It was a busy last week that saw two Bulldog teams beat #1 teams, and the week ahead features Super Bulldog Weekend. It’s once again time for This Week In MSU Sports.
Baseball
Last Week
Following a series victory over South Carolina, the Bulldog baseball team once again faced a pivotal week as they had four road games against quality competition. The weekly record was only 1-3 but I think it was still a productive week.
The week began by the Bulldogs traveling to Memphis to take on the Tigers. The Diamond Dogs could not get anything going offensively and dropped a 7-1 defeat. While the opportunity was there for the Bulldogs to pick up a crucial RPI-boosting win, the loss still rose the RPI to 119 just by playing the Tigers. The loss meant that the Bulldogs absolutely had to win a game in their weekend set with #1 Texas A&M.
The offense failed the Dogs on Friday in a 3-1 loss. Lucas Laster threw a gem of a game on the mound but Mississippi State could not get the big hit when they needed, including leaving the bases loaded to end the game. The team did bounce back on Saturday for a huge, RPI 3-2 win. Preston Brown pitched his tail off and Trevor Fitts shut the door for a huge victory that vaulted the Bulldogs 20 spots in the RPI. Sunday saw the pitching staff falter in a 13-5 loss in the rubber game. Vance Tatum struggled for a 2nd consecutive start and Mississippi State could not take advantage of an early lead.
Overall on the week, I think it was a much better week than the 1-3 record indicates. Going up against the #1 team in the country, the Bulldog battled all weekend and got a victory. The win bolstered the RPI and kept the Bulldogs chances at an at-large bid alive. Once again, for the third week in a row, Mississippi State will face a huge week towards their postseason goals.
This Week
The Bulldogs return home for four home games this week. An absolute, must-win, CANNOT lose game in the midweek against Northwestern State. This game would be an RPI killer and the Bulldogs just simply cannot and should not lose.
Following that, the Bulldogs will face the #4 Florida Gators for Super Bulldog Weekend. This weekend once again presents the Bulldogs with an enormous opportunity to boost their postseason resume with a series-win over a top-5 team. It will not be easy but I think the large SBW crowd will help the Bulldogs do what they need and get the series victory.
Softball
Last Week
Riding a 5-game winning streak and facing the #1 ranked LSU Tigers, the Softball Dogs had a 2-2 week which saw them take down #1 LSU and take a game from #8 Missouri. The Bulldogs continued their winning ways and have set themselves up perfectly for hosting position if they can finish the season strong. Enough can’t be said about the job Coach Stuedeman is doing and she has Bulldog softball on the right track.
This Week
The softball team will also have four home games this week. Mississippi State will host South Alabama on Tuesday before hosting Tennessee over the weekend for Super Bulldog weekend. This week gives the Dogs a chance to sure up their position as potential host in the NCAA Tournament with a good showing. Make sure if you’re on campus this weekend you head out to catch a game.
Football
Last Week/This Week
The football team held their next to last week of spring drills. The week ended with a scrimmage in Davis Wade Stadium as a tune up for the spring finale in the annual spring game this Saturday. Sorry for the lack of coverage this week on football but I’ll have a detailed recap of what I see at the spring game and you can find all you need on Double Coverage on Bulldog Sports Radio.
It will be an event filled week, capped off by the biggest weekend of the spring season on campus. It’s an exciting time to be a Bulldog. Have a great week!
Don’t forget to check out my new podcast with Ryan York, “Brick City Dawgs”, as we disuss all things MSU. A link to the most recent show here: https://maroonandwhitenation.com/?p=42123