LSU aims for bounce back in home series vs. Mississippi State

Coming off of a disappointing series defeat to Texas last weekend, LSU dominated Louisiana Lafayette on Tuesday night, regaining its swagger before diving back into SEC play this weekend against Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs are off to a rough start, losing five of their first six SEC games and coming to Baton Rouge to face one of the top teams in the nation. The series begins on Thursday night this week, an important distinction after several Friday-Sunday series this year. Here’s everything to know abut the series and what’s ahead.

Mississippi State Bulldogs (16-9, 1-5 SEC) at No. 5 LSU Tigers (23-3, 4-2 SEC)
DATES/TIMES
• Thursday, March 27 @ 7 p.m. CT
• Friday, March 28 @ 6:30 p.m. CT
• Saturday, March 29 @ 2 p.m. CT
STADIUM
• Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Baton Rouge, La. (10,718)
RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 5 Baseball America; No. 6 USA Today; No. 8 D1 Baseball
• MSU – unranked
RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
TV/ONLINE
• Thursday game will be televised on the SEC Network; Friday and Saturday games will be streamed live on SEC Network +

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE
• Mississippi State leads the overall series with LSU, 212-196-1; however, LSU has won 13 of the past 17 SEC regular season series with the Bulldogs …Mississippi State has captured two series in a row over the Tigers – the Bulldogs won two of three games over the Tigers on May 11-13, 2023, in Baton Rouge, and MSU won two of three over LSU on March 15-17, 2024, in Starkville, Miss. … LSU posted nine straight series wins over MSU from 2007-15, but the teams have split the last eight series meetings from 2016-24 (no series in 2020).

PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – So. LH Kade Anderson (5-0, 2.65 ERA, 34.0, 8 BB, 56 SO)
MSU – Jr. RH Evan Siary (0-0, 2.31 ERA, 11.2 IP, 3 BB, 15 SO
Game 2
LSU – Jr. RH Anthony Eyanson (3-0, 4.50 ERA, 32.0 IP, 8 BB, 46 SO)
MSU – Sr. LH Pico Kohn (4-0, 2.52 ERA, 35.2 IP, 7 BB, 53 SO)
Game 3
LSU – So. RH Chase Shores (4-1, 4.88 ERA, 27.2 IP, 12 BB, 30 SO)
MSU – Sr. RH Karson Ligon (2-3, 4.76 ERA, 22.2 IP, 9 BB, 32 SO)

QUOTING JAY JOHNSON
“Mississippi State is very talented; (MSU left-hander) Pico Kohn is one of the best pitchers in the league, no question about it. They have more arm strength out of the bullpen than we’ve seen out of anybody to this point, so we will be challenged in that regard. I think the top of their lineup is very good, and there are some explosive players in the lineup. This is just like the rest of them (in the SEC); Mississippi State is a super-regional/Omaha quality team, and it’s going to be a great series.”

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• LSU is No. 1 in the SEC in team batting average with a .338 mark … the Tigers are also No. 1 in the league in hits (290), No. 1 in doubles (68), No. 2 in on-base percentage (.462) and No. 3 in runs scored (262).

• LSU’s loss at Texas last Saturday ended the Tigers’ win streak at 17 games; the streak was LSU’s longest since the 2017 team also captured 17 games in a row from May 11 through June 17 … LSU’s win over Texas last Friday improved its SEC record to 4-0, marking the Tigers’ first 4-0 start in league play since 2019.

• Sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson defeated Texas last Friday, working 6.0 innings and limiting the Longhorns to two runs on seven hits with no walks and eight strikeouts … he threw a career-high 101 pitches in the outing, 71 for strikes … Anderson retired 10 of the final 13 batters that he faced … he improved to 5-0 this season, and he has a 2.65 ERA with eight walks and 56 strikeouts in 34.0 innings … Anderson is No. 3 in the SEC this season in strikeouts, and he is No. 5 in innings pitched.

• Junior first baseman Jared Jones was LSU’s leading hitter last weekend in the Texas series, batting .400 (6-for-15) with one double, three RBI and two runs … Jones is hitting .422 (43-for-102) this season with 10 doubles, nine homers, 42 RBI and 33 runs … Jones leads the SEC in hits, and he is No. 3 in RBI, No. 3 in total bases (76), No. 4 in in doubles, No. 4 in batting average, No. 7 in slugging percentage (.784) and No. 10 in on-base percentage (.516).

• Junior right-hander Zac Cowan pitched brilliantly last Friday in LSU’s win over Texas, recording his second save of the year … Cowan pitched 3.0 scoreless innings, limiting the Longhorns to just one hit with no walks and three strikeouts … Cowan is 2-0 this season with a 1.27 ERA in 21.1 innings, and he has posted three walks and 29 strikeouts.

• Freshman leftfielder Derek Curiel – the Tigers’ lead-off hitter – has reached base safely in all 26 of LSU’s games this season, and he is the only Tiger to accomplish that feat … he is No. 3 in the SEC in on-base percentage (.566), No. 3 in walks (26), No. 5 in batting average (.418), No. 7 in doubles (9) and No. 7 in hits (38) … Curiel is batting .391 (9-for-23) in LSU’s SEC games with one double, one triple, one homer, five RBI and six runs.

• Junior second baseman is Daniel Dickinson is No. 5 in the SEC in on-base percentage (.544) … junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson is No. 5 in the league in strikeouts (46) and No. 8 in innings pitched (32.0) … freshman right-hander Casan Evans is No. 5 in the SEC in saves with four on the year … sophomore shortstop Steven Milam is riding a 20-game on-base streak entering Thursday’s game vs. Mississippi State.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
• The Bulldogs are 16-9 this season, 1-5 in the SEC … MSU opened conference play March 14-16 by dropping three games to Texas in Starkville, Miss., and the Bulldogs lost two of three games at Oklahoma last weekend.
• MSU is No. 5 in the SEC in team batting average (.314), and the Bulldogs have collected 55 doubles, four triples, 38 homers and 32 steals in 36 attempts … the Bulldogs’ pitching staff is No. 4 in the league with a 3.39 ERA and it has recorded 291 strikeouts in 207.0 innings.
• The Bulldogs’ lineup includes designated hitter Noah Sullivan, who is hitting .395 with eight doubles, four homers and 22 RBI … infielder Ace Reese leads MSU in doubles (8), homers (8) and RBI (34).