Tracking the Diamond Dawgs: Mississippi State preparing to face its toughest test yet

After going 1-1 on the road trip to Biloxi, the Mississippi State Diamond Dawgs are headed back home for one day of rest before facing off against the reigning national champions in the LSU Tigers.

LSU will be in search of some get back, that much is certain, after Mississippi State managed to take the series from them in extra innings during last year’s rubber match. What, then, is the tale of the tape on this year’s LSU squad?

LSU Pitching vs. Mississippi State offense

This is where things will get tough for Mississippi State. LSU’s presumed Friday night guy is Luke Holman, a highly sought after transfer from Alabama, who has quite literally not allowed a single earned run through 24 innings pitched so far this season. Holman is 4-0 over four starts this season already and has only allowed eight hits and four walks during that time frame. Point being, Holman has been lights out. If Nate Dohm is healthy for the Bulldogs, this could be setting up for quite the pitcher’s duel.

Redshirt sophomore and UCLA transfer Gage Jump has recently emerged into the Saturday starting spot for the Tigers, and has put in some incredible work of his own. He had his best outing of the season against Xavier this past weekend throwing 10 strikeouts in 5.0 innings of work. Jump is 2-0 in starts so far this season, and has only surrendered six hits in his 13.1 IP so far this year. Mississippi State will be hoping to change that.

Thatcher Heard was the winning pitcher when LSU nabbed the title last season, and he’s back for more in the Sunday role. However, he’s been off to a slower start than his two counterparts. Boasting a 4.76 ERA through 17.0 IP, Heard is the most hittable of the three on paper. A good chunk of that ERA, though, came from the team’s first series of the year against VMI, where Heard let up four earned runs in 2.2 innings of work. If Mississippi State can get to a rubber match on Sunday and put the ball – and the series – in the hands of Jurrangelo Cijntje, the Bulldogs have to like their chances.

Out of the pen is where LSU has struggled the most, if at all. That’s where Mississippi State will have to do its most damage. The Bulldogs will have to have long at bats and up the pitch counts early and often to give themselves a chance this weekend. Mature approaches at the plate will be pivotal to getting LSU’s starters out as early as possible.

Mississippi State pitching vs. LSU offense

The good news for Mississippi State is that this is not the same LSU offense from last season. Yes, Tommy White is still Tommy White, but at this point, nobody with a substantial number of at bats is hitting more than .368. That mark belongs to freshman infielder Steven Milam.

The next highest is sophomore catcher Bradley Neal, who’s hitting .348 on the year. He’s more of a power threat than Milam, as his three home runs are tied for second most on the team, but with an OBP of .455 and 15 strikeouts through non-conference play, he’s not a guy Mississippi State just won’t be able to get out.

Leading the Tigers in home runs with six is sophomore first baseman/catcher, Jared Jones. He and three other starters for the Tigers, though, are hitting less than .300 on the season. Again, it’s not a bad offense, but it’s not the same threat as it was last season.

If Hunter Hines can re-emerge as the power threat that he always as been while Dakota Jordan keeps up his hot streak the heart of Mississippi State’s lineup can cause real problems. Couple that with the potential production Nolan Stevens gives, and it’s a recipe to get back to the offense of 2023 that kept the Bulldogs in so many games.

Mississippi State can’t afford the Jekyll and Hyde act that plagued it for some of the non-conference schedule anymore – teams as good as LSU will make you pay dearly for it. If what head coach Chris Lemonis has said about the team’s best baseball being ahead of it is true, there’s no time like this weekend to take a big step towards that production.

Prediction

The LSU pitching is too much to handle for a Mississippi State offense that has waited too long to find its true identity, and the Tigers take Friday and Saturday, Jurrangelo Cijntje guts out a pitcher’s due to give Mississippi State a fighting chance and a win on Sunday and the Tigers take the series 2-1.