Game now Wednesday, a look at MSU midweek opponent North Alabama

Before a showdown with No. 2 Arkansas this weekend, No. 3 Mississippi State is set to welcome North Alabama to Dudy Noble Field in the midweek.

First things first, if you haven't seen, the Bulldogs and Lions are now set to play on Wednesday night. The game was originally set for Tuesday, but due to expected rainy weather, the contest is now slated for a 6 p.m. central start on Wednesday. Granted, the forecast for Wednesday in Starkville isn't that great either, but the schedule adjustment seemingly gives the best chance to get the game in.

Assuming the Lions indeed make it to town to play, they'll be trying to turn around what has so far been a miserable season for them. Here's a quick look at North Alabama.

Up to this point

North Alabama currently sits at 1-16 this season. Yep, you read that right. The Lions' lone win was a 6-4 victory over Little Rock back on March 5. Since then, they've lost 10 in a row.

Most of the time, North Alabama hasn't even been all that competitive. All 16 of the Lions' losses this season have been by three runs or more. Here's a glance at their results up to this point.

2/23 - L 5-1 vs Belmont
2/26 - L 8-3 vs Stetson
2/27 - L 16-5 vs Stetson
2/27 - L 6-0 vs Stetson
2/28 - L 7-2 to Stetson
3/2 - L 7-2 to Tennessee Tech
3/5 - W 6-4 vs Little Rock
3/6 - L 9-1 vs Little Rock
3/7 - L 10-3 vs Little Rock
3/9 - L 5-1 vs UT-Martin
3/12 - L 4-0 vs Liberty
3/13 - L 7-0 vs Liberty
3/14 - L 6-0 vs Liberty
3/16 - L 18-4 vs Tennessee Tech
3/19 - L 9-4 vs Bellarmine
3/20 - L 5-1 vs Bellarmine
3/21 - L 6-3 vs Bellarmine

On the mound

As you can probably tell from looking at the scores alone, North Alabama has had its fair share of problems holding down the opposition.

The Lions have a team ERA of 6.99. Opponents are hitting .293 off of North Alabama pitching. Of the 17 pitchers to make at least one appearance for the Lions this year, 11 of them have ERAs of 5.79 or higher.

One of the names lower than that though is perhaps who MSU will see on Wednesday. Freshman right-hander Will Haberstock has been North Alabama's top midweek arm this season. He's already drawn four starts this year and will likely get his fifth against the Bulldogs.

Haberstock hasn't been dominant by any stretch, but he's been solid. He has an ERA of 4.11, has limited opponents to a .224 batting average and has struck out 20 over 15.1 innings. He's issued 11 walks over that span however, so control appears to be an issue at times for Haberstock.

Austin Nichols, Keegan Foge, Brycen Parrish and John Lundgren have been North Alabama's most-used relievers. All have six or more appearances. However of that quartet, three of them have struggled mightily. Opponents hit .351 off of Foge. Both Parrish and Lundgren have ERAs north of 10.00. Nichols has been solid though with a 3.68 ERA over 7.1 innings.

At the plate

North Alabama's pitching has left a good bit to be desired this season, but the Lions' offense has arguably had an even rougher go of it.

North Alabama hits only .164 as a team. Only one hitter on the entire roster has an average over .238. That's Devne Daniel, who hits .305. Daniel also leads the team in home runs with two and is tied for the team lead in doubles with four.

Outside of Daniel, it has been a season-long slump for about the entire lineup and bench. Of the seven Lions with 39 or more at-bats this season, six of them are batting .212 or lower.

Looking at those numbers, it shouldn't be surprising then that North Alabama has scored more than three runs in only four of their 17 games this season.

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