Mississippi State Baseball Game 1 Foe: SEMO
The Mississippi State baseball team will take on the Southeast Missouri Redhawks in their opening game of the Starkville Regional.
Chances are you don’t know a whole lot about the opponent the Mississippi State baseball team is taking on in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament. Let me get you a little more familiar with the Redhawks. SEMO was 39-19 overall and posted a 22-8 record in the Ohio Valley Conference. They were 54th in the RPI.
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Most significant pitching stats for the Redhawks
- ERA: 3.86
- Saves: 11
- Strikeouts: 536
- Base on Balls:190
- Batting Average Against: .257
- Home Runs Allowed: 28
Those are some really good numbers by the Redhawks pitching staff. They are greatly enhanced by the likely starter against the Mississippi State baseball team on Friday, Joey Lucchesi.
The Redhawks ace was phenomenal this season. He went 10-4 with a 1.87 ERA, and struck 145 hitters in just 105 innings pitched. Lucchesi was so good, the debate has already begun about whether or not Cohen shoud run Hudson out against him, or hold him back and hope either Konnor Pilkington or Zac Houston can match him pitch for pitch.
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Most significant hitting stats
- Batting Average: .310
- Home Runs: 59
- Slugging Percentage: .476
- On Base Percentage: .411
- Strike Outs: 461
The Redhawks can hit the ball really well. Getting the SEMO hitters out won’t be an easy task for the Mississippi State Baseball pitchers.
The best hitter for the Redhawks is obvious. Chris Osborne led the team in Batting Average (.373), Slugging Percentage (.766), and Home Run (15).
How SEMO fared against NCAA Tournament and Power 5 teams
Southeast Missouri did face some of the other NCAA Tournament teams and some Power 5 teams, though not many. Here is how they did.
- Ole Miss: L, 10-2
- Ole Miss: L, 6-4
- Missouri: W, 7-2
- Missouri: L, 13-6
The Redhawks certainly have not faced the same level of competition as the Mississippi State Baseball team. It makes figuring out what will happen in the opening game a difficult task.
Biggest Story Heading into Friday’s game
The biggest story will be who pitches for the Mississippi State baseball team on Friday. Most fans were hoping Cohen would be able to throw Pilkington or Houston to save Dakota Hudson for the possible winner’s bracket game on Saturday.
How Cohen handles the pitching assignment will say a lot. Lucchesi is good, but will he be as good against one of the best lineups in the best conference in the country? If you think the Bulldogs will expose him, you should feel comfortable pitching Pilkington or Houston. If not, then you have to throw Hudson.
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Should be a lot of fun. Lucchesi is making a lot of people nervous, but the Bulldogs didn’t get the number 6 National seed for nothing. They should win this game and head into the winner’s bracket on Saturday.