Diamond Dawgs Set For Top 15 Showdown at Arkansas

STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State Diamond Dawgs hit the road for their last SEC road trip of the 2024 season as they head to Fayetteville, Arkansas to take on the No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks.

First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Sunday's game will be aired on SEC Network with Friday and Saturday's games broadcasted on SECN+. The series 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, May 10 (6:30 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Khal Stephen, (7-3, 2.96 ERA), RHP, Jr.
ARK: Hagen Smith, (9-0, 1.36 ERA), LHP, Jr.

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Saturday, May 11 (6 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: Jurrangelo Cijntje, (7-1, 3.53 ERA), BHP, So.
ARK: Brady Tygart, (4-2, 3.34 ERA), RHP, Jr.

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Sunday, May 12 (2 p.m.)
Probable Starters
MSU: TBD
ARK: Mason Molina, (3-2, 3.81 ERA), LHP, Jr.

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Quick Hitters

The Diamond Dawgs are in the national rankings. They were ranked No. 14 by D1 Baseball, No. 12 by Baseball America, No. 20 by Perfect Game, No. 15 by NCBWA and No. 15 by the USA Today/Coaches Poll.
On Tuesday, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame announced the five finalists for the Ferriss Trophy, presented annually to Mississippi's most outstanding college player. Dakota Jordan will represent the Diamond Dawgs this season. Entering the series at Arkansas, he leads the team in home runs (16) and RBIs (56). Jordan has the seventh-best batting average in the SEC, hitting.367. In the 19-year history of the award, seven Diamond Dawgs have earned the Ferriss Trophy on eight different occasions, with Jake Mangum (2016 & 19) being the only MSU student-athlete to earn the award twice. Tanner Allen (2021), Brent Rooker (2017), Hunter Renfroe (2012), Chris Stratton (2012), Ed Easley (2007) and Thomas Berkery (2006) have each walked away as Ferriss Trophy winners. The eight winners of the award are the most by any school in the state of Mississippi.
Senior Connor Hujsak has been red-hot all season during SEC games. He has the fourth-best batting average in conference games this year and is hitting .387 (36-for-93) in league games. Six of the eight home runs Hujsak has hit this season have come during SEC play. He added his sixth homer in SEC play on Sunday against Alabama with a rocket that went 472'. He has the second most RBIs on the team in SEC games this season with 22. In addition to hitting for an average, Hujsak has an on-base percentage of .457, the eighth-best mark in league-only games.

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 52 home runs. The 52 home runs are the fifth most by an active player in the SEC. Tommy White (70), Jac Caglianone (67), Braden Montgomery (59) and Charlie Condon (58) are the only active players ahead of Hines. The 52 home runs are the 10th most by an active player in Division 1 baseball.
Against Alcorn State on April 16, the Mississippi State Bulldogs recorded a shutout for the third time this season. The Dawgs shut out Alcorn State on Tuesday night. They also shut out Ole Miss (4/12) and Mount St. Mary's (3/2). The Diamond Dawgs' last shutout prior to this season was June 30, 2021, when they defeated Vanderbilt to win the 2021 National Championship. During the 2021 season, the Diamond Dawgs tallied eight shutouts, four of which came in a row from March 7 to 12. During that span, the Diamond Dawgs defeated Kent State, Grambling, Louisiana, and Eastern Michigan. Khal Stephen pitched a gem at Ole Miss. The Dawgs came away with an 8-0 shutout victory over the Rebels. This was the Dawgs' first SEC shutout and first road SEC shutout since May 21 at Alabama.

The Diamond Dawgs' pitching has been vital this season, as they have one of the best pitching staffs in the SEC. The Dawgs have an ERA of 4.16 in 419 2/3 innings, the fourth-best ERA in the SEC. They have added 493 strikeouts this season, the fifth-most in the league. The Dawgs are averaging 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings, the sixth-most in the SEC and the 14th-best mark in the nation. Jurrangelo Cijntje leads the Dawgs in punchouts with 80, the fourth-most in the SEC. Khal Stephen is right behind Cijntje with 73, the eighth-most in the SEC. Stephen's ERA of 2.77 is the sixth-best mark in the SEC. Since March 21, Stephen has been dominant on the mound. He has posted five wins in seven starts, an ERA of 1.93, and a total of 46.2 innings pitched.
The Diamond Dawgs lead the SEC in runners picked off. Mississippi State has picked off 12 runners this season. The next closest team has picked off ten.
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.
On March 22 Mississippi State's 5-1 victory over Texas A&M marked their 1,000^th career SEC victory. Only four schools have accomplished this feat. MSU joined Florida, LSU, and Alabama to reach 1,000 wins in SEC games.
Mississippi State is great at turning out major league talent, with 69 Diamond Dawgs reaching the highest level of the sport, but it is also great at keeping student-athletes on campus.

Scouting the Opponent – Arkansas

Arkansas heads into the weekend with a 40-9 overall record. The Razorbacks are first in the SEC West with their 17-7 conference record.
Arkansas was ranked in all five polls this week, with D1 Baseball ranking the Razorbacks No. 5.
The Razorbacks are on a two-game losing streak after dropping two games to No. 8 ranked Kentucky this past weekend.
Peyton Stovall leads Arkansas' offense with a .362 batting average. Stovall has come to the plate 152 times and collected 35 RBIs, 55 hits, 10 doubles and eight home runs.
Leading the Razorbacks' pitching staff is Hagen Smith. Smith has made 12 starts and has a 9-0 record on the season. Smith has punched out 125 and walked 25 through 66 innings pitched to earn a 1.36 ERA.

Series History

Mississippi State and Arkansas' all-time series record is tied 57-57.
Mississippi State is 19-27 when playing in Fayetteville. The Dawgs won the last game in Fayetteville, 5-3 on April 3, 2022.
The Razorbacks have won the last four series.

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Diamond Dawgs Set For Top 15 Showdown at Arkansas

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Hunter Hines

Connor Hujsak

Dakota Jordan

Khal Stephen

Mississippi State University Athletics

Diamond Dawgs Set For Top 15 Showdown at Arkansas

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Hunter Hines

Connor Hujsak

Dakota Jordan

Khal Stephen

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