Cowbell Corner

No. 3 Mississippi State and No. 5 Arkansas Set Weekend Pitching Rotations

Mississippi State travels to Arkansas to begin SEC play. Here’s a full breakdown of the Bulldogs’ and Razorbacks’ weekend pitching rotations.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State pitcher Ryan McPherson picked up the win in Friday's game against Arizona State at the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series in Arlington, Texas.
Mississippi State pitcher Ryan McPherson picked up the win in Friday's game against Arizona State at the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series in Arlington, Texas. | Mississippi State Athletic

Brian O’Connor spent more than 20 years coaching in the ACC, which is no slouch in the world of college baseball.

There’s North Carolina, NC State, Clemson, Miami, Duke and, of course, the program O’Connor built into a powerhouse, Virginia.

But it wasn’t the SEC where 11 of 16 teams are ranked by D1Baseball (other polls do have more) and all 16 enter the start of conference play with winning records.

No. 3 Mississippi State’s new coach will get his first taste of SEC in the first of many weekend series against top-ranked teams with a road trip to No. 5 Arkansas.

They may be no better “welcome to the SEC” series for O’Connor than a Razorback program that has spent the last 10-15 years living at the top of the SEC standings.

Both teams have announced their starting pitchers for the weekend and that’s as good a place as any other to start a series preview.

Here’s a breakdown of the starting pitchers for both Mississippi State and Arkansas, as well as some notable relief pitchers.

Mississippi State Starting Pitchers

Friday

Ryan McPherson, RHP

Season: 3-0, 1.96 ERA, 23 IP, 19 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 28 K, .221 Opp. BA, 1.04 WHIP

Saturday

Tomas Valincius, LHP

Season: 3-0, 1.74 ERA, 20.2 IP, 17 H, 4 R, 6 BB, 26 K, .227 Opp. BA, 1.11 WHIP

Sunday

Duke Stone, RHP

Season: 3-0, 3.06 ERA, 17.2 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 24 K, .169 Opp. BA, 0.68 WHIP

Notable Relief Pitchers

  • Jack Gleason: 1-0, 2.45 ERA, 11 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 21 K, .154 Opp. BA
  • Dane Burns: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.2 IP, 3 BB, 7 K, .000 Opp. BA
  • Maddox Webb: 0-0, 2.84 ERA, 1 SV, 6.1 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 9 K, .346 Opp. BA, 1.58 WHIP
  • Chris Billingsley Jr.: 1-0, 7.11 ERA, 6.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, .269 Opp. BA, 1.89 WHIP
  • Ben Davis: 0-1, 4.50 ERA, 2 SV, 10 IP, 5 H, 5R, 1 BB, 11 K, .147 Opp. BA, 0.60 WHIP

Arkansas Starting Pitchers

Friday

Gabe Gaeckle, RHP

Season: 2-1, 2.61 ERA, 20.2 IP, 21 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 6 BB, 27 K, .263 Opp. BA

Saturday

Hunter Dietz, LHP

Season: 2-1, 2.84 ERA, 19 IP, 14 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 5 BB, 34 K, .194 Opp. BA

Sunday

Colin Fisher, LHP

Season: 2-1, 1.17 ERA, 23 IP, 13 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 30 K, .159 Opp. BA

Notable Relief Pitchers

  • Ethan McElvain: 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.2 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 13 K, 0.77 Opp. BA
  • Parker Coil: 0-0, 3.72 ERA, 1 SV, 9.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 15 K, .242 Opp. BA
  • Mark Brissey: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 SV, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K, .053 Opp. BA
  • James DeCremer: 0-1, 5.87 ERA, 7.2 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 5 K, .344 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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