Mississippi State
Northeastern
Bulldogs Poised For More Postseason History
May 29, 2025 | Baseball
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., - Mississippi State finds itself in familiar territory at the Tallahassee Regional.
The Diamond Dawgs have appeared in Florida State's NCAA Regional four times prior and won it twice, both times eventually advancing to the College World Series in 2007 and 2018.
MSU will try to make more history this year as the No. 3 seed as it takes on second-seeded and 19th-ranked Northeastern on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT streaming on ESPN+.
The Bulldogs and Huskies will be the second game of the day as the host and seventh-ranked Seminoles battles SWAC Tournament champion Bethune-Cookman at 2 p.m. on ACC Network.
Mississippi State has tabbed sinkerball specialist Ben Davis with slowing down the Huskies inside the usually hitter-friendly Dick Howser Stadium. Davis will be making his fourth start of the season and first since March 22. The junior right-hander is 3-2 with one save on the year with a 3.96 earned run average, 58 strikeouts and 22 walks across 52 1/3 innings.
Northeastern counters with its ace Will Jones, who sports a spotless 11-0 record across 14 starts. The graduate southpaw has a 1.82 ERA with 72 strikeouts and 17 walks across 69 1/3 innings of work this season.
It will mark the first meeting between the Diamond Dawgs and Huskies, who hold the nation's longest active winning streak at 27 games.
MSU makes its 41st NCAA Regional appearance with a 34-21 overall record. The Bulldogs are coming off a 9-0 defeat by Texas A&M in the opening round of the SEC Tournament on May 21.
Mississippi State is hitting .307 as a team with a program-tying 97 home runs this season and is scoring 9.4 runs per game. Justin Parker's squad has also swiped 42 bases in 50 tries and maintains a .972 fielding percentage.
Sophomore third baseman Ace Reese leads the Diamond Dawgs and ranks among the SEC's leaders in nearly every offensive category. Reese leads the league with 161 total bases and a slugging percentÂage of .767, is second with 18 doubles and 21 homers and a .371 batting average and ranks third hits (78) and RBIs (66). The first team All-SEC performer and SEC Newcomer of the Year is also riding a career-long 22-game hitting streak and has 20 multi-RBI games and five multi-homer games in 2025.
Senior first baseman Hunter Hines tops all active Division I players with 69 career homers and is the school's all-time leader in long balls. Sophomore catcher Ross Highfill remains the team's leading base thief with 12 steals in 14 chances this season.
MSU's pitching staff remains one of the nation's best, ranking third averaging 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings and sit fifth in the country with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.24.
Bulldog hurlers collectively hold a 4.44 earned run average with 605 strikeouts and 187 walks through 461 2/3 innings on the year. Opposing teams are hitting just .228 against them.
Pico Kohn has been Mississippi State's strikeout specialist with 107 on the year while two-way talent Noah Sullivan sports a 1.96 ERA, the lowest of any qualifying pitcher on the team. Luke Dotson, Chase Hungate, Ryan McPherson and Stone Simmons have each recorded two saves this season and are all tied for the team lead in that category.
Northeastern heads to the Sunshine State boasting the nation's best record at 48-9 and searching for its first NCAA Tournament win since 1997. The Huskies are coached by Mike Glavine, the younger brother of MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine, and won both the regular season and tournament titles in the Coastal Athletic Association.
Northeastern is hitting .290 as a team with 76 homers and average 7.6 runs per game. The Huskies are second nationally in stolen bases with 192 swipes in 236 tries. They've also launched 76 long balls.
Harrison Feinberg is Northeastern's biggest offensive threat batting .379 with 18 homers and 66 RBIs all while stealing 36 bags in 39 attempts.
The mound is where the Huskies shine the most sporting the lowest ERA in the country at 2.92. They are also the nation's leader in shutouts (17), hits allowed per nine innings (6.95), WHIP (1.04) and walks allowed per nine innings (2.43).
Northeastern pitchers have struck out 468 and walked 134 through 497 innings on the year. Opposing teams have hit .210 against them with 27 homers.
Jordan Gottesman paces the Huskies with 91 strikeouts while Nick Coniglio and Angel Cruz each have flawless ERAs. Charlie Walker has recorded seven of the team's 22 saves this season.
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.
