What to know as Mississippi State faces Kentucky

Mississippi State is in desperate need of a bounce-back series.

Only a few day after getting swept at home by Arkansas, the No. 8 Bulldogs return to action on Thursday as they begin a three-game series against Kentucky at Dudy Noble Field.

So what do you need to know as State and Kentucky get set to face off? Let's take a quick look.

Game times

Thursday, April 1 - 6:30 p.m. central
Friday, April 2 - 6 p.m. central
Saturday, April 3 - 2 p.m. central

Where to watch/listen

You'll have several ways to keep up with all the action over the coming days. First off, the first two games of the series can be viewed on regular television. Thursday's 6:30 p.m. central game will be carried by ESPNU. Then, Friday's 6 p.m. central contest will be on SEC Network. Saturday's game won't be on regular television, but can be streamed via SEC Network+. In fact, it bears noting that all games of the MSU-Kentucky series – even the two on regular TV – can also be streamed online with the ESPN app/Watch ESPN.

On the radio, you can listen to all three games between the Bulldogs and Wildcats via the MSU Baseball Radio Network. You can find your affiliate by CLICKING HERE.

No matter where you are, you can access audio of all the baseball games via TuneIn.com or the TuneIn app. Fans can simply search "Mississippi State baseball" on the TuneIn app. TuneIn is available for download on iOS and Android, plus more than 200 connected devices. Game audio can also be heard via Mississippi State's website HERE.

Who's scheduled to start on the mound?

Friday: MSU LHP Christian Macleod (2-2, 3.33 ERA) vs. Kentucky RHP Ryan Hagenow (1-0, 1.00 ERA)

Saturday: MSU RHP Will Bednar (1-0, 2.12 ERA) vs. Kentucky RHP Cole Stupp (3-0, 1.47 ERA)

Sunday: MSU RHP Jackson Fristoe (2-2, 3.28 ERA) vs. Kentucky RHP Zack Lee (2-1, 3.28 ERA)

Up to this point

Kentucky comes to Starkville sporting an 18-4 overall record with a 5-1 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Wildcats are currently riding a five-game winning streak, featuring a three-game sweep on the road at Auburn last weekend. That followed up a weekend in which Kentucky took two out of three at home against Missouri.

While Kentucky has been incredibly successful of late, it does bear mentioning that it's not like the Wildcats have been incredibly dominant. All of their last seven games have been decided by two runs or less. They've played a ton of close games. But to Kentucky's credit, they've found ways to win most all of them.

Mississippi State is 17-7 overall and 2-4 in the SEC. The Bulldogs have lost four of their last five games, most recently getting swept at home by Arkansas last weekend.

MSU comes into this weekend with something to prove. Because not only did the Razorbacks win all three games last week, Arkansas dominated State. The Bulldogs didn't pitch well, hit well or play good defense and the Razorbacks outscored MSU 25-11 over the three days. It has put Mississippi State in a position where it needs to respond this weekend or else things start to become quite an uphill climb for the Bulldogs in the ultra-tough SEC.

On the mound

Kentucky has perhaps been better than many might realize on the mound. Coming into this weekend, only three SEC schools can say it boasts a pitching staff with a team ERA of 3.00 or lower – Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and...Kentucky. And in fact, Kentucky's team ERA of 2.95 is slightly lower than MSU's.

The Wildcats have been pretty solid up and down their staff. A total of 16 pitchers have taken the mound for Kentucky this year and 12 of them have ERAs of 4.50 or lower. A total of 10 Wildcats are at 3.29 or lower.

Mississippi State's pitching numbers took a mighty hit last weekend as Arkansas smacked the baseball around Dudy Noble Field. However MSU is still at or near the top of the SEC in most pitching categories.

State is third in the league in ERA, sitting at 2.97. Only Vanderbilt and Kentucky have been better. The Bulldogs are second to the Commodores in opposing batting average. Teams are hitting only .190 against the Bulldogs. MSU is tied with Texas A&M for the conference lead in strikeouts. State has a whopping 316 punch outs over 215 innings pitched.

But while Mississippi State's stats are still strong, multiple Bulldogs could sure use a return to form this weekend. All three weekend starters took a lump or two against Arkansas, and even bullpen stars Brandon Smith and Landon Sims weren't their typically-totally-dominant selves. All those guys getting back to pre-Arkansas-like performances would be a welcome sight for MSU.

At the plate

Much like their strong work on the mound, it might surprise you that Kentucky has also been one of the league's best offensive teams. The Wildcats sit with a .300 batting average as a team and along with Vanderbilt and Auburn, are the only three teams in the SEC with squad batting averages at .300 or better. The Wildcats are fourth in the conference in slugging.

Of the seven Kentucky players with 50 or more at-bats this season, all hit above .272 and four of the seven are above .315.

Austin Schultz leads the Wildcats with a .352 average. T.J. Collett paces the team in homers with eight.

MSU is in the bottom half of the league offensively, currently sporting the SEC's 10th-best batting average at .272.

What has really held back the Bulldogs from performing at their peak offensively are the slumps of three key lineup pieces. Everyday starters Rowdey Jordan, Josh Hatcher and Scotty Dubrule are all hitting .250 or lower. Jordan and Hatcher have had a particularly rough go of things with Jordan hitting .233 and Hatcher down to .229. Only one Bulldog hits above the .300 mark and that's Tanner Allen at .326.

While most didn't expect this year's MSU lineup to be a run-scoring machine, it seems safe to say at this point that, overall, the team has underperformed at the plate. Much like Bulldog pitching, the State offense could certainly use a strong showing against the Wildcats to recoup some confidence.

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