How to Watch: Tennessee at No. 9 Mississippi State Baseball

Mississippi State is back at Dudy Noble Field this weekend, and the Bulldogs get another chance to steady themselves in SEC play as Tennessee comes to town.

It’s a matchup between two teams trying to rebound from series losses last weekend, and both enter the series coming off midweek wins.

Before first pitch, here’s a quick look at the Vols, the weather, the pitching matchup, and everything you need to know to follow along.

The Opponent: Tennessee

Tennessee has made a habit of playing tight games this season. Fourteen of them have been decided by two runs or fewer, including seven of their 12 SEC matchups. The Vols are an even 7‑7 in those situations, which probably says as much about their volatility as it does their competitiveness.

One player who hasn’t been up‑and‑down lately is Blake Grimmer. The redshirt sophomore just put together his best week of the year, hitting .385 with six runs, two homers, four RBI and 12 total bases across four games. He kept it rolling on Tuesday against Northern Kentucky, driving in four and logging his first career multi‑homer game. Grimmer now has four home runs in his last four games and sits third on the team with seven on the season. When he’s locked in, Tennessee’s lineup looks a lot different.

They’ve also gotten a major lift from Garrett Wright, who missed the first three weeks of the season but has been a fixture in the lineup ever since. The Bowling Green transfer has started 21 straight games and is slashing .321/.442/.538 with eight doubles, three homers, 19 runs and 10 RBI. He’s given the Vols another steady bat in the middle of the order, something they badly needed early in the year.

Tennessee isn’t the most predictable team in the SEC, but between Grimmer heating up and Wright settling in, the Vols have a little more stability than they did a month ago.

Weather Forecast

Last weekend had great weather for baseball, but what fans saw at Dudy Noble Field wasn’t great. Weather conditions should be mostly the same for this weekend with the National Weather Service forecast saying “mostly sunny, with a high near 81. East southeast wind around 5 mph,” during the day and “mostly clear, with a low around 54. Calm wind,” at night.

Starting Pitchers

RHP Landon Mack vs. LHP Tomas Valincius

Mack: 3-2, 3.48 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 44 IP, 44 H, 19 R, 17 ER, 17 BB, 58 SO, .260 Opp. BA
Valincius: 6-1, 1.15 ERA, .83 WHIP, 47 IP, 28 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 11 BB, 66 SO, .170 Opp. BA

This weekend’s rotation pic.twitter.com/n8WEPMRKlO
— Mississippi State Baseball (@HailStateBB) April 9, 2026

Mississippi State Batting Lineup

Tennessee Batting Lineup