in game three against Lipscomb. He hit three home runs, becoming the first Bulldog to do such since Brent Rooker did on April 8, 2017. He then added a two-home run game against Alabama in the first game of the series.
The Dawgs have hit 66 home runs the 14th best mark in the NCAA. The Dawgs hit at least one home run in each of the last four SEC games, including a homer in each game against Ole Miss. The Dawgs have hit a home run in 30 of 37 games this season, including hitting a homer in 12 of the last 14 games. Eleven different players have hit a homer this season. Hunter Hines leads the team with 17 bombs, while Kellum Clark follows with nine.
The Diamond Dawgs are finding ways to reach base this season, including drawing walks. The Bulldogs have drawn 224 base on balls this season, the ninth most in the NCAA. Eight different players have drawn ten or more walks this season. Colton Ledbetter leads the team with 38 walks this season. Luke Hancock follows with 35 walks, while Amani Larry is third on the team with 27. Ledbetter ranks seventh in the nation in walks.
Mississippi State is great at turning out major league talent, with 66 Diamond Dawgs reaching the highest level of the sport, but it is also great at keeping student-athletes on campus. The Dawgs returned one player, KC Hunt, who was drafted in the 12th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2022. The Dawgs will have seven on Opening Day MLB rosters. This season, the Dawgs had seven players on Opening Day Rosters.
Mississippi State has the BEST fans in collegiate baseball, which showed during Super Bulldog Weekend. The Dawgs drew 43,986 fans for a three-game set and set the NCAA record for single game attendance for an on-campus facility at 16,423 fans. The Dawgs average 11,202 per game, the most in the NCAA.
The Bulldog's captain, Luke Hancock, was named to the 2023 Buster Posey Award Watch List. This award goes to the best catcher in collegiate baseball.
Sophomore Nate Dohm was named to the NWBCA Stopper of the Year Watch List, and we can see why. He has made ten appearances out of the bullpen this year and holds an ERA of 1.42. In 25.1 innings pitched, he has 26 strikeouts and has five wins, while picking up two saves.

Scouting the Opponent – Auburn

Butch Thompson is in his eighth season as the head coach of the Tigers. He holds a 243-179-1 record while at Auburn.
Thompson spent seven years at Mississippi State as an assistant coach.
Auburn enters the weekend with an overall record of 21-15-1. They enter with a conference record of 5-10 with a series victory over Georgia, and single game wins over Alabama, Texas A&M and #2 Florida.
The Tigers finished 43-22 on the 2022 campaign, with a 16-13 conference record, ending their season in Omaha.
Auburn ranks in the top 80 nationally in home runs, with a total of 47. Bryson Ware leads the squad with 15, which ranks 13th individually.
The Tigers pitching staff enters the weekend with a 6.41 ERA.
Auburn bats .289 as a squad. They are led by Ike Irish, who is batting .384 on the season.
John Armstrong leads the Tigers in victories (6).

Series Notes

The Dawgs and the Tigers meet for the 214^th time on Friday when they begin the three-game series.
In last year's series, Mississippi State took two out of three against Auburn.
State leads the all-time series 116-96-1.
The Dawgs have eight of the last ten matchups over the Tigers, including a contest in the 2019 College World Series.
The first matchup between these two programs was in 1908.

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: at Auburn

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Kellum Clark

Nate Dohm

Luke Hancock

Ross Highfill

Hunter Hines

Colby Holcombe

KC Hunt

Dakota Jordan

Amani Larry

Colton Ledbetter

Cade Smith

Mississippi State University Athletics

Diamond Dawg Gameday: at Auburn

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Kellum Clark

Nate Dohm

Luke Hancock

Ross Highfill

Hunter Hines

Colby Holcombe

KC Hunt

Dakota Jordan

Amani Larry

Colton Ledbetter

Cade Smith

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