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Cowbell Corner

Mississippi State Puts Its Best Arm First Against Tennessee

Mississippi State moved Tomas Valincius to Friday night starter against Tennessee, rewarding its ace after a dominant stretch in SEC play.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State's Tomas Valincius against Arkansas
Mississippi State's Tomas Valincius against Arkansas | MSU Athletics

The extra day of rest from Easter Weekend gave No. 9 Mississippi State a chance to reset its pitching rotation, and the Bulldogs are using it to line things up the way they always wanted. Their ace will take the ball to open this weekend’s SEC series against Tennessee.

Left‑hander Tomas Valincius gets the Friday start, a spot he hasn’t held yet this season. The sophomore transfer from Virginia has lived on Saturdays, but the injury to Ryan McPherson forced Mississippi State to shuffle things for a few weeks.

Normally, teams want their best arm on the mound in game one of a three‑game series. With all due respect to McPherson, who has a 2.45 ERA, a .97 WHIP, 40 strikeouts and only six walks, Valincius has been Mississippi State’s most dominant pitcher for a while now.

He has been especially sharp in SEC play. Valincius didn’t allow an earned run in his first three conference starts and gave up only two to No. 4 Georgia in what was one of the best outings any pitcher has had against the other Bulldogs this season.

In the big picture, the exact day your ace pitches doesn’t make or break a weekend. Some coaches even prefer avoiding ace‑vs‑ace matchups to give their best arm a cleaner path to a win. If Mississippi State had kept Valincius on Saturdays, it would have been a perfectly reasonable strategy.

But there is still something to being the first pitcher out of the gate. It’s a role that carries weight inside a clubhouse. And based on how he has thrown, Valincius has earned it.

Starting Pitcher Matchups

Friday

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

Saturday

RHP Tegan Kuhns vs. RHP Duke Stone

  • Kuhns: 1-3, 3.89 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 39.1 IP, 38 H, 19 R, 17 ER, 8 BB, 47 SO, .247 Opp. BA
  • Stone: 5-0, 3.75 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 36 IP, 30 H, 18 R, 15 ER, 15 BB, 55 SO, .221 Opp. BA

Sunday

LHP Evan Blanco vs. LHP Charlie Foster

  • Blanco: 2-2, 3.83 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 42.1 IP, 31 H, 22 R, 18 ER, 18 BB, 52 SO, .200 Opp. BA
  • Foster: 0-1, 5.21 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 19 IP, 19 H, 15 R, 11 ER, 14 BB, 21 SO, .253 Opp. BA

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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