Mississippi State Baseball Versus Florida Preview: Taking a Chomp out of the Gators
The Mississippi State Baseball team travels to Gainseville, FL this weekend to take on the top ranked Florida Gators in a pivotal SEC baseball series.
The SEC West leading Bulldogs will face their stiffest competition this weekend when they take on co-leader in the SEC East, the Florida Gators. Florida is ranked number 1 in the country by every publication that puts out a poll, so winning the series will not come easy.
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The Gators and Bulldogs both hit the ball well and pitch well. Just like last weekend against the Rebels, the Mississippi State baseball team will enter the weekend with the better hitting team statistically and the Gators will be the better pitching team. So are the Bulldogs a lock to continue their SEC series winning ways?
No, but it isn’t an impossible task. Florida is sixth in the league in batting average, hitting an even .300 which is 20 points less than the Bulldogs. MSU is third in the league, hitting .320 on the season. The Bulldogs outperform the Gators in almost every offensive category including batting average, on-base percentage, doubles, total bases, and RBIs. The one concern for Mississippi State baseball fans though would definitely be the 28 home runs the Gators have hit compared to the Bulldogs’ 21.
On the mound, the opposite is true. Florida has the third best ERA in the SEC at 2.82 and the Bulldogs sit at the seven spot with a 3.32 ERA. Florida has had a much more stable pitching situation than the other teams the Mississippi State baseball team has faced. Two of their three starters average close to six inning pitched per outing. A.J. Puk, the Sunday starter for the Gators, had to leave the game early due to an injury that appeared to be back spasms. No one thought the injury was serious, but people will be watching to see who the Gators start this Sunday.
Florida has a deep and impressive bullpen. Almost every pitcher the Gators use has an ERA under 3.50 and the Gators lead the SEC in saves with 12. As a whole, the Gators have struck out more hitters than any other team in the SEC, and walked fewer than any other team in the SEC.
Mississippi State Baseball Players to Watch
If the Bulldogs want to pull off the upset, keep your eye on these players this weekend.
- Jake Mangum – OF
- Brent Rooker – OF
- Dakota Hudson – SP
- Austin Sexton – SP
- Konnor Pilkington – P
There is some doubt whether or not Jacob Robson will be able to play this weekend for the Mississippi State baseball team. He suffered an injury this past weekend, and Jake Mangum was bumped up to the lead-off spot and moved over to Center Field. He is hitting .439 with an on base percentage of .508. He’ll need to keep that up if the Bulldogs want to win the series, especially if Robson is unable to go.
If Robson has to sit, Brent Rooker will have to step back into his starting role. He hasn’t been a regular starter since the Vanderbilt series, but I would expect the Mississippi State baseball coaches to rely on the sophomore due to the possibility of Robson’s absence.
Dakota Hudson is going to face a powerful lineup. It will be strength versus strength as Hudson relies on his power and velocity to put batters down, and the Gators like to hit the ball out of the ballpark. Hudson’s streak of over 30 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run will be put to the test.
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Austin Sexton could be a Friday night starter for most teams, but this weekend, the Gators’ Saturday starter could boast the same thing. Alex Faedo starts on Saturday for the Gators and has a 2.53 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 42.2 innings. Opposing hitters are only hitting .187 against him. Sexton will have to match him pitch for pitch to give the Mississippi State baseball team a chance on Saturday.
The most important pitching performance though might come from freshman Konnor Pilkington. Daniel Brown continued to struggle this past Sunday against the Rebels. It would be surprising to see Wes Johnson continue to call on Brown this weekend, so many have speculated the normal midweek starter Pilkington will get the call.
Pilkington did start this past Tuesday against UT-Martin, but he only threw one inning and should be good to go for the Bulldogs. If he does get the opportuntiy, he’s done well in limited opportunities. He has a 1.10 ERA in 16.1 innings pitched, and he has struck out 16 hitters and walked five. Opposing hitters are hitting just .175 against him.
My series prediction
The Mississippi State baseball team won’t be expected to win this series, and simply getting out of Gainesville with one win will be considered a success by most standards. It’s a big challenge for the Bulldogs, but this series will also be a big challenge for the Gators.
Florida is coming off an emotional three game sweep of the the Texas A&M Aggies who were the top ranked team in all the polls at the time. Putting together six straight games in which they play that well against some of the best teams in the country won’t be easy.
Related Story: Dakota Hudson and Austin Sexton make the Bulldogs Tough to Beat
I’m going to make a bold prediction and say MSU pulls out a two games to one series win, and they do it in a way they have yet to do it before. Hudson will still be dominant and take care of business on Friday night, but Sexton pitches to a stalemate with Faedo on Saturday. The Gator bullpen will come in and shut the Bulldogs down and MSU won’t be able to return the favor. On Sunday, the Bulldogs get just enough from Konnor Pilkington to take the series and send a huge statement to the rest of the college baseball world.