Mississippi State Baseball Looking to Bounce Back Against Georgia

Mississippi State baseball faces the Georgia Bulldogs in Starkville this weekend. Mississippi State, who sits at 19-11 overall and 4-5 in SEC play after a frustrating series loss at Florida and a baffling midweek loss to Central Arkansas, finds itself in need of a big weekend to gain back the momentum they've squandered over the past week.

A series win over Georgia would put them right back on track. Georgia got off to a great start this season and is 23-6 overall. But they've been more volatile in SEC play with an identical 4-5 SEC record to MSU.

The Athens-based Bulldogs opened SEC play getting swept at Kentucky. They then responded by sweeping Alabama at home. This past weekend, they took 1/3 at Tennessee. You'll note that they're just 1-5 so far on the road in SEC play, a good omen for Mississippi State.

Though they aren't currently ranked in the top-25 due to their SEC results, Georgia is all the way up at 5th in the RPI. MSU, by comparison, is 57th, so a series win over UGA could be a massive boost in MSU's all-important RPI rank as they look to return to the postseason.

Let's get to know Georgia...

Georgia baseball's lineup is formidable

The strength of this Georgia team is their lineup. They're one of the best batting teams in the SEC. They rank third in the SEC in team average (.325), first in slugging (.660), first in on base percentage (.454), second in runs scored (289), third in hits (312), and first in home runs (84).

Georgia is led by outfielder Charlie Condon, who is in the midst of a remarkable season. Condon is batting .481 with 52 hits, 41 RBI, and 19 home runs. But he's not the only guy that rakes for UGA. First baseman Corey Collins is batting .396 with 12 homers. Three other players have at least eight home runs.

This UGA lineup can mash, and they'll be a major challenge for MSU's pitching staff.

Mississippi State baseball should have a good weekend at the plate against Georgia

While Georgia's lineup has no problem scoring runs, preventing the opposition from scoring has been an issue. UGA is 10th in the SEC in team ERA at 5.44. They're 12th in opponent batting average at .258. UGA is 11th in walks allowed (127) and 14th in home runs allowed (41). They're also below average in fielding percentage at .975.

Georgia's weekend rotation will likely consist of Charlie Goldstein, Leighton Finley, and Christian Mracna. Goldstein is 4-0 with a 4.08 ERA, a 1.47 WHIP, and a 31:11 strikeout to walk ratio. Finley is 2-1 with a 5.14 ERA, a 1.39 WHIP, and a 22:9 strikeout to walk ratio. Mracna is 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA, a 1.48 WHIP, and a 38:16 strikout to walk ratio.

As a team, UGA's relief pitching ranks last in the SEC with a 6.59 ERA and 134 hits allowed. For a Mississippi State lineup that has been wildly inconsistent throughout this season, they have a very good opportunity ahead of them to right the ship against Georgia.