Conference Play is Here for Mississippi State Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi State Bulldogs open conference play against their rival LSU at Dudy Noble Field. The non-conference schedule has been frustrating for MSU, as they look much improved in some areas while others look putrid.
The biggest positive for Mississippi State has been its starting rotation. Last year, finding three consistent arms on the weekend was a struggle, but new pitching coach Justin Parker has found an effective rotation.
Nate Dohm, Khal Stephen, and Jurrangelo Cijntje have been the starting rotation every weekend thus far, and each of them seemed to improve with every start. However, they have faced inferior teams, but all three guys' stuff has been impressive.
Dohm has improved control on his electric fastball, and his off-speed pitches have improved under Parker. Stephen does not have as much power stuff as his counterparts, but the Purdue transfer competes hard and being in the middle of Dohm and Cijntje is a good spot for him.
Much like last year, Cijntje has shown limitless potential, but this year, the sophomore has found consistency and has an edge over most Sunday starters. The Bulldogs will be without Dohm this weekend after his injury last week. Evan Siary will get the start for MSU
The bullpen has not been as consistent, and it is because of a lack of depth.
MSU has had a few guys pitch well, such as Brooks Auger, Tyler Davis, and Cam Schuelke. However, those guys have had bad appearances, as Auger and Schuelke have blown save opportunities in mid-week games.
Going forward, Parker needs to find another arm or two, and candidates for that could be Karson Ligon and Colby Holcombe. Both Ligon and Holcombe pitched very well in the Bulldogs' 2-1 win over New Orleans, and if those guys could become reliable arms, it would go a long way for the Mississippi State bullpen.
The biggest negative for Mississippi State, which comes as a shock to everyone, is the offense. The Bulldogs seemed like they would have a solid lineup coming into the season because of stars like Hunter Hines and Dakota Jordan.
However, that has yet to come to fruition due to the shortcomings of Hines. The junior first baseman has been superb for MSU his entire career, as he has racked up 38 home runs in his first two seasons.
This year, Hines has only hit one and is batting .276, and teams are now intentionally walking Jordan, who is batting .415 with nine home runs, to get to the Houston, Mississippi native, and that is something that needs to change.
Another issue has been consistency at the bottom of the lineup, as the 5-9 spots have been a struggle for the MSU lineup. Bryce Chance and Connor Hujsak have struggled, although Hujsak has been on a tear the past week. These are two bats the Bulldogs needed to drive in runs.
Logan Kohler hit double-digit home runs a year ago at Memphis, and while he has been excellent on defense, the bat has struggled.
Mississippi State has had both positives and negatives. Sometimes, they have shown the ability to compete in the SEC while other times, they have shown they are leaps and bounds behind the field. It does not help that they faced the second-ranked and defending national champion LSU Tigers.
For the Bulldogs to compete this weekend, they will need their rotation to remain steady, and they desperately need someone besides Jordan to drive in clutch runs. LSU is one of the top teams in the country, but that should be no excuse for MSU if they get embarrassed this weekend.
This matchup is between arguably the two most storied baseball programs in the SEC, and Mississippi State should never accept being outclassed by the Tigers. This weekend is huge for Bulldog head coach Chris Lemonis, who is coaching for his job.
Game one is today at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.