Mississippi State Baseball: Bulldogs vs Auburn 2018 Series Preview
By Ethan Lee
![OMAHA, NE - JUNE 24: Mississippi State Bulldogs players sit in the dugout before playing the UCLA Bruins during game one of the College World Series Finals on June 24, 2013 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. UCLA won 3-1. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) OMAHA, NE - JUNE 24: Mississippi State Bulldogs players sit in the dugout before playing the UCLA Bruins during game one of the College World Series Finals on June 24, 2013 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. UCLA won 3-1. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/688882479a519d78210127150219275bf4b542eb2e82f2e0271a0e8487e73802.jpg)
On The Year, Auburn Appears Better Than Mississippi State At The Plate. That Trend Doesn’t Carry Over In SEC Play
This season, Auburn is hitting .279, has 35 home runs, and is slugging .434. Those are pretty good numbers. Notably better numbers than Mississippi State’s, in fact. MSU has a batting average of .268, a slugging percentage of .372, and then 17 home runs through the year.
In SEC play, Auburn’s bats have cooled down quite a bit. The Tigers are hitting .203 against SEC pitchers. That said, they’re still getting a enough hits that’ll go over the fence. They’ve got 8 home runs and are slugging .414.
Mississippi State isn’t doing so hot against SEC pitchers either, but it’s a bit better than Auburn is at the moment. MSU has a batting average of .230 in conference games. The Bulldogs have hit 4 homers and are slugging .303 against their conference colleagues.
While Auburn has been better through the entire year, they’ve not been any greater than MSU is when it comes to hitting in SEC games.
That means MSU certainly has a chance here.