State Returns Home To Face Samford
March 24, 2025 | Baseball
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State returns home for a quick midweek tilt against Samford sandwiched between two Southeastern Conference weekends on the road.
The battle of the Bulldogs is slated for a 6 p.m. start at Dudy Noble Field on Tuesday and will be televised on SEC Network+.
For the third-straight midweek matchup, MSU will send out Noah Sullivan to start the game on the mound. State has won both of Sullivan's previous starts although the junior right-hander has not factored into either decision. He has struck out six and not issued a walk in six innings of work and maintains a flawless earned run average.
Samford counters on the bump with Magnolia State native Brooks Rice. The senior righty is making his sixth start of the spring and sports an 0-1 record and a 10.03 ERA. He has struck out nine and walked eight in 11 2/3 innings with opponents hitting .320 against him.
State knocked off then 10th-ranked Oklahoma 2-1 last Friday night but dropped the road series against the Sooners and enter Tuesday's contest at 15-9 overall.
Chris Lemonis' club is hitting .315 with 38 home runs and scoring 7.7 runs per game. Mississippi State has also swiped 32 bases in 36 attempts and maintain a .970 fielding percentage.
Sullivan's prowess extends to the batter's box where he leads MSU with 32 hits and a .420 batting average. Ace Reese tops the team with eight home runs and 34 RBIs while Ross Highfill is State's leading base thief with eight steals in 10 tries.
State's hurlers have a 3.55 ERA as a staff with 277 strikeouts and 80 walks in 198 innings. Opponents are hitting just .195 against them on the year.
Pico Kohn, who was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week on Monday, tops the homestanding Bulldogs with 53 strikeouts. Sullivan, Gavin Black and Cade O'Leary have yet to surrender an earned run this spring while Luke Dotson and Chase Hungate are tied for the team lead with two saves apiece.
Samford comes to Starkville with a 13-11 record this spring and coming off a series loss at East Tennessee State. Samford was able to squeeze out Sunday's finale against the Buccaneers 13-7.
The visiting Bulldogs have a collective batting average of .298 with 26 homers and are also scoring 7.7 runs per game. Samford has stolen 54 bases in 65 tries and sport a .964 fielding percentage as a team.
Cade Carr leads Samford's lineup hitting .395 with 34 RBIs on the year. Trey Higgins is the team's top power threat with five long balls while Jeffrey Ince has swiped 13 bases in 14 attempts.
Samford's pitching staff has combined for a 5.84 ERA with 220 strikeouts and 103 free passes in 195 2/3 frames. Opponents have blasted 34 home runs and are batting .258 overall against them.
Evan Steckmessar leads Samford with 33 strikeouts and has one of the team's three saves this spring along with Mason Blasche and Joseph Lee. Will Lynch and John Malone both have perfect ERAs entering Tuesday's game.
Mississippi State has won the last two meetings against Samford and leads the all-time series, 40-11. MSU edged Samford on the road 9-5 in 10-innings last season with Bryce Chance's solo homer putting State out in front in the top of the 10th.
Aaron Downs and Hunter Hines had two hits apiece in last year's matchup with Samford with Hines hitting a double, homer and driving in two.
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