No. 5 Mississippi State baseball hosts Kent State for 3-game series

STARKVILLE, Miss. — After a win over Southern Miss on Wednesday, the No. 5 Mississippi State baseball program turns its attention to Kent State for a three-game series with the Golden Flashes beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. CT at Dudy Noble Field.

The series will continue Saturday at 2 p.m. and will conclude with a noon first pitch on Sunday. All three games can be watched on SEC Network+.

Last time out, MSU (6-2, 0-0 SEC) defeated Southern Miss 4-1 behind a 20-strikeout effort from its pitching staff. The Bulldogs rank No. 3 nationally with 13.9 strikeouts per game and enter the weekend series with a .202 batting average against.

The MSU offense is batting .267 and is led by senior Tanner Allen and junior Luke Hancock with .367 and .333 batting averages. Allen has recorded team highs in hits (11) and runs scored (10), while Hancock has a team-high 10 RBIs and is tied with sophomore Kamren James for the most home runs (3).

Kent State (3-2, 0-0 MAC) is coming off a weekend sweep of Tennessee Tech, outscoring the opposition 31-7. Redshirt senior Ben Carew leads the Golden Flashes with a .526 batting average to go with five RBIs and five runs scored. He has recorded a hit in all five games and has recorded multiple hits in four straight games.

Junior Collin Matthews has recorded a hit in every game so far and is batting .400 with a team-high seven RBIs. Sophomore Justin Miknis, who has also recorded a hit in each game, is batting .368.

The Kent State pitching staff has combined for a .194 batting average against with 55 strikeouts and 19 walks in 41 innings pitched.

The weekend series marks the first time the programs have played each other since the 2001 NCAA Starkville Regional. The Bulldogs won 9-8 in 10 innings in the first game and 14-4 in the rematch.

Friday, March 5 (6 p.m. CT)

Probable Starters: MSU: LHP Christian MacLeod (0-1, 1.12 ERA) KSU: RHP Luke Albright (1-1, 2.70 ERA)

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Saturday, March 6 (2 p.m. CT)

Probable Starters: MSU: RHP Eric Cerantola (0-0, 11.57 ERA) KSU: LHP Collin Romel (0-1, 7.71 ERA)

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Sunday, March 7 (Noon CT)

Probable Starters MSU: RHP Jackson Fristoe (0-0, 2.57 ERA) KSU: RHP Ryan Lane (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

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