Mississippi State to Take On Florida Gators Tonight

After dropping the game to LSU (42-17) last night, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (41-15-1) will take on the Florida Gators (45-12) tonight in an elimination matchup.

In last night's game, Dakota Hudson struggled a bit again against the Tigers, only throwing 5 innings. And while he struck out 6 batters, he still surrendered 9 hits which led to 4 runs, 2 of which were earned. The Bulldogs struggled to string together hits too, as they could only bring in 2 runs off of 8 hits that were spread out throughout the game.

With the loss last night, in the long run it might actually be better for Mississippi State to lose tonight. Historically, teams that spend their pitchers up in the SEC Tournament in Hoover tend to struggle when it comes time to host a regional, and with State no longer being in the winner's bracket, it would take some extra effort and more pitchers to contend for the SEC tournament.

I'm not saying we should tank, I would hate that for Mississippi State. But if we do lose tonight, or tomorrow, it may not be the worst thing in the world for the Bulldogs. It would give our pitchers a few extra days of rest and allow everyone to properly prepare for hosting a regional.

On the other hand, another win or two against quality opponents might boost Mississippi State's RPI and seeding for the postseason even further. But if we start to get a couple more wins, then we better hope to win it all. At that point, it might be rough for the Bulldogs to try and contend along the rode to Omaha.