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Cowbell Corner

Starting Pitcher Breakdown for No. 11 Southern Miss at No. 6 Mississippi State

Mississippi State’s pitching plan takes focus as it faces Southern Miss ahead of a rivalry weekend in Oxford.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State pitcher Chris Billingsley celebrates a clean inning against Tulane in Biloxi.
Mississippi State pitcher Chris Billingsley celebrates a clean inning against Tulane in Biloxi. | Mississippi State Athletics

It’s an unofficial rivalry week for No. 6 Mississippi State on the diamond.

The Bulldogs will head to Oxford for a weekend series against No. 18 Ole Miss, which is always a hard, emotionally draining series for both sides.

But before that, the Bulldogs host No. 11 Southern Miss in a rematch of a 7-6 Golden Eagles’ win.

To make things interesting, both teams will send pitchers to the mound first that didn’t appear in that game earlier this month. The Bulldogs will hand the ball to Chris Billingsley Jr., while Southern Miss start Thomas Crabtree.

However, it’ll be difficult for either side to send out more pitchers the other hasn’t seen before. Mississippi State used seven pitchers against Southern Miss, none of whom pitched more than two innings and only one faced more than 10 batters.

The Golden Eagles used even more to get the big win. They sent nine pitchers to the mound and nobody faced more than eight batters and six pitched just one full inning.

It’s a safe bet we’ll see an similar pitching plan from both the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles. Mississippi State should have most of its bullpen available after its weekend sweep of Vanderbilt.

Six different relievers were used over the weekend and none threw more than 38 pitches. Here’s a breakdown of how many pitches each reliever threw:

Friday

Jack Gleason – 38
Maddox Webb – 30
Ben Davis – 36

Saturday

Brendan Sweeney – 23

Sunday

Charlie Foster – 29
Tyler Pitzer – 13

However, some consideration will need to be paid to the upcoming weekend series.

Bulldogs’ starter Ryan McPherson left his Friday start against Vanderbilt after four innings with an injury. No official word has been made about his status, but his availability against Ole Miss is very much in doubt.

If McPherson can’t go the Bulldogs will need to add a weekend starter. That may be why Brian O’Connor is giving Billingsley his first start of the season. It’ll also be the first appearance for Billingsley since he threw 29 pitches in the second of the series against No. 4 Arkansas.

Here’s a look at the starting pitchers for Southern Miss and Mississippi State’s second midweek contest of the season.

Starting Pitchers

Mississippi State: Chris Billingsley Jr., RHP

Stats: 1-0 (7 app.), 6.75 ERA, 2.40 WHIP, 6.2 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 8 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, .276 Opp. BA, 1 WP

Southern Miss: Thomas Crabtree, RHP

Stats: 0-1 (6 app, 3 GS), 5.02 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 13 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 6 BB, 20 K, 4 HR, .241 Opp. BA, 3 HBP

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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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