Top Five Series to Watch for Mississippi State Baseball This Season

The 2022 Mississippi State baseball season is a little more than a week away, and players and fans alike are anxiously awaiting first pitch.

The Bulldogs have been practicing for weeks in preparation for the season. They will be the team to beat-- they are the defending National Champions, after all-- but will also be looking for back-to-back titles. MSU has a slew of outstanding returning players and will also feature talented transfers and rookies, but some big changes are being made. Will all of this be enough to make another run at the College World Series?

Every game is important in baseball, but some stand out above the rest. Here are the top five series to watch for Mississippi State this season; buckle up, Bulldogs, it's time for baseball.

5. Mississippi State vs Long Beach State, Feb. 18-20

Believe it or not, this is looking to be a great opening weekend matchup between two ranked teams. The No. 24 Long Beach State Dirtbags are making the journey to Starkville to try and upset the No. 4-ranked defending National Champs. It's going to be an important weekend for the Bulldogs for many reasons. The team will be debuting a few new players and see if they still have the magic they had throughout the 2021 season. Plus, there's no better time to work through any mistakes than in the first few games of the season. Long Beach State is a notable opponent, so MSU will be able to get a true feel for the upcoming season pretty quickly.

4. Mississippi State at Georgia, March 18-20

Opening weekend is important, but the first series in SEC play might be more important. At this point, Mississippi State will have had about a month of competition against teams from all sides of the spectrum-- from mighty powerhouses to almost unheard of clubs. They will finally be getting their first taste of conference play, and it won't be easy. Georgia hasn't always been a force to be reckoned with, but they're coming into the 2022 season with high expectations. This matchup will be the perfect test to see how well Mississippi State's starting lineup and pitching rotation can hold up through a difficult conference schedule.

3. Mississippi State vs. Tennessee, May 19-21

12-2. Does that score sound familiar? That's how badly Tennessee beat the Bulldogs in the SEC Tournament last season. Of course, a lot of different factors went into that game, and the lopsided result didn't matter in the end. Finally, MSU will have the chance to host the Volunteers-- who also went to Omaha last season-- in a true three-game series that will say much more than last season's tournament game. Will the Bulldogs be able to prove that they are the best, or will Tennessee march in and have another dominant performance?

2. Mississippi State at Ole Miss, April 21-23

Of course, this infamous rivalry had to be thrown into the mix. Mississippi State has won the majority of the their games against Ole Miss over the last few years and are looking to continue dominating. It will be harder than usual to win against Ole Miss-- they are returning most of their batters and will be playing at their home field--but it's definitely possible to walk away with a series victory or even a sweep. Once again, the Magnolia State rivalry weekend is already shaping up to be a top-tier matchup across the entire SEC.

1. Mississippi State at Arkansas, April 1-3

Coming in as the best series to watch for the Bulldogs this season is the Arkansas series in Fayetteville. This has arguably been the most highly speculated matchup since last season when the Razorbacks marched to Starkville and got the series sweep. Two storied programs with two dominant fanbases that are constantly at each other's throats...could it get any better? Mississippi State will certainly be looking to avenge last season's embarrassment, and there's no better way to do it than to be a dominant visiting team.

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