It's tournament time for Mississippi State baseball. The Diamond Dawgs are the 3-seed in the Tallahassee Regional, and they'll take on the hottest team in all of college baseball Friday night at 6:30 PM CT when they face off against the 2-seed Northeastern Huskies.
Northeastern (48-9, 25-2 CAA) has won a remarkable 27-straight games, rolling through the Coastal Athletic Association to make a regional for the fourth time in the last seven seasons. The Huskies are an elite pitching team, boasting the nation's best team ERA at 2.92, and given their prowess on the mound, it's important that Mississippi State make the proper move with its rotation the counter that.
There were several directions State could go here, but I don't think anyone was expecting who interim coach Justin Parker settled on.
Ben Davis gets the start for Bulldogs vs Northeastern
Taking the mound in game one for Mississippi State is junior righty Ben Davis. The JUCO product owns a 3.96 ERA and is 3-2 on the year.
Davis has seen plenty of action for State this season. His 22 appearances are the most by any Bulldog pitcher this season, but he's made just three starts to this point. His first start of the season was a great outing. Against Queens he went 6.0 innings, striking out four while allowing just one hit and one run. However his next two starts didn't go so well. In just 3.2 combined innings against Texas and Oklahoma, Davis surrendered eight hits, five walks, and five earned runs (10 runs total).
Davis ultimately settled in as being one of MSU's top bullpen arms, and he pitched well in that role down the stretch this season. Clearly, Justin Parker believes he's seen enough out of him to now move him back into a starting spot, which is certainly interesting given that it's a regional opener against a 2-seed.
State choosing to not start ace Pico Khon isn't a total surprise. While you can't at all expect to coast past Northeastern and need to make a 1-0 start, you would ideally want to throw him against, presumably, Florida State. It would be understandable to take your chances with another weekend starter in game one so you get your best against FSU's best.
Many expected to see Evan Siary after his recent strong outings. No one saw the decision to start Ben Davis coming though. It's an interesting and admittedly risky move by Justin Parker. Not only are we unsure of Davis as a starter, he's one of your top bullpen arms as well. That said, if it pays off, it would put MSU in an outstanding spot with regards to starting pitching for the remainder of the regional.
If Davis can win his start, the Diamond Dawgs then have Khon, Siary, and Karson Ligon all still available to them, which would be a huge advantage. Northeastern isn't taking the same unique approach. They're rolling with ace Will Jones (11-0, 1.82 ERA), who has been brilliant this season but hasn't faced a lineup the caliber of State's. This will be quite the intriguing matchup Friday night.