Diamond Dawgs Return to Dudy Noble Field To Host Evansville

STARKVILLE - The Mississippi State baseball team returns to action on Friday, March 8 when they host Evansville at Dudy Noble Field. The three-game series is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch on Friday, a 4 p.m. start Saturday and a 1 p.m. finale on Sunday.

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

Gameday Info
Friday, March 8 (6 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Nate Dohm, (2-0), RHP, Jr.
UE: Nick Smith, (0-1), RHP, Sr.

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Saturday, March 9 (4 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Khal Stephen, (1-1), RHP, Jr.
UE: Donovan Schultz, (0-0), LHP, Gr.

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Sunday, March 10 (1 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Jurrangelo Cijntje, (2-0), BHP, So.
UE: Kenton Deverman, (2-0), LHP, Fr.

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Promotions/Giveaways
Friday, March 8 – The first 250 fans can receive a State-To-The-Show Poster of Nathaniel Lowe.
Saturday, March 9 – The first 500 fans can receive a Black Mississippi State Mini Bat.
Sunday, March 10 – Sunday is Kids Day at the Dude! Kids get to run the bases following the game.

Quick Hitters

The Diamond Dawgs return to Dudy Noble Field this Friday night when they host the University of Evansville Purple Aces in a three-game series. This will be the first meeting between these two programs on the diamond.
After returning to the lineup seven games ago, David Mershon has been swinging a hot bat for the Diamond Dawgs. The switch hitter from Taylors, S.C. is hitting .484. He has been a hitting machine since his first game as he has hit safely in eight straight games, the longest streak of his career. Besides collecting hits, Mershon is driving in runs. Over eight games, he has 13 RBIs. He drove in a career-high four runs against Jackson State, three of which came on a bases clearing triple. Over this span, Mershon has a .541 on-base percentage and has scored four runs.
The Diamond Dawgs tallied a shutout for the first time since the 2021 season. The 6-0 shutout over Mount St. Mary's was the first shutout for Mississippi State since June 30, 2021, against Vanderbilt, which resulted in the Dawgs winning the National Championship. This was also the first shutout at Dudy Noble Field since March 12, 2021.
In last weekend's sweep of Mount St. Mary's, starting pitching played a key role in the sweep as each starter picked up a win. The starters pitched 19 2/3 innings on the weekend, with each starter going at least six innings, while limiting the Mountaineers to 12 hits. The Mountaineers hit .182 off the Diamond Dawgs starting pitchers. The trio of starters combined for 27 strikeouts, with Jurrangelo Cijntje setting a career-high with 10 strikeouts. They posted an ERA of 0.46 for the weekend as they only allowed one run.
The Diamond Dawgs bullpen has shown off from the hard work from fall ball to the season. Against Southern Miss, the pen pitched eight innings without surrendering a run. They only allowed three hits to secure the win over USM. Over the last 13 1/3 innings the Dawgs pen has thrown, they have only allowed seven hits, while striking out 14 and only walking three. Since March 2nd, teams are only hitting .156 off the relievers and have only allowed one earned run. Eight different relievers have been used during this span with Tyson Hardin and Nolan Stevens as the only pitchers to make two appearances.
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 in the nation that were named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. The Golden Spikes award is given to the best amateur baseball player in the nation. Jordan leads the team with five home runs and is hitting a team-best .347. Of his 17 hits, 10 have been extra base hits.
Just last year Joe Powell was in EMT school training to be a firefighter, but a call from Mississippi State's staff turned things around and got him back on the diamond. After 18 months away from the diamond, Powell has put together a .350 batting average, four hits and four RBIs.
The Dude Effect is alive and well. Reserved seating has once again sold out for the season. Mississippi State has sold out reserved seating since 1987.
Mississippi State is great at turning out major league talent, with 68 Diamond Dawgs reaching the highest level of the sport, but it is also great at keeping student-athletes on campus.

Scouting the Opponent – Evansville

Evansville comes into this weekend series with a 7-5 record, after defeating Purdue Fort Wayne in a four-game series this past weekend.
The Aces have a .345 batting average, with Mark Shallenberger leading the team with .447. The .345 team batting average is the ninth best in the nation.
The pitching staff for the Aces holds a 6.13 ERA with 110 strikeouts.
The Aces have played seven away games this season against Oral Roberts, New Orleans, and Vanderbilt. They are 3-4 on the road.
Evansville has the second-best record in the Missouri Valley Conference, and they also lead the conference with their batting average.

Series Notes

Mississippi State faces Evansville in the first ever matchup between these two programs on Friday.

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 X, Facebook and Instagram.

Diamond Dawgs Return to Dudy Noble Field To Host Evansville

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Players Mentioned

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Nate Dohm

Tyson Hardin

Dakota Jordan

David Mershon

Joe Powell

Khal Stephen

Nolan Stevens

Mississippi State University Athletics

Diamond Dawgs Return to Dudy Noble Field To Host Evansville

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Nate Dohm

Tyson Hardin

Dakota Jordan

David Mershon

Joe Powell

Khal Stephen

Nolan Stevens

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