Mississippi State Needs Careful Pitching Plan Against Nicholls

The Bulldogs host Nicholls on Tuesday, but the bigger focus is how Mississippi State manages a depleted pitching staff.

Mississippi State Pitcher Chris Billingsley Jr. (#25) during the game between the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Dudy Noble Field at Polk-Dement Stadium in Starkville, MS. | Mississippi State Athletics

Mississippi State has one more non‑conference game before the stretch run, but the matchup with Nicholls is really about survival more than anything else.

The Bulldogs are in a bit of a pinch on the mound, and Tuesday will be a night where the staff has to piece things together without putting extra strain on the arms they need most.

Chris Billingsley gets the start, which makes sense given the circumstances. He’s been a steady midweek option in the past, even though the staff shifted him into a weekend relief role a few weeks ago.

Bill on the hill pic.twitter.com/bbUPzzAjuh

— Mississippi State Baseball (@HailStateBB) May 4, 2026

He hasn’t thrown much lately, just 13 pitches in the Governor’s Cup and a normal bullpen session Sunday in Austin, but no in-game action. That light workload made him the obvious choice for this one.

And Mississippi State needs him to give them as much length as he reasonably can. The bullpen was stretched thin at Texas, where the Bulldogs used 13 relief appearances across three games.

“Our pitching is quite depleted,” Mississippi State coach Brian O’Connor said after Sunday’s finale against No. 4 Texas. “ A few with injuries and how much we had to use guys out of the bullpen. We'll see who we go with on Tuesday, but it's a great opportunity.”

A few of the usual midweek candidates are basically off the table. Tyler Pitzer threw 45 pitches Sunday. Brendan Sweeney threw 31. Neither is likely to touch the ball Tuesday with Auburn coming in on a Thursday start.

That’s the real squeeze. Losing a day between series means the staff can’t burn through arms in a midweek game, even if it’s the final one before the SEC Tournament in two weeks.

If any of the regular weekend relievers appear, it’ll be for a short tune‑up or to address something the coaches want to see before Auburn. Some of those guys had rough moments in Austin, including closer Maddox Webb, so there may be a little maintenance work to do.

If the game tilts early, this could also be a chance to get a few younger pitchers some innings, too. Because for some of them, it might be the last opportunity of the season.

There’s also the ongoing questions about Ryan McPherson. The former Friday starter has been out since March 20 with a forearm strain and is expected back in a limited role this month. But O’Connor did say in an interview with SuperTalk Mississippi radio that McPherson won’t be used against Nicholls.

"He's got a bullpen scheduled this week, so we'll kind of see how that goes and it's kind of day-to-day," O'Connor said. "I'm hoping that he can help us out very, very soon."

Spoke with @CoachOakMSU for today's @SportsTalkMiss. No decision on a midweek starter, but I did ask about Ryan McPherson. He said that he continues to improve, he's throwing a bullpen this week, but no chance for him to throw against Nicholls on Tuesday.

— Brian Hadad (@brianhadad) May 4, 2026

So yes, it’s Nicholls on the schedule, but the real story is Mississippi State trying to navigate a tight week without overextending the arms they need most. Billingsley starts it, and the rest of the night will be a careful balancing act.