Ranked Showdown in Starkville as Baseball Meets with 16th-Ranked Mississippi State

Ranked Showdown in Starkville as Baseball Meets with 16th-Ranked Mississippi State

5/2/2024 4:29:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes Live Stats Series Preview: Coach Vaughn Series Preview: Zane Adams Series Preview: Justin Lebron Watch: Friday Watch: Saturday Watch: Sunday

The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs will meet for the 429th time in series history on Friday

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 17 Alabama will head west for a weekend series in Starkville against 16^th-ranked Mississippi State. The series at Dudy Noble Field begins on Friday at 6 p.m. CT followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday and a 1 p.m. first pitch in the finale. All three games of the series will air on SEC Network+.

Follow the Tide

Fans can follow the series via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+
Listen: 100.9 FM / CTSN / The Varsity App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: HailState.com

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups

FRIDAY: UA – Greg Farone (Sr., LHP) vs. MSU – Khal Stephen (Jr., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Zane Adams (Fr., LHP) vs. MSU – Jurrangelo Cijntje (So., BHP)
SUNDAY: UA – Ben Hess (Jr., RHP) vs. MSU – Brooks Auger (Sr., RHP)

Leading Off

Alabama and Mississippi State will meet for the 429th time in series history when the SEC Western Division foes square off on Friday evening at Dudy Noble Field. The Crimson Tide holds the all-time advantage, 216-208-4, but the Bulldogs have the leg up in Starkville, owning a 116-81-2 mark at home.
The two teams last met from April 6-8, 2023, in Tuscaloosa, where the Bulldogs claimed the series, 2-1. Game one went in favor of Mississippi State, 12-8, before the Tide responded with an 11-1 run-rule victory in game two to set up the rubber match on Saturday night. A late push by MSU gave the Bulldogs an 8-4 win to clinch the series.
Alabama and Mississippi State last met at Dudy Noble from March 25-27, 2022. The Tide and Bulldogs traded blows all weekend with MSU earning a pair of wins to clinch the series. Both Friday and Saturday saw UA fall in walkoff fashion, 6-7 and 7-8, respectively. The Crimson Tide bounced back for a 6-2 win on Sunday to avoid the sweep.

About Alabama

Alabama wrapped up last week at 3-1 overall, first downing Samford last Tuesday in Tuscaloosa before earning a 2-1 series win at Ole Miss from Thursday through Saturday.
The Crimson Tide finished with a .351 (52-148) average for the week, including 13 doubles, a triple and 10 home runs, on the way to 44 total runs scored. The trio of Mac Guscette, Justin Lebron and Will Hodo all recorded a .500 average or better and combined for 26 total hits to lead the group.
An 11-run third inning powered Alabama to a 14-5 win over Samford last Tuesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Samford struck first with a four-run second but maintained the lead for only an inning. In the third, Alabama's offense erupted for eight hits on the way to 11 runs to make it an 11-4 ballgame.
The third inning was highlighted by two-run home runs from Lebron, TJ McCants and Evan Sleight. The Bulldogs added one in the fifth with the Tide countering for three in the home half to set things at 14-5, the eventual final.
Alabama's offense last Tuesday was led by Lebron, who finished 3-for-5 with a double and the homer to go with his team-high four RBI and three runs scored.
Austin Morris picked up the win, allowing one run on five hits with two strikeouts in 3.0 innings of relief.
Alabama paired a standout start from Greg Farone with big-time offense to earn a 12-0 run-rule victory over Ole Miss last Thursday evening at Swayze Field.
Farone earned the win with a complete game shutout, allowing six hits and no walks with six strikeouts in 7.0 frames.
Alabama's offense gave Farone one run of support in the third before a nine-run fourth blew the game open. The Tide added two more in the fifth to cap the scoring at 12.
The bats accumulated 16 total hits with eight of the nine starters recording at least one hit and one run scored. Lebron, Kade Snell and Guscette each tied for the team lead in hits with three apiece while Snell and Guscette were matched by Hodo for the team-high RBI total at three. Both Guscette and Hodo accumulated their RBI with three-run home runs in that huge fourth inning.
A back-and-forth contest with Ole Miss favored the Rebels, 9-8, last Friday evening.
Ole Miss jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings. The Tide got on the board in the fourth thanks to a Lebron solo homer and added four in the fifth, highlighted by a three-run home run from Hodo, to make it 5-3. Alabama's lead was short-lived, as the Rebs plated four of their own in the bottom of the fifth.
The Tide drew even with two in the sixth, but, once again the Rebels answered, using a pair of solo homers in the bottom of the sixth to regain the advantage. Alabama was able to score one in the seventh but would get no closer.
Late offense and a solid start from Zane Adams clinched the series at Ole Miss with a 10-3 victory last Saturday.
The Rebels got on the board with one in the second before UA evened the score in the third thanks to a solo homer from Gage Miller. Both teams would go scoreless until the sixth when the Tide began a stretch of seven unanswered runs to build an 8-1 advantage headed to the bottom of the eighth.
Ole Miss got two back on a homer in that inning, but UA countered with two in the ninth for the 10-3 final.
Miller tied for the team-high total for hits with three as part of a 3-for-5 day that included the homer, two RBI and a run scored. Guscette matched Miller with three knocks, finishing 3-for-4 with a double, a homer, two RBI, two runs and a hit-by-pitch. Also homering on the afternoon was Lebron, his second in as many days.
Adams put together another standout start in SEC play, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts across 7.0-plus innings for the win. He was followed by Alton Davis II, who allowed one hit and struck out two across the final 2.0 frames to ensure the series-clinching victory for the Tide.

About Mississippi State

Chris Lemonis is in his sixth year at the helm of the Mississippi State program and 10th year overall as a Division I head coach. He entered the 2024 season with a career record of 308-184-2, including a 167-93 mark in Starkville. A 1992 graduate of The Citadel, Lemonis is assisted by Kyle Cheesebrough, Jake Gautreau and Justin Parker.
Mississippi State finished the 2023 season at 27-26 overall, including a 9-21 mark in SEC play.
The Bulldogs were selected to finish seventh in the Western Division and 13th overall in the SEC in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.

On Deck

Alabama will wrap its regular season non-conference schedule when the Tide travels to Troy on Tuesday, May 7. The two in-state foes are scheduled for a 6 p.m. first pitch at Riddle-Pace Field with the game airing on ESPN+.