Dawgs Set For Top 25 Matchup With Florida

STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State baseball team heads to Gainesville, Fla. for a top 25 showdown with No. 6 Florida in Southeastern Conference action. The three-game set will run Friday-Sunday.

The three-game series will be broadcast on SECN+ and will also be carried on the Bulldog Sports Network powered by LEARFIELD, along with a live audio stream via HailState.com/OnDemand.

Gameday Info
Friday, March 29 (5:30 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Khal Stephen, (3-2), RHP, Jr.
UF: Brandon Neely, (1-0), RHP, Jr.

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Saturday, March 30 (5:30 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Jurrangelo Cijntje, (4-1), BHP, So.
UF: Liam Peterson, (1-2), RHP, Fr.

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Sunday, March 31 (12 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: TBD
UF: Jac Caglianone, (2-0), LHP, Jr.

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Quick Hitters

For the second straight week, the Diamond Dawgs are in the national rankings. They were ranked No. 21 by D1 Baseball, No. 17 by Baseball America, No. 23 by the USA Today Coaches Top 25, and No. 23 in the NCBWA poll.
Junior infielder/outfielder Hunter Hines enters the 2024 season as a Third Team Preseason All-American by Perfect Game. For his career, Hines has hit 45 home runs. The 45 home runs are the fourth most by an active player in the SEC. Tommy White (58), Jac Caglianone (52), and Braden Montgomery (47) are the only active players ahead of Hines. Hines and Montgomery will square off this weekend in SEC play. The 45 home runs are the sixth most by an active player in Division 1 baseball. The 45 home runs are tied for the eighth most in a career at Mississippi State. He is six homers away from moving into the top five at MSU. Besides hitting for power, Hines has driven in 141 runs and is 43 RBIs away from joining the career RBI mark at MSU.
For the second time this season, Dakota Jordan and Hunter Hines hit back-to-back home runs. Both times, this feat has been accomplished, and the duo hit the back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning. The first time this season that Jordan and Hines went back-to-back was against LSU in game three of the series, and then they did it again at Samford.
Khal Stephen had a bounce-back game on Friday night in College Station. After only lasting two innings the week prior against LSU, Stephen shined on the bound for the Dawgs. Stephen had his second-longest outing of the season, going 6 2/3 innings, as he picked up his third win and first in SEC action. He limited the Aggies to five hits and only one run in the game. Texas A&M scored in the second inning against Stephen before being shut down for the rest of the game.
The Diamond Dawgs' power is starting to come out this season. This season, MSU has hit 28 home runs and is led in bombs by Dakota Jordan with 12. The Diamond Dawgs' power is starting to show this season, as they have had a homer in 13 of the last 14 games. Against Memphis and Samford, the Diamond Dawgs hit three bombs. The Diamond Dawgs have eight games this season with two or more homers.
On Friday night, with a 5-1 victory over Texas A&M, the Diamond Dawgs earned their 1,000th career SEC victory. Only four schools have accomplished this feat. MSU joined Florida, LSU, and Alabama in reaching 1,000 wins in SEC games. The Dawgs have three SEC wins this weekend and head to Florida for a three-game series.
Following a freshman season that saw Dakota Jordan show off his power by hitting tape-measure homers, the sophomore is ready for his second season in the Maroon and White. On Feb. 9, Jordan was one of 55 players

Scouting the Opponent – Florida

Florida enters the weekend series ranked in all five collegiate polls and is the sixth-ranked team by D1 Baseball. The Gators have a record of 14-10 and are 4-2 in SEC play. Florida is coming off a midweek loss to Florida State, 14-3, in Jacksonville.
The Gators have taken both SEC series to start the year. They defeated Texas A&M opening weekend and then took the series at LSU last weekend.
Jac Caglianone, a two-way player, leads the Gators. At the plate, He is hitting .402 with 12 home runs. He has driven in 27 runs this season, all leading the team at the plate. On the mound, the Sunday starter, Caglianone, holds an ERA of 1.65, has three wins, and has pitched 27 1/3 innings. He has struck out 39 batters.
As a team, the Gators are hitting .283, the ninth-best average in the SEC.
Florida has hit 53 home runs this season, the third most in the SEC and sixth in the nation. Caglianone and Colby Shelton lead the team with 12 bombs, while five players have six or more homers on the season.
The Gators' pitching staff has a 5.84 ERA, the 14th-best in the SEC. Opponents are hitting .247 off the Gators' staff. They have tallied 262 strikeouts and walked the second-most batters in the SEC (116).
Ryan Slater has appeared in 14 games for the Gators this year and pitched 25 2/3 innings. He has made one start and has 23 strikeouts. He is holding opponents to a .222 batting average.

Series History

Florida leads the series 69-50.
The last time the Diamond Dawgs went to Gainesville was during the 2019 season. The Dawgs won two of the three games of the series.
The first meeting between these two programs came during the 1912 season.

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Dawgs Set For Top 25 Matchup With Florida

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Hunter Hines

Dakota Jordan

Khal Stephen

Mississippi State University Athletics

Dawgs Set For Top 25 Matchup With Florida

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Hunter Hines

Dakota Jordan

Khal Stephen

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